Duel Masters of the Future
by acumashindorballomu
Summary: After Kokujo's quest, 90 years have passed and the characters who are still alive are Kokujo, Subaru and Tsugumi.They will meet new friends, new foes and a new threats!
1. The Red Priest is back in town!

The cruelty of time is felt by people only when time passes faster than usual, ending their lives without them knowing it.

And so ninety years have passed since Zakira's death. Times have changed. The buildings were now floating in the sky like flying saucers. The streets were now suspended in the air like in a child's toy set. The cars were now replaced by UFO's and rockets, and if you asked a man on the cyber walking street in the air or on the ground what a 'sandwich' was, he'd be confused and think only of tacos.

Out of our heroes the only ones which were still alive were Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi, White and Toto. After Mimi's death White isolated himself in Toto's pyramid and no one ever heard of them since. Subaru and Tsugumi were still in love each other like in the first day, no matter how old they were. They spent their life in peace next door to Kokujo for ninety years. Kokujo on the other hand had become grumpy and lonely once again after Malice's death, but this time he had accepted it. The long haired old man did nothing but stay in his house listening to his Lordi CDs, watching commercials with himself on TV, and of course looking at his good old deck which had never let him down throughout those years. After the whole Zakira thing was over, Kokujo had never lost a single duel, not even to White. And in his most intimate moments, Kokujo was asking himself "Was this really the end of my era?"

The answer was about to come soon, for in one winter day when Subaru and Tsugumi were visiting him, they all heard an explosion and saw a bright red beam strike the sky coming from the city.

"Oh my God!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Subaru asked.

"Why don't we go check it out?" Kokujo suggested with the dynamic voice which he had lost years ago. After all this time he was finally ready for some action.

"What? You've got to be joking, Kokujo-kun!" Subaru replied sweating. "Look at us. We're a bunch of old people. We won't be able to handle another situation at all!"

"I've had enough of wasting my years in a house! I want some action to feel young again, so let's go!" Kokujo said with the same dynamic voice.

To Subaru's and Tsugumi's surprise, Kokujo ran with the same speed he had ninety years ago, dressed up in his black coat and took his deck. In a few minutes they were all ready and they quickly took a taxi rocket, paid for the trip and rushed towards the city.

The red beam was coming from the Temple of Duel Masters, which was in the middle of the city. The Temple had one last apprentice left to serve it, and that was a bald old man. He was a wise man which knew both arts of dueling and magic. The old man had received a prophecy from one of the creatures, he didn't knew exactly which, and following the prophecy he had gathered three young duelists. One was a red haired boy wearing red rocket racer clothes and was an expert in the Fire civilization cards. Another was a brown haired boy dressed in a black college uniform and was an expert in the Water civilization cards. And last but not least was a girl dressed in old white shaman clothes with long green hair and small paintings over her face, and she was an expert in the Nature civilization cards. The three duelists were serving the Temple and the last apprentice, learning new dueling skills and strategies. Everything was ok until the apprentice had announced them that the one which they had to defeat was coming to the Temple. The apprentice hid in the Temple and stood in meditation as the three duelists stood outside waiting for the opponent to arrive.

When the shiny red beam came out of the Temple, they immediately realized it was him. The opponent had appeared in front of them. He had purple hair, a blue and a yellow eye, was wearing red clothes with a red cape, and he was wielding a staff. The three duelists ran to him and the red haired one spoke first:

"Identify yourself, stranger!"

"My name is Rezo, the Red Priest." he answered and grinned evilly to them all.

"It's him!" they all exclaimed shocked.

"I am seeking the power of the last apprentice of the Duel Masters temple. From what I've heard, the old man's power is strong enough to help me recreate the Proof of Duelmaster. Now take me to your master at once, little ones!"

"Never!" the brown haired boy said and took out his glowing deck. "We've been waiting for the moment when we'd face the Red Priest, and it seems that the time has finally come."

"We shall not let you pass!" the green haired girl said and also took out her deck.

"If you wanna enter the Temple, you'll have to defeat all three of us!" the red haired boy said and took out his deck as well.

"Heh, three versus one? I haven't had this kind of duel in a long time. It will surely be interesting." Rezo said and took out a deck which was surrounded by a dark red aura and afterwards cloned it twice so he could duel all three at the same time. "Shields up!"

"SHIELDS UP!" the three replied and so the duel started.

When the taxi had finally arrived at the Temple, it was too late All that Kokujo, Subaru and Tsugumi could see were three big explosions caused by three creatures.

"Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, todomeda!" Rezo ordered and the giant knight with dark lord armor and red cape took out both of his guns and shot away the red haired boy. "Death Phoenix, Avatar of Doom, todomeda!" Rezo ordered and a giant phoenix made of dark red fire casted an enormous fire ball over the brown haired boy. "And finally, Necrodragon Belzarogue, todomeda!" Rezo gave the final order and a giant dark dragon with lots of heads spit a giant lazor over the green haired girl.

The creature attacks were the reasons why the explosions came. The explosions were followed by a grey smoke, and when the smoke disappeared, all that Kokujo, Subaru and Tsugumi could see from the taxi were the three young duelists on the ground defeated and a strange figure wearing red clothes entering the Temple. The three old people got out of the taxi and moved as fast as they could to the three kids. Subaru and Tsugumi tried to take care of them, but Kokujo turned his back to them and stared at the entrance of the Temple. Somehow he knew what was going on but he wanted to be sure of it.  
Inside the Temple the last apprentice was meditating in the altar when he heard an explosion. The bald old man turned his back and to his shock he saw Rezo entering the altar room. The Red Priest stared at the old man grinning as he got up and wiped the dust off his clothes.

"Impossible, you have defeated them!" the apprentice said.

"If those were three of the five chosen duelists, then the prophecy must be joking!" Rezo laughed.

"No, the prophecy was true! I just can't understand how come you won the duels since they got special training in the art of dueling."

"Heh, you just don't know how powerful the Red Priest is, old man! Now the time of my uprising has come, so surrender your magic powers at once and I promise I'll make your death quick and painless!"

Then the old apprentice got surrounded by a white and blue aura and he floated in the air. Rezo made a step back because he got shocked, but he fast kept his calm. The old man looked at him with eyes which showed mercy and said:

"Rezo, I pity you! You fight to get enough power and take over the world. God has punished you by taking your sight at birth, and now when you have it back, you still try to take over the world for your evil deeds. Why won't you understand that taking over the world is impossible? Others before you had tried and failed: Gaav, Valgaav, Alexander Macedon, Atilla, Hitler, Zakira, professor Machi, and even Hakuoh when he was evil wanted to take over the world. What did they gain? They only lost their lives! Please Rezo, don't follow their paths, you'll be the only one to suffer!"

"They all died because they failed at taking over the world! I, Rezo, the Red Priest am more powerful and wiser than them all! Believe me old man, I will manage to succeed where they had all failed! AND YOU SHALL BE MY FIRST VICTIM!" Rezo yelled and fired a dark beam on the old man's chest trying to suck his powers. "DIE, OLD HAG, DIE AND LET ME TAKE YOUR MYSTIC POWERS!"

"Remember the prophecy, Rezo!" the old man said and started to say the prophecy exactly as he got it from the creature. "_The Red Priest shall rise like the menacing storm clouds, but the five chosen duelists along with their five chosen cards will bring his fall on the day chosen by God!_"

As he heard the prophecy, Rezo got angry and the dark beam got more powerful. Also, the red beam which was coming out of the Temple shined almost as powerful as the stars from space. Rezo was about to kill the apprentice, when the old man got surrounded by an even more powerful white and blue aura than the first one he had. Rezo noticed that he was trying to escape and threw a dark rope to tie him. The old man then casted a spell that canceled Rezo's magic around him for a few seconds, and in the next moment he made himself disappear out of time and space, taking the powers of the Duel Masters Temple with him forever. Rezo stared at the empty air with an angrier sight then before and yelled:

"GAAAAAAAAH! CURSE YOU, OLD GEEZER!"

Outside the Temple, Kokujo was still waiting to find out what was going on while Subaru and Tsugumi were taking care of the wounds of the three duelists. Just then a flying pyramid appeared out of nowhere and stood above them. Out of the pyramid came two figures. One was wearing purple clothes, a big bowl shaped hat and was holding a T scepter in his hand. The other figure had long white hair, blue eyes and was wearing a white uniform. Kokujo turned to them and slowly walked. As he was in front of them, he said with a cold voice:  
"White, Toto, what are you doing here?"

"Is that a way to greet your brother after so many years, Kokujo?" White answered.

"CAAAACACACACACACA, you remained the same loser without manners, CAAACACA..." Toto laughed but then coughed hard.  
"Toto, I told you not to laugh before taking your coughing pills!"

"Yeah, excuse me, White-sama!" Toto apologized and took some pills with a glass of water.

"And you two remained the same pathetic idiots I've known my entire life!" Kokujo replied and gave them a cold stare.

"Anyway, what's going on here, Kokujo? Me and Toto have seen this strange red light come out of nowhere and we came here to see what was happening."

"Well White, when we came here we saw a figure dressed in red clothes defeat these three duelists which are now being healed by Subaru and Tsugumi."

"Hm… and what were the creatures this duelist had used?"

"If my memory's still good, he used Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, Death Phoenix, Avatar of Doom and Necrodragon Belzarogue."

Suddenly, Kokujo and White stopped their conversation. They realized that the one which had come to the Temple was none other than Rezo, the Red Priest. Before they could do something, they saw Rezo coming out of the Temple looking angry. Rezo turned to them all and said:

"You again! You bastards have stood in my way long enough! DIE!"

Rezo then fired a powerful laser, hurting them all. Kokujo, White, Toto, Subaru, Tsugumi and the three young duelists floated in the air getting burned by Rezo's laser. None of them could react because they were old and the three kids were too hurt. Rezo gave them an evil laugh and enjoyed seeing them all suffer a horrible death.

"I shall prove the prophecy wrong and kill you all before you even know it! Then nothing will stand in my way!"

All that they could feel was burning pain. Subaru and Tsugumi hoped that at least the three kids would not be awakened so that they wouldn't feel the pain while they were dying. But then the brown haired duelist opened his eyes and saw them all suffering. He wished he could do something, but it was too late.

Suddenly, something incredible happened, something which not even Rezo had expected. Three cards came out of the three duelists' decks and flew in the air. The cards were Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon, Crystal Zweilancer and Diruga Vejida, Green Divine Dragon. That meant only one thing. The last two chosen duelists were there as well. Then two cards came out of Subaru's and Tsugumi's decks and flew towards the other three cards. They were Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and the silver card which resurrected Subaru back when they had defeated Zakira, AKA Dorballom, Lord of Demons. All the five cards shined together and fired a powerful laser on Rezo, making the Red Priest stop his attack. Then the cards fired another laser over Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi, White and Toto, and under the amazed sights of the brown haired boy and Rezo, the five duelists were made young once again. Their white hairs turned back into dark blue (Kokujo's case), black (Subaru's case), blonde (White's and Tsugumi's case) and green (Toto's case). Also, their rotten fleshed skins and sucked faces turned into beautiful white skins and faces once again. It was a miracle! They were all teenagers once again!

Then the cards fired a final laser over the three young duelists, healing all their wounds. Afterwards, each card went back into its owner's deck. The three duelists got up on their feet as Subaru, Tsugumi, White and Toto stared at themselves with happy eyes, knowing that they were young once again.  
"Subaru!"

"Tsugumi!"

The two yelled with happiness and hugged each other while spinning around. It was a dream come true, now their love could last more than a century.

"White-sama!"

"Toto!"

"CAAAACACACACACACACA! WHITE-SAMA, I CAN LAUGH WITHOUT COUGHING! CAAAACACACACACACA!"

"Forget that, Toto! Now I have sane teeth! I CAN FINALLY EAT SANDWICHES AGAIN!" White yelled and jumped in the air.

Kokujo was the only one which didn't care about the fact that he was young once again. The long haired boy climbed the stairs of the Temple and stood in front of Rezo. Both exchanged cold evil stares. It was obvious for everyone that the two were now sworn enemies.

"Rezo!"

"Kokujo!"

"What's your purpose, Rezo? Why did the Red Priest come back in town?"

"Simple, I've come here to take over the world! Since the Temple of Duel Masters doesn't have the power I need anymore, I'll have to search in this city for a new source of power!"

"And why do you need more power, Rezo?"

"If I'd tell you my intentions, you'd be standing in my way so many times that I'd be forced to kill you, Kokujo." Rezo answered grinning with the same evil smile as before.

Rezo then opened a dark gate which he intended to use to escape. The Red Priest was about to leave when Kokujo ran to him. The long haired boy was seeking answers to his questions. But before Kokujo could even touch Rezo; the Red Priest made a little shock in the air with his hand which made Kokujo fall on his back. The boy stared angry at Rezo, which with an evil laugh disappeared in the dark gate. Kokujo sweated a bit and then turned at the others.  
White and Toto got teleported back in Toto's pyramid and flew away, for they didn't have any interest in that scene anymore. Subaru and Tsugumi stared amazed at the three young duelists. They were all about their age and they seemed so interesting: a racer, a high school student and a strange shaman girl. But before they could even speak to them, the red haired boy pushed the brown haired boy aside and yelled:

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, EDO!"

"M-my fault? But I did nothing this time, Rad!" the brown haired boy defended himself.

"You shouldn't have challenged Rezo! Me and Sora knew that we weren't ready to duel Rezo! We should've rushed and asked the old apprentice for help!" the red haired boy - Rad kept yelling at the brown haired boy - Edo.

"Yeah, what was in your head, Edo?" the green haired girl - Sora asked as well.

"I wasn't thinking. I was following my heart, and my heart was telling me that that was the right thing to do." Edo said.

"You've always been the weakest part of our team, Edo!" Rad said with a disgraceous voice.

"I'm afraid I must agree with him, Edo!" Sora replied.

"B-but guys, why must we fight over this now?" Edo said while sweating. "We now have found the other two chosen duelists which are this blonde girl and this black haired boy. They were all old persons and now they're as young as we are, and this is because of the chosen cards. Think of what miracles we may do if we are together! How about we…"

"Shut up! We won't listen to your 'advices' anymore, Edo!" Sora said.

"Yeah, from now on we're on our own!" Rad added and snapped his fingers.

In the next moment a red rocket with golden flames painted on it appeared in front of them. Rad and Sora jumped in it and flew away leaving Edo staring at them. Subaru walked to him and put his hand on his shoulder. At first Edo got shocked as if Subaru's hand was made of ice. Then the brown haired boy turned his head to see the black haired boy. He searched Subaru's body and saw that he was also wearing a uniform like him and the boy also had brown eyes like him. Also, his hair was long to the neck like his. If Subaru didn't have his hair black and his uniform dark blue, Edo would think that he was looking at a reflection of himself.

"Edo was it, right?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah… oh well, I think I should get going."

"Wait, don't just leave now! Please explain us what's with the whole chosen duelist thing and what connection does Rezo have with all this!"

"Yeah, we would like to know more about this story if you don't mind, Edo." Tsugumi added.

"Oh well, I see that there's no other option left. Fine, I'll tell everything, but let's go somewhere else."

"Agreed, let's go at my home!" Kokujo said.

Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi and their new friend Edo walked on a cyber walking street from the ground back to Kokujo's house as the sun was setting. And so a new adventure was about to start with new friends and enemies. Kokujo was more than excited about this and couldn't wait to reach his house so that he could hear the interesting story Edo had to tell them. On their way, Kokujo was staring at the silver moon and saw the image of Dorballom in the astral sphere.

"It's starting once again. I can't wait to duel and do all that wacky stuff once more. Thanks for giving me this second chance, Dorballom!" Kokujo spoke in his mind.


	2. The story of Edo Kanda

Outside it started snowing. Shiny silver stars were falling from the sky and slowly, snow rugs were now covering the houses and streets of the future. The snowing surprised everyone in a pleasant way, for it was the first time that year when snow was falling from the mighty sky.

Like insects lost in grass, Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi and Edo rushed through the snow in Kokujo's house and closed the doors. It was so cold that ice had appeared on Subaru's nose. Tsugumi and Edo found it funny and laughed a bit as the black haired boy blushed. Kokujo didn't want to waste his time with such useless things. The long haired boy went in the kitchen where he had a termostat and raised the house's temperature from 15 to 20 degrees.

Later that night, the four made them selves feel like home. Kokujo and Subaru were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Tsugumi was sitting on the couch and watching TV Edo, on the other hand, stood at the window and stared at the silver moon thinking of his friends, Rad and Sora. "Where were they? What were they doing?" he asked himself.

The silence was intrerrupted by Kokujo and Subaru, who had brought the dinner which consisted in boiled potatoes, tomato salad and roast chicken. Subaru sat on a chair near Tsugumi as Kokujo put the food on the table filled with plates, forks and knives. Edo came from the window and sat near Kokujo.  
While they were eating, Subaru spoke to Edo after swallowing the potato from his mouth:

"So Edo-kun, I think that this would be the right time for you to tell us your story, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, tell us!" Tsugumi added with a voice full of excitement.

"Very well then, I shall tell you what you need to know, but..."

"What?" both Subaru and Tsugumi asked.

"Let me finish this chicken leg." Edo laughed as Subaru and Tsugumi sweated with embarrassment.

Kokujo did a small evil laugh due to Edo's way of owning the two. Since he had finished his meal, the long haired boy pushed aside his plate which had his fork and knife in it and afterwards he put his hands on the table and turned his right ear to Edo to hear his narrating better.

After finishing the chicken leg, Edo put the bone on his empty plate, took a deep breath and began speaking:

"First of all, my name is Edo Kanda. I left my home at the age of 15 because of prize winning and tournaments. Then on a tournament I accidently killed my final opponent."

"How horrible!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Yeah, you don't know how I felt that day..." Edo said and got a flashback in his mind.

_It was the final round of the tournament. Edo was facing his last opponent and the duel was so far normal. But when he was about to win the duel and the whole tournament, something happened._

_"Aqua Sniper, todomeda!" the boy gave the final attack._

_Then a giant dark blue creature made of water, with red eyes, shark like mouth and long blades instead of arms appeared behind him and roared. It was incredible - Edo's kaijudo energy had brought Aqua Sniper to life! The creature did the final attack and slashed his opponent with its right blade. The boy fell on the ground bleeding hard. Edo was shocked of what happened. Some doctors rushed in and carried the boy to an ambulance. Later, after Edo got his trophy and the money for winning the tournament, he found out that the boy he had defeated died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital._

The flashback ended as Edo stared at his plate with a sad look.

"And what happened after that?" Subaru asked.

"After that I stopped dueling for about a year. Then one day an old bald man came to me and saw my Crystal Zweilancer card. He told me that I was one of the chosen duelists and that it was in my power to prevent a great danger. He told me about Rezo, the Red Priest and about the prophecy as well: _"__The Red Priest shall rise like the menacing storm clouds, but the five chosen duelists along with their five chosen cards will bring his fall on the day chosen by God!_" He also told me that he had found two other chosen duelists which were training for the great day when we would meet Rezo. And so I joined the old man and went to the Temple. There I had befriended the other two chosen duelists and we got to train together and to know each other better."

"Tell me Edo, those two which had yelled at you back at the Temple were the other two chosen duelists?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yeah. Rad and Sora are their names. Rad is the red haired boy dressed as a racer and Sora is the green haired girl dressed as a shaman. If you get to know them, they're not as mean as they seem. Rad always had a big heart and always wanted to help me and Sora. He's the most energetic of us and obviously the fastest. But sadly, he's stubborn like a bull and he's also a brute when you make him really angry." Edo paused and laughed a bit. "As for Sora, she had always been the shy type of a girl. Always kind and warm to us and she always wants to speak with us about our problems. But unfortunately, no-one is perfect, and even this nice girl has her dark sides. Sora always stopped conversations when it came up to something personal about her, like her past."

"I thought you were going to say breast measure." Kokujo laughed with his hysteric evil laugh.

"Anyway, let me continue..." Edo said sweating because Kokujo's thoughts disgusted him. "But even so, we were able to look beyond our bad sides and be great friends. This was until one day when we were dueling. I was trying to Transmogrify my deck so that I could get a free Aqua Sniper, but I couldn't draw any Aqua Strummer to arrange the cards from my deck the way I wanted. One Sniper was in my mana zone, one in my hand, but I had only six mana and couldn't summon him yet, and I supposed that the other two were in my deck. I wasted all my Transmogrifys and only got two Aqua Guards, one Bubble Lamp and one Cutie Heart. I couldn't use Cutie Heart's effect since I had three shields left and my Aqua Guards got easily destroyed by Rad's Comet Missles. And then, before I knew it, Rad summoned Uberdragon Bajula!" Edo said and remembered the duel scene through a flashback.

_It was a nice autumn day. Sora was relaxing in a tree, watching Edo and Rad play a kaijudo duel. Then Rad did the move which Edo had narrated._

_"I evolve Bolshack Dragon into Ubderdragon Bajula!" Rad said and a giant red dragon with fire wings and a long chain in its hands appeared behind him and gave Edo a terrifying roar._

_"Uh oh, I think I'm in trouble!" Edo said sweating._

_"Uberdragon Bajula, triple break his shields!" Rad ordered and Bajula threw his chain, breaking all of Edo's shields._

_Edo took cover to not get his by the giant chain. The brown haired boy got surrounded by lots of shield shards which slowly united into cards and went to his hand. Edo looked at the three cards and to his shock saw that two of them were the last two Aqua Snipers he needed. This meant that not was he the most unlucky person on this earth, but also that his own perfect strategy had failed him. He still had one more hope. The third shield was a shield trigger and he showed it, saying:_

_"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Bolmeteus, Kensei Dragon to your hand!"_

_"Tsh, if that's all you got, then you're not worthy of being a chosen duelist!" Rad spoke with a cold voice._

_"What?" Edo almost yelled._

_"Bolbalzak, Swordflash Dragon, todomeda!" Rad ordered._

_A dragon dressed in a red armor and with lots of samurai swords jumped towards Edo and slashed the boy with its swords. The brown haired boy flew in the air with his uniform tore up and with blood coming out of his wounds. Edo remembered the boy he had killed at the tournament and thought that he would soon join his fate. The brown haired boy landed on the grass, but Rad didn't go to help him. The red haired boy left Edo all alone and Sora did the same. Edo's luck was that Sora told the old apprentice about him and the old man came to take care of his wounds, otherwise he would have died there._

The flashback ended and Edo continued his story.

"Rad won the duel, and after that duel our friendship began to get colder and colder. Rad considered that I was the weakest and that I was pulling them all back."

"How mean! What about Sora?" Tsugumi asked.

"After my weak performance in the duel she thought the same and was agreeing with Rad every time he was criticizing me_. "If the five duelists aren't united both physically and spiritually, then the Red Priest shall crush them like ants!_" was another thing related to the prophecy which the old apprentice had thought us. Rad and Sora didn't want to believe that and kept being mean to me, and so my fears came true! Rezo came, we dueled, and because we weren't united, we lost!" Edo said and lifted his head down." Well that's my story, guys. I'll tell Subaru and Tsugumi more about the whole chosen duelist thingy tomorrow. Now if you excuse me, I would like to go to sleep."

"You're not going anywhere!" Kokujo's strict voice said to Edo."If you want to sleep here tonight, you must duel me!"

"Kokujo-kun!" Subaru yelled frustrated.

"What do you think you're doing? Edo is very tired after all that happened and..." Tsugumi said but Kokujo interrupted her.

"I want to test my deck! I haven't used it in a long time and I feel that Edo's gonna be the perfect challenge for me!"

"If that's your wish, then..." Edo said and took out a glowing deck from his pocket.

Kokujo and Edo ran outside in front of Kokujo's house where there were two dueling tables. There was snow all over the grass and it was cold like hell. Tsugumi thought that Kokujo must be mad to start a duel in the middle of a winter night. But it was too late to go back now. With a shout the two started the duel.

"Shields up!"


	3. Shock! Kokujo VS Edo!

The duel between Kokujo and Edo had started. There wasn't any time to lose and the duel was pretty rushy. Kokujo had Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Melnia, the Aqua Shadow and Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil while Edo had Aqua Hulcus and Aqua Guard in the battle zone. And so Edo began his sixth turn.

"I summon Titan Crash Crawler. And now Aqua Hulcus, break his shield!"

"Kokujo is the first which got his shields broken." Tsugumi spoke worried as Subaru started sweating and Kokujo drew his next card.

"I cast Death Smoke, destroy Titan Crash Crawler!" Kokujo said and a black smoke ate Edo's creature. "Don't you think that's all, I have much more stuff cooking for you! I summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow! And now my other Melnia suicide with Aqua Hulcus! Trash Train lets me draw two cards, and now Trash Train, break his shield!"

Edo took cover as the red train flew in the air and then went through his shield, breaking it. The boy got surrounded by sharp blue shards which united, turning into a card. He took the card in his hand and saw that it was a shield trigger. Edo showed the card to the others, saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Melnia to your hand! Afterwards I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Spinslicer! Ike, Crystal Spinslicer, suicide with Trash Train!"

Kokujo stared angry at Edo as Crystal Spinslicer ran towards Trash Train and slashed it with his circular blade shield. The Train also ran over Spinslicer squashing him, and so the two creatures blew up. Kokujo sweated as Edo smiled and continued his turn.

"And now, Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"Oh no, Kokujo has only Maxval left!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Also, Edo's rush is much better than Kokujo's, what will Ko do?" Subaru asked while sweating.

"Don't you guys think that you're a bit too worry babies? I can take care of myself without anyone's help!" Kokujo said and drew his next card. The long haired boy stared at it, smiled, and then spoke to Edo. "You really thought that you can defeat me that easy? Here's one of my newest cards!"

Edo started sweating as Kokujo's mana cards tapped slowly. The long haired boy showed the card, grinning.

"I summon Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper!"

Then a bone demon with six heads and shiny purple eyes appeared behind Kokujo. Edo made a few steps back as Kokujo made an evil laugh.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! With Bell Hell De Gaul's effect, you're soon going down Edo!"

"Heh, I summon Aqua Sniper!" Edo replied smiling.

"What the..." Kokujo said shocked.

"Aqua Sniper's effect will send Bell Hell De Gaul and itself back to our hands!"

Aqua Sniper roared and slashed Bell Hell De Gaul, making it disappear. Afterwards, Aqua Sniper flashed himself back and disappeared as well.

"Aqua Surfer, break another shield!" Edo said and Aqua Surfer surfed towards Kokujo and broke one his shields with a surfboard.

The shield shards hit the ground that powerfully that it made the snow around Kokujo fly in the air and then fall on the long haired boy. Subaru and Tsugumi were shocked like hell. Subaru wanted to help Kokujo and run to the boy, but the snow rain was so powerful that he couldn't reach him. When the snow stopped falling they all saw that Kokujo was now looking like a snowman. Edo found it a bit funny and walked to Kokujo. The brown haired boy took out some coal pieces and a carrot, and with them he made the Kokujo snowman eyes, a mouth and a carrot nose. Subaru and Tsugumi didn't find it funny, for Kokujo might have been killed because of the snow.

Suddenly, something incredible happened. A little earthquake shaked them a bit and then the snowman disappeared and an angry Kokujo with really cold pale skin appeared in the snowman's place. Subaru and Tsugumi sighed relieved as Kokujo stared towards Edo with a menacing sight. Edo still found the whole situation funny and said:

"Continue mister snowy, or did the courage from your pants get too freezed?"

"Tsh, your pathetic jokes won't stop me from winning! I'm gonna make your defeat worse than even hell!" Kokujo said and smiled at his Maxval, Electro-Fuuma which was still in the battle zone, and afterwards started his turn. "I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!"

"W-what?" Edo asked as all the cards from his hand flew in the air and Kokujo saw them.

"Jenny's effect lets Kokujo look in Edo's hand and discard a card from it!" Subaru said smiling.

"WHAT?" Edo yelled.

The cards from Edo's hand were Aqua Sniper, Cutie Heart, Crystal Lancer and Crystal Zweilancer. Since Edo had four shields and no other liquid people besides Sniper, Aqua Sniper was the only useful card for him. Kokujo obviously chose to discard Edo's Aqua Sniper and Edo yelled and got angry because his favorite card was discarded.

"And that's not all! I also summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade!" Kokujo said grinning. "Gal Volf's effect will let me choose a race and look in your hand. If I find a card with the chosen race, I'll discard it and you'll also lose a shield."

Edo showed the cards from his hand once again and this time he discarded Crystal Zweilancer and lost a shield which was Spiral Gate. The brown haired boy sweated because Kokujo was starting to win. As he drew his next card, his hopes rose once again.

"I cast Streaming Shaper and reveal the next 4 cards from my deck!" Edo said and revealed Aqua Strummer, Transmogrify, Bubble Lamp and Cyber Brain. "Hehe, all cards will go to my hand, and now I summon Aqua Strummer and arrange the cards from my deck the way I need. Afterwards I summon Bubble Lamp and draw a card because another Bubble Lamp is in my graveyard. Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"Heh, shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit to destroy Aqua Strummer! And now my turn, I summon Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper!" Kokujo said and Bell Hell De Gaul reappeared behind him roaring. "And now Gal Volf, destroy Aqua Surfer!"

Kokujo then grinned and Edo sweated for he knew that he was in danger. Subaru made a few steps closer to the duel and said what was going on.

"Whenever one of Edo's creatures gets destroyed, Bell Hell De Gaul's effect will shuffle Kokujo's deck. Then Kokujo will reveal the next card from his deck and if it's a non-evolution Demon Command, he'll summon it for no cost."

Edo was sweating hard as Kokujo shuffled his deck. The sweat was cold because of the winter air, and it chilled his neck and spine. As Kokujo finished shuffling and put his deck on the dueling table, the tension was rising in the air. The game's fate was depending on the card which Kokujo revealed. And in a few seconds the long haired boy took the first card from his deck up and showed it to everyone. To Edo's bad luck it was Orgaiza, Dark Demon of the Evil Fortress, which was a non-evolution Demon Command.

"Heh, I summon Orgaiza, Dark Demon of the Evil Fortress!" Kokujo said grinning. "Orgaiza's effect will destroy Bubble Lamp! And now, Jenny, break his shield!"

Edo made the shield shards unite fast into a card and he took it in his hand. He got releived because it was a shield trigger and he showed the card saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Cutie Heart and send Orgaiza back to your hand! And now my turn, I summon Aqua Guard and evolve him into Crystal Lancer! Ike Cutie Heart, break his final shield! That's it, the power of water shall triumph over you, Kokujo!"

"Heh, think again you fool! The power of water shall triumph over YOU!"

"W-what?" Edo asked sweating.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Crystal Lancer back to his hand!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Edo yelled with tears falling from his eyes. "Impossible, my own civilization had let me down!"

"Heh, and now it's my turn!" Kokjo said and showed the next card he was going to use. "I evolve Gal Volf into Ballom, Master of Death!"

Then a giant bird winged goat demon with blue skin and bone armor appeared behind Kokujo and roared. Ballom spread its feathers in the air and stared at Edo, which was trembling because of both fear and cold. Kokujo made a loud evil laugh and yelled:

"AHAHAHAHA! BALLOM, DESTROY ALL NON-DARKNESS CREATURES!"

Ballom fired a laser and destroyed Edo's Cuty Heart and Kokujo's Aqua Surfer. Subaru and Tsugumi cheered Kokujo because he was as powerful as ninety years ago. He didn't change at all. Kokujo was more than energetic and happy because he had an exciting duel and his opponent was a great challenge.

"Ballom, Master of Death, break his final shields!"

Ballom roared once again and fired a giant ball made of darkness which destroyed Edo's last two shields. To the brown haired boy's shock, the cards he got weren't shield triggers. It was over, Kokujo won the duel. Edo then looked scared towards Kokujo, whose eyes were shining red. The boy then yelled harder than ever:

"BELL HELL DE GAUL, FOOTPRINT OF THE REAPER, TODOMEDAAAAA!"

Bell Hell De Gaul gathered all its laser power in its central head, which was a goat head, and fired the laser on Edo. The brown haired boy flew in the air hurt by the attack. But physical pain did not count. In his heart he was suffering more because this was the third defeat in his life. Edo then remembered that Kokujo was a legendary duelist and that he wouldn't be able to defeat him that easy. The brown haired boy landed on the snow. Kokujo stood victorious at his dueling table as Tsugumi cheered him. Subaru would've done the same thing, but he preferred to gather Edo's cards from the boy's dueling table and help him get up. When Edo opened his eyes, he was still in the snow and he saw Subaru in front of him.

"Nice duel, Edo-kun."

"Hehe, thanks."

"Here's your deck." Subaru said and handed Edo a deck of 40 cards. "Now how about I help you get up? Bell Hell De Gaul's blast must've been something painful."

"Not as painful as Rezo's Death Phoenix blast, hehe!" Edo laughed.

Subaru helped Edo get up and the two were now in front of Kokujo. The long haired boy analyzed Edo from head to bottom and then to the brown haired boy's surprise, Kokujo smiled to him.

"Congratulations, I haven't had a duel like that in years. As reward, I'm gonna let you spend the night in my house."

"Wow, thanks, Kokujo!" Edo replied with a surprised voice.

And so it seemed that everything went back to normal. The four laughed because of what happened in the duel and slowly walked back towards Kokujo's house. But before they could enter the safe and warm house, they heard something crash behind them. They turned their heads and to their surprise they found a big metal capsule landed on the snowy ground. Kokujo rushed to it and looked at it better. Edo and Subaru thought it was some kind of UFO from space and Tsugumi told them that they watched too many sci-fi movies. Just then they all heard Kokujo's voice calling them.

"Guys, this capsule must be a cryogenic box! Someone must've put him self or her self into cryogenic sleep and launched it into space, but because of the low fuel it couldn't fly up enough and kept wandering on earth."

"If your crazy theory is true, then let's see who is inside!" Subaru said and walked to Kokujo.

Kokujo pressed a red button and half of the capsule disappeared. He and Subaru guessed that that was the 'door'. Smoke came out of the capsule and the two had to cover their mouths with their hands. After the smoke faded away, they both looked inside the capsule and their eyes grew big.

"IT CAN'T BE!" they both yelled with shocked voices.


	4. Doctor Root

Kokujo and Subaru remained in front of the cryogenic capsule like statues. Edo and Tsugumi were wondering what was going on. They were about to run to the two but then they saw someone getting up from the capsule. That person was very tall and looked strange. It was a man with white hair arranged to look like a three-bladed propeller and which was wearing glasses and white doctor clothes. Edo ran to the two to see what was going on while Tsugumi tried to remember where had she seen that man before. She analyzed his old face and saw that his mouth seemed like a bird beak.

"Hm... I think I remember now. Was his name Doctor Bird Beek? Nah, I think it was Doctor Pigeon, or Doctor Owl, or Doctor Goose, or Doctor Chicken. Or wait, was it something with R? Doctor Rooster? Doctor Rubber Ducky? Hm... and I do think we know him. If only I knew what his name is ..."

Edo went by Kokujo's and Subaru's side. He waved his hand in front of their eyes but the eyes stood paralised staring straight in the strange man's face. The mysterious doctor waved the smoke away with his hand and coughed a bit. Then they could see him better. Without any warning both Kokujo and Subaru yelled like hell:

"DOCTOR ROOT!"

"Aha, I KNEW it was something with R!" Tsugumi added.

The doctor walked to Kokujo and Subaru and looked at them. The two were trembling as if they've seen a ghost. Doctor Root then spoke to them with a funny old man's voice:

"Kokujo, Subaru, is it really you?"

"Y-yes ..." Kokujo answered while Subaru fainted on the snow.

"If you're alive then does it mean that I was in cryogenic sleep only for a year or two? Tell me how old are you." Doctor Root demanded.

"Doctor, even though I look like I have seventeen years ..." Kokujo calmed down and got up while looking straight into Doctor Root's eyes. "I actually am one hundred seven years old."

"WHAT ?" Root yelled. "Did you find some Fountain of Youth? If so, then I wanna try it immediately! It would be great to look like I'd have twenty years again!"

"Actually doctor, it's a long story." Kokujo said sweating. "How about you join us in my house and I explain what's going on?"

"Fine, lets go!"

And so they all entered Kokujo's house where it was nice and warm. Subaru was still fainted so Edo and Tsugumi had to drag him in the house and then put him on the couch . Tsugumi stood on the couch with him to make him wake up while Edo sat at the table with Doctor Root. Kokujo on the other hand was in the kitchen making some food for Root.

"Doctor Root was it, right?" Edo asked.

"Yeah, my name is Doctor Root, well known doctor and mad scientist and also international dueling champion and duelist trainor. Lots of kids became great kaijudo duelists thanks to me!" Root said and pointed his finger up.

"So tell me doc, what's your connection with Kokujo, Subaru and Tsugumi?"

"Oh, I've known Kokujo for a long time. Before he had started his own quest against Zakira there were other five chosen duelists. Those were Shobu Kirifuda, a spiky haired kid, expert in fire cards, Hakuoh, a blonde boy with good manners and a good heart, expert in the light cards, Kokujo, the guy you know, expert in the darkness cards, Boy George, a baby wearing animal pijamas, expert in water cards, Tasogare Mimi, a fine looking girl which knew lots of kung-fu moves and expert in nature cards and particularly shield trigger cards. I was the one which gathered them together and sent them to save the world from a great catastrophe. After they have finished their task and saved the world things have changed alot for them. Shobu began dueling in tournaments and completely forgot about the other four. Boy George was too tired for dueling so he needed a break. Mimi changed from nature to water taking Boy George's role as the water expert. She also was one of Hakuoh's White Soldiers and had a crush for him, but sadly their love could never exist. Hakuoh had first turned power greedy and seeked the Proof of Duelmaster, but Kokujo defeated him. Then he turned back good for a short time, because Zakira made his alter-ego White take over his body. And sadly Hakuoh was gone forever, White remaining as a shadow of the fine boy I once knew. Mimi was heartbroken, but she slowly accepted White and in the end both developed feelings for eachother and had a relationship, something which Mimi had never had with Hakuoh. As for Kokujo, I think that he told you his great adventures, right?"

"Actually doc, I'm new to this group. Kokujo hasn't spoke a thing about his past to me." Edo said sweating.

"Oh okay. Never mind that, if I'd tell you how many adventures and enemies Kokujo had, your brain would explode, hehe!" Root laughed.

Kokujo came to them with a plate of boiled potatoes and roast chicken and a bowl of salad. The long haired boy gave them to Doctor Root along with a fork and knife and then he sat down. While Root was eating Edo talked with Kokujo about his past Kokujo told Edo only the things 'he needed to know' like how he defeated Zakira, professor Machi, the evil Hakuoh, etc. He didn't mention a thing about his defeats or his relationship with Malice, or the fact that he had a team which helped him in the past.

After a few minutes Doctor Root finished his dinner and thanked for it. Kokujo and Edo looked a bit weird at the doctor and Root then asked them:

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well doc, we find it weird that we could've had our three-way conversation while you were eating as well." Edo said.

"And speak with my mouth full? What do you think I am, a cave man?" Root said and sighed. "Kids these days just don't know what good manners are!"

"Actually doc, Subaru knows them better than all of us!" Kokujo replied sweating.

"Anyway, what did you want to chat about, boys?"

"Doctor, we wanted to know why did you put yourself ito cryogenical sleep."

Doctor Root then closed his eyes and took off his glasses. The old man took out a handkerchief and whiped the glasses and afterwards he put them back on his eyes. Root put his hands on the table and started speaking:

"You see boys, I had a special reason for putting myself into cryogenical sleep. The reason is Rezo, the Red Priest!"

"Rezo?" both Kokujo and Edo exclaimed.

"Yeah ..." Root continued. "A few years after Kokujo had defeated Zakira, I heard about the power of the apprentices of the Duel Masters temple. Their powers were big enough to remake the Proof of Duelmaster and I was afraid that some potential evil would try to use them to revreate the Proof. My fears turned out to be true when I went to the Temple!"

While narrating, Doctor Root got a flashback in his mind.

_It was a dark rainy day. Doctor Root rushed to the Temple of Duel Masters by his car. After he parked it regulary in the parking zone, the doctor rushed in a hurry to the Temple. He found the building deserted but he soon heard lots of noises. Those were the sounds of creature roars and shields breaking. Root realized that there were some duels going in. He opened the altar's door and to his shock he saw Rezodueling all the apprentices of the Temple. Most of them had lost all their shields and Rezo had an army of creatures behind him._

"_Hehehehe, you were no big challenges for me!" Rezo said grinning. "Chitta Peloru, todomeda! Cocco Lupia, todomeda! Necrodragon Giland, todomeda! Propeller Mutant, todomeda! Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, todomeda! Totto Pippichi, todomeda! Death Phoenix, Avatar of Doom, todomeda!"_

_Then those creatures fired lasers or bullets or simply hit the apprentices. The men fell on the ground bleeding hard, most of them being already dead. Root ran to one of them which was still alive and talked to him._

"_Hey, are you alright" Root asked._

"_It doesn't matter anymore. Run, whoever you are! This is not a safe place anymore!" said the apprentice while breathing hard._

"_What is going on here? Why is Rezo dueling you guys"_

"_He wants to steal the Temple's power which is locked within us all and when he has it , he'll use it to recreate the Proof of Duelmaster and take over the world ! That's why we decided that if Rezo will defeat us, the last one standing will do the final sacrifice!" _

"_F-final sacrifice? What are you talking about?" Root asked but the apprentice closed his eyes. _

_Doctor Root got up and turned to Rezo to see that there was still one young apprentice about twelve years dueling him. The apprentice had three shields left and Bronze-Arm Tribe, Triple Mouth, Decaying Savage and Drag Innocent, Savage Swordsman in the battle zone while Rezo had all his five shields and Spear Lupia in the battle zone. It was Rezo's turn._

"_I summon Czar Gandhi, Dark Divine Dragon and return Death Phoenix back to my hand from the graveyard." the Red Priest said and took the card while grinning.. "And now I attack Bronze-Arm Tribe with Spear Lupia! Both will die and when Spear Lupia is destroyed I'm allowed to take a dragon from my deck and add it to my hand."_

"_Oh no!" the young apprentice said sweating. _

_Rezo laughed and took his deck into his hand. He searched the cards and then he put his right hand on one of them and selected it from the deck. After he shuffled his deck, he showed the card to the young apprentice saying:_

"_I'll take Ghoul Ginus, the All-Destroying Fear Lord to my hand, hehe. Your turn, kiddo!"_

"_This is your defeat, Rezo! I shall avenge my comrades!" the apprentice said and showed an extremely shining card. "I evolve Triple Mouth into Violence Thunder, Extreme Dragon Wizard!"_

_Then a giant dragon made of black metal with lots of robotic hands appeared behind the young apprentice and gave them all an extremely loud roar. Rezo wasn't afraid at all of the giant creature. The apprentice then put his hand on the card and said smiling:_

"_I attack with Violence Thunder! Now I'll draw 3 cards, you'll discard 3 cards and I'll destroy Czar Gandhi!"_

_The cards which Rezo discarded were Ghoul Ginus, Propeller Mutant and Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike. The only card left in his hand was Death Phoenix, but the creature was pretty useless without any evo bait. And so the young apprentice ordered Violence Thunder to attack._

"_Violence Thunder, triple break his shields!"_

_Rezo took cover as the giant creature fired a lazor towards him breacking three of his five shields into lots of sharp shards. None of the shards harmed him because they just floated in the air after Violence Thunder finished its powerful attack. The Red Priest smiled with his evil smile and the shards slowly united into three blue rectangles. The apprentice sweated because of the tension. He knew that Rezo must've got some cards he needed in those shields. Rezo then made an evil laugh and took the shields in his hand yelling:_

"_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SHIELD TRIGGER ACTIVATE, I CAST NOT ONE, BUT TWO INFERNO SIGNS!"_

"_Oh my ..." the apprentice said worried._

"_I SHALL REVIVE PROPELLER MUTANT AND GHOUL GINUS! When Ghoul Ginus comes to the battle zone, I shall destroy a creature of mine and then Ghoul Ginus will instantly break one of your shields! I destroy Propeller Mutant and you'll discard the last card from your hand! (the apprentice discarded Asura , the Great Anigma , which he could've evolved on Drag Innocent) Heh, and now Ghoul Ginus shall break one of your shields!"_

"_Gah!" the apprentice yelled as another shield of his got broken. "I'm not done yet! Shield trigger, I cast Cyber Brain and draw 3 cards! And now Drag Innocent, Savage Swordsman, break his shield! There, you have one shield left, Rezo. You'll never be able to get your hands on the power of the Duel Masters Temple, I swear it!"_

"_Heh, that's what you think, kid!" Rezo said smiling and took the broken shield in his hand. "My turn, I summon Chitta Peloru and Bloody Squito! You said that I'll never be able to get my hands on the power of this pathetic Temple? Hah, such big words for a silly weak brat like you! Let me show you the contrary!"_

_The young apprentice made a few steps back sweating while staring into Rezo's cold eyes. The Red Priest then showed the last card from his hand which started glowing with a dark red light. Rezo then yelled as hard as he could:_

"_EVOLUTION VORTEX! CHITTA PELORU AND GHOUL GINUS BECOME DEATH PHOENIX, AVATAR OF DOOM!"_

"_I-impossible!" the apprentice exclaimed._

"_BEHOLD THE MIGHT OF MY GREAT DEATH PHOENIX! "_

_A giant phoenix made of dark red fire appeared behind Rezo and roared. The creature was menacing and even a stare of its could kill a small flower . The phoenix had a long dragon head with sharp teeth and its eyes were colder then Rezo's . Death Phoenix stared at the scarred young apprentice as Rezo gave the attacking order ._

"_DEATH PHOENIX, THROW HIS FINAL SHIELDS TO THE GRAVEYARD!"_

_Death Phoenix roared so loud that it made the Temple shake. The giant fire phoenix fired a huge fire ball towards the apprentice destroying his shields in a few seconds. The shields immediately turned into cards which fell into his graveyard. The cards were Terror Pit and Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade . _

_The young apprenice layed his head down ashamed. None of the cards from his hand could've helped him win. It was clear now, Rezo had won the duel! The Red Priest stood victorious at his dueling table, ready to give the final blow. He then spoke with a triumphant voice to the young apprentice:_

"_What are your final words, kid?"_

"_Rezo, these shall not be my final words." the young apprentice said with a manly voice._

"_What?"_

"_I made a promise to my fallen comrades that if I'm the last of them standing against you I shall not have a honorable death. In exchange I'm going to do what any coward would do with these powers and prevent you from doing your evil stuff. If this won't work, then the world is doomed!"_

"_Hah, no matter what you do, while I'm alive the world is already doomed!" Rezo said with a hysteric voice._

"_Rezo... DISAPPEAR FROM THIS TEMPLE! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"_

_The apprentice then used all the energy from his body and created a white and blue aura arround his body. He then floated in the air with his legs crossed and the aura shined even more powerfully. Rezo got shocked of what he saw and decided to finish him off._

"_DIE, UNWORTHY WORM! DEATH PHOENIX, TODOMEDA!"_

_Rezo's Death Phoenix fired a powerful fire ball towards the young apprentice. The kid's aura was more powerful and not only that it rezisted to the fire ball, but it also absorbed it. The aura then went to Rezo and his Death Phoenix and before they realised it they got teleported out of this dimension to a whole new one._

_When Doctor Root opened his eyes he saw all the apprentices dead except for the young one which sent Rezo away. _

"_Doctor Root, we're in a very delicate situation!"_

"_Why so my child? Rezo is gone." _

"_I've sent him in another dimension far away from ours, but even so he's powerful enough to make his way back here. But if my calculations are correct, it may take him about eighty years to return. This is why I need your help. Please put yourself in cryogenical sleep and when Rezo will come once again, I shall try to find you once again and awake you. Your intelligence and experience will be needed in our fight against the Red Priest."_

The flashback ended as Root finished his narrating to Edo and Kokujo. Subaru also woke up but he pretended to still be asleep and Tsugumi kept her mouth shut about it. Both listened to Root's story as well.

"So if what you say is true then you are the one which can help us defeat Rezo, right?" Edo said.

"Yeah, I'll try to become handy if you need me." Root replied smiling.

Suddenly they all heard a strange noise outside. Kokujo, Edo and Root ran to the window. Subaru also woke up from the couch and together with Tsugumi they joined the others. The group saw a strange person outside wearing black robes and a mask which represented the emblem of the darkness civilization. The mask had four black horns, a black half with a white eye and a white half with a black eye. The five got out and ran to the person.

"Who are you?" Kokujo demanded.

"I am one of Lord Rezo's servants and I've come here with a special mission!"

"What special mission soldier?" Subaru asked.

"I was sent here to take doctor Root and bring him to Lord Rezo. He wants to have a little chat with the old doc."

"If you want to take me then you won't get me that easy!" Root said and walked to the masked person. "Let's solve this matter trough a duel!"

"Heh fine, you're going down old man!"

Doctor Root and the masked person took out their decks and two dueling tables appeared. They rose their five shields up and drew their five cards yelling:

"Shields up!"


	5. The duelist behind the mask

The duel between Doctor Root and the masked duelist had begun. Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi and Edo were watching it from the house because inside it was warm and nice while outside it was cold and there was snow almost everywhere. And so the masked duelist summoned his first creature saying:

"I summon Dandy Eggplant and put Necrodragon Guljeneraid to my graveyard."

"Ooo, putting Guljeneraids in your graveyard? So this must mean you have a Zombie Dragon deck, right?" Root asked.

"Heh you'll see soon, old man. Your turn."

"Fine, I summon two Marine Flowers and end."

"I summon Bisecting Skullcedony!" the masked duelist said with an evil voice and Root started sweating.

The card shined with a dark green light. The guys from the house reacted immediately, Tsugumi being the first one to comment:

"Bisecting Skullcedony! It's a slayer and if it's not enough, when it gets destroyed it will go to the masked duelist's mana zone!"

"Root should be careful and not block it." Subaru added.

Kokujo didn't react at all. He just stood there looking careless and watching the duel as if it wasn't something really important. Edo was wondering why would Kokujo be so cold to everyone but by looking at him the boy couldn't guess his true feelings. Back at the duel the good ol'doctor didn't give up yet and of course not in that situation.

"I summon Bat Doctor, Shadow of Undeath!" Doctor Root said smiling. "This doctor's going to give you a vaccine which you'll never forget!"

"Time to send ya back at the lunatic hospital, doc!" the masked duelist replied grinning and showed another shining card. "I cast Vine Charger. The Charger will go to my mana zone and you'll also have to choose a creature of yours and send it to your mana."

"Hm... I'll send a Marine Flower."

"Nice choice doc. Skullcedony break his shield !"

"Block it, Marine Flower!"

"Hehe, both will die and Skullcedony will go to my mana zone instead of graveyard. How do you like that doc? It's my fourth turn and I already have six mana."

"Heh, that's only for amateurs. A real duelist works with strategy, not mana!" Root replied and showed his toungue to him, thing which of course made the masked duelist angry. "Are you done?"

"Not at all, you bird beeked bastard! DANDY EGGPLANT BREAK HIS SHIELD!"

Doctor Root took cover as his shield got broken. The shield shards united fast and turned into a card which Root took in his hand. It was the doctor's turrn. He drew his next card, charged mana and said:

"My turn, I summon Marinomancer! Marinomancer will reveal the next 3 cards from my deck and I'll add the darkness ones to my hand."

The cards were Beautician, Viral Lord of Fear, Terror Pit and Saving Sword – Memory Accela. The first two were darkness cards so Root took them to his hand and the last one was a water card so he put it to the graveyard. Afterwards Doctor Root put his hand on the Bat Doctor card and tapped it saying:

"And now I attack with Bat Doctor, break his shield!"

The masked duelist took cover as his shield got broken and made a deep 'grr'. The shield shards united into a card which the boy took in his hand. Afterwards he drew his next card, charged mana and spoke to Root with a cold voice:

"I summon Triple Mouth, Decaying Savage! Triple Mouse will give me one more mana and you'll discard a card from your hand."

The card which Root discarded was Hydrooze, Mutant Emperor. The doctor was a bit disappointed because he couldn't use it but he had other good cards in his hand as well so he kept being positive. That made the masked duelist angrier and colder.

"I also cast Venom Charger! Venom Charger will turn my Dandy Eggplant into a slayer, so attack Dandy Eggplant and suicide with his Bat Doctor!"

"And now time to get your medicine!" Root replied smiling. "When Bat Doctor is destroyed I'll return a creature from my graveyard to my hand. I'll return Hydrooze and now my turn. I summon Beautician, Viral Lord of Fear and tap two more cards from my mana zone to use his overdrive!"

"W-what?" the masked duelist asked sweating.

"Beautician's overdrive will let me draw a card and discard a card from your hand!" Root continued and drew a card as the masked duelist discarded an Inferno Sign from his graveyard. The masked duelist got even more angry because of that and made a loud grr towards his opponent.

"And now I'll give you a full doze of my special treatment " Root said and showed a glowing card. "I evolve Beautician into Hydrooze, Mutant Emperor! While Hydrooze is in the battlezone all my Cyber Lords can't be blocked! And now take this! Hydrooze and Marinomancer break his shields!"

The creatures broke two of the masked duelist's shields. The duelist made a few steps back to not get hit by the shields and turned his head. Suddenly his sight met Kokujo's, which was looking at the duel from his house. Kokujo was more than surprised. The masked duelist had red eyes, but besides that he had seen that cold sight somewhere else.

"Those eyes ..." he spoke.

"What are you talking about, Kokujo-kun?" Subaru asked.

"...Those red eyes... where have I seen them before?" Kokujo spoke with a misteryous voice which almost made Subaru chill.

The masked duelist stared into Kokujo's red eyes as well. But if Kokujo's sight was a curious and surprised one, the masked duelist's sight was a sight filled with hatred and disgust, especially when he saw Kokujo. The duelist then spoke silently so that no one could hear him:

"Kokujo, you'll soon pay dearly!"

The masked duelist then turned to his opponent. Doctor Root had the smile of a man which had triumphed but the duel was not over. The masked duelist still had two shields left while Root had four. Now it was the masked duelist's turn. When he drew his next card, his eyes widened. This was because it was the first duel in which he had drawn that card and he had never used it before.

"This card ... This is the reason why I came back to life... and why Lord Rezo had given me this deck. I must do my best in order to not disappoint him, and especially not now!" the masked duelist said and charged mana, then looked towards Root with a menacing look.

Suddenly without anyone expecting it the masked duelist burst into laughter. But it wasn't not any kind of laughter it was a hysterical evil laugh which made your spine shiver by just hearing the voice

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Doctor Root, you just don't know who you're messing with! I'm going to teach you a lesson which you'll never forget your whole life!"

Doctor Root sweated again but this time harder and the sweat was falling on his neck as well and it was making him feel cold because of the cold winter air. The masked duelist then showed a darkness card. The card was shining so powerfully that no one could see what he was using.

"My glasses! This light is not good for my glasses!" Doctor Root exclaimed and covered his eyes. "W-what card is that?"

"Your worst nightmare, doc!" the masked duelist replied. "MANA GALAXY VORTEX..."

Inside the house the tension was bigger and bigger. Kokujo tried to remain calm but Subaru and Tsugumi started yelling and shouting. Only Edo didn't know what was going on since he had never seen that card before.

"Oh no! He's using THAT card!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Impossible, I thought that Zakira was the only one who had it! " Subaru added.

"What are you guys talking about?" Edo asked but the two were so worried that they weren't in the mood to give explanations.

Doctor Root also realized what card the masked duelist was using. It was Zakira's final trump card, but how could the masked duelist get his hands on it? Then the idea hit Root like a lightning. "He must be him!" he thought.

"W-wait a minute, are you ... Zakira?" Doctor Root asked.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Zakira?" the masked duelist laughed even harder and then continued his turn. "I SUMMON SUPERNOVA DEATH DRAGERION!"

Then a giant dragon looking creatures with red eyes, long blue wings, short claws and long head appeared behind the maske duelist and roared. Doctor Root stared scared at the magnificent looking creature , while in the castle Subaru and Tsugumi were holding eachother in their arms trembling, Edo was looking at the creature amazed and Kokujo was looking as if a ghost had come back to haunt him.

"H-how did you get your hands on that card?" Doctor Root asked.

"Supernova Death Dragerion was given by Lord Rezo to me. He also created one more copy of the card because he said that two Death Dragerions fit my deck more." the masked duelist said and then he put his hand on the Death Dragerion card. "Meteorburn! I'll send Darkness Southern and Necrodragon Dobolzark which I evolved into Death Dragerion to the graveyard! Now all creatures in the battlezone shall lose 6000 power which means that your creatures will die!"

"Oh no!"

Death Dragerion fired a wave of darkness towards doctor Root and in a few seconds it made his Hydrooze and Marinomancer blow up. Doctor Root stared amazed at his creatures dying and then at Death Dragerion while the masked duelist ordered the creature to attack.

"Death Dragerion, double break his shields!"

Doctor Root took cover as Death Dragerion fired an enormous lazor destroying two of his shields . The doctor was sorrounded by shield shards for a few moments, but then the shards started uniting into cards. The masked duelist made another evil laugh while Death Dragerion stared at all the mortals with a sight of despise.

In the house everyone was trying to support Root but the odds where just against him so they had to be realistic.

"Poor doctor Root, to face the fearsome Death Dragerion." Subaru said.

"I feel sorry for him." Tsugumi added.

"Why do you guys find that thing so fearsome?" Edo asked. "It just makes creatures lose power and some of them die. It makes the masked duelist lose mana and it's just a winy double breaker, I've seen worser creatures!"

"Edo-kun, you haven't seen what we've seen back then." Subaru replied. "That thing had defeated lots of powerful duelists like Xellos, White, Shori Kirifuda, Benny Haha, Mimi Tasogare, The Knight and even Rezo, the Red Priest!"

"Did you just say Benny Haha and Mimi Tasogare?"

"Yeah?"

"They're my idols! Even though they're dead, they were legends, the most powerful water duelists the world has ever seen!" Edo said with manly tears falling from his eyes. "So this is the creature which brought Benny's death , right?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid this is the one ..."

Edo then got out of the house in the cold winter night. The brown haired boy turned his sights to Root and yelled as hard as he could:

"DOCTOR ROOOOOOOT! DEFEAT THAT STUPID DEATH DRAGERION! AVENGE BENNY HAHA AND THE HONOR OF THE WATER CIVILIZATION! YOU KNOW YOU CAN! GO, ROOT! GO, ROOT!"

"Oh thank you so much Edo!" Root replied. "Don't worry, the situation is under control!"

"Yeah, and I'm the tooth fairy..." the masked duelist said sarcastically.

"We'll see about that! I summon another doctor from my team AKA Unryu, Sumo Doctor! I also generate Water Weapon – Shark Bunker and cross it to Unryu. You're soon going to get an awful operation which will make you regret evrey cent spent on it!"

"Tsh, I've had enough of your pathetic wannabe-doctor phrases! Time to finish you off, doctor Root! I summon Unleashed Getchell and now Supernova Death Dragerion BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS!"

Doctor Root took cover as Death Dragerion fired another powerful laser and blew his last shields to kingdom come. The masked duelist laughed harder than ever and then with a superior voice he spoke to his opponent victoriously:

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! SURRENDER DOCTOR ROOT, THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN ESCAPE LORD REZO'S FURY!"

"Heh, time to teach you a lesson, young one!" Root said as one of his shields turned into a shining card. "Here's how grown-ups duel - shield trigger activate, I summon Cutie Heart! Send Unleashed Getchell back to his hand!"

"WHAT?" the masked duelist yelled as a blue cyber virus with yellow eyes and a pink heart inside it appeared and using two water waves sent his creature back to his hand.

"And now my turn, I summon Marine Flower and evolve it into Astral Rush!" Doctor Root said and lots of blue hands made of water from waves appeared behind him. "Astral Rush will let me draw 3 cards and send Death Dragerion back to your hand."

"Impossible!" the masked duelist exclaimed as his Death Dragerion got smashed by those water hands and sent back to his hand.

Inside the house Subaru and Tsugumi were dancing happily because of Root's comeback while Kokujo looked relieved. Seeing Death Dragerion disappear once again was like seeing Zakira die once again in front of him but this time without his contribution.

Outside the house Edo was jumping, cheering and dancing with all his energy for doctor Root which had prooved that all his years of dueling weren't useless.

"YES! DOCTOR ROOT IS ONE HELL OF A WATER DUELIST! I think I've found my new idol!" Edo said with manly tears falling from his eyes.

"Why thank you, I'm honored." Root replied.

"Grr... it's not over yet!" the masked duelist bursted in. "I still have two shields left and if both are shield triggers you're finished Root!"

"Think again boy, I shall prove you that even if your last shields are shield triggers I'll still win!"

"HAH! Impossible! Are you out of your mind Root?"

"Not at all. Now time to put an end to this! Unryu, Sumo Doctor attack, and his effect will let me reveal the next card from my deck!" Root said and revealed the next card which was Ice Lance – Paladin Spear. "Perfect, I generate Ice Lance – Paladin Spear!"

"What the ..." the masked duelist said surprised.

"Unryu, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare, send Cutie Heart to his mana zone!"

"And if that's not all, if I generate a cross gear this turn Unryu will be untapped and be able to attack once more this turn."

"WHAT THE F**K?" the masked duelist yelled.

"Unryu, attack once again!" Root continued and revealed the next card which was Researching Bow – Tri Snake. "Another cross gear, great! I generate Researching Bow – Tri Snake and now Unryu break his final shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Astral Rush!"

Then lots of demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and caught the blue water hands smashing each of them into pieces. The masked duelist sweated and stared at doctor Root's deck thinking:

"If he dosen't get any cross gear this turn, I won. Please, no cross gears, please!"

Doctor Root then slowly revealed the next card from his deck. Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi, Edo and the masked duelist all stared at the card with their hearts about to pump out of their chests. A single card was about to decide the fate of the whole duel. The few seconds have passed hardly for them and they were all having sweat on their bodies. But in just a moment Root showed the card to them and they all got good and bad shocks, depending on the person. The revealed card was... Saving Sword – Mamory Accela which was a cross gear!

"NOOOOOOOO! " the masked duelist yelled.

"YES!" Root shouted. " I generate Saving Sword – Memory Accela and untap Unryu, Sumo Doctor! Time to send you to intensive teraphy for good! Unryu, Sumo Doctor, todomeda!"

The masked duelist got hit by the creature very hard. Root wasn't joking when he mant intensive teraphy. The masked duelist landed on the snow defeated as Edo cheered Root harder than ever and almost made him his own statue. Inside Kokujo's house, Subaru and Tsugumi were about to throw a party to celebrate doctor Root's victory. Kokujo on the other hand wasn't that happy. He wanted to know who was the masked duelist and where had he seen those red eyes before.

The long haired boy got out of the house and walked almost like a ghost in the night towards the masked duelist. Kokujo didn't answer to Edo which asked him what he was doing and he also ignored Root. Now for him the only existing person was the masked duelist. When Kokujo was about to reach him, the masked duelist woke up and slowly got on his feet in front of him. The right half of his mask was destroyed but he was covering his face with his hand. The only details Kokujo could see was that he had red eyes, white skin and dark blue hair.

"Who are you?" Kokujo asked.

"None of your business, you're soon gonna get what you deserve, Kokujo!" the masked duelist said and jumped on a cyber street from the air and ran away.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by that? Wait, come back!" Kokujo yelled but to no use, he was gone.

And so Kokujo along with Root and Edo went back in the house and along with Subaru and Tsugumi threw a party which lasted the whole night. They all knew that the unanswered questions were to be left for the future and that for the moment they should enjoy themselves and relax.

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle, the masked duelist was kneeling in front of the Red Priest with a humiliated expression in his eyes and with darkness covering the half of the mask which was broken so that his face could not be seen.

"Lord Rezo, I've failed you. Please punish me, I will accept anything!"

"Don't worry, there's no need for you to be punished."

"W-what? B-but Lord Rezo, I lost the duel!"

"Yes, but you've made your appearance in front of them and that's what matters at the beginning. By the way, did Kokujo see you closely?"

"Yes, I've met the bastard's sight and he also saw that I have dark blue hair and white skin."

"Hehe, perfect!" Rezo said and stared to the moon. "Everything is going as I planned!"


	6. Mysterious shaman girl, Sora

A new day had begun. The golden sun rays were shining over the silvery white snow from the buildings and the ground. Because it was the future the cities were never asleep or 'dead'. Even though it was 7 AM people and rockets were already rushing through the cyber streets from the air or on the normal streets from the ground.

At Kokujo's house the party lasted till 3 AM when evreyone went to sleep. Obviously there wasn't enough room for them all so Subaru and Tsugumi left with Edo at their home where they had their sleep. And now the sun was entering the kitchen of Subaru's house bringing some light in the dark room.

A tired Subaru in long blue pijamas and with almost closed eyes and messy hair was searching the fridge for some orange juice. He didn't find any, which meant that Tsugumi must've finished it all once again. The boy closed the fridge and found Edo in a white t-shirt and black shorts also with tired eyes standing at the kitchen's door.

"Good morning, Edo-kun. How was your sleep?"

"It was fine I guess… So what'cha doing so early, Subaru?"

"Oh sometimes I sleep till afternoon, sometimes I have insomnias and wake up at 5 AM, hehe. That's just me and my crazy sleep."

"Hehe, I like your sense of humor!"

"Oh it's nothing really." Subaru said with a modest voice. "By the way, is that your pajamas?"

"Yeah, not that much for a guy which ran from home and lives from the money earned in tournaments, right?"

"You sure you didn't steal them from a poor man?" Subaru said sarcastically.

"Hohoho nooo. Seriously, they're mine!" Edo laughed. "When I'll build my harem, no one's gonna care what others are gonna wear! That rhymes by the way."

"Sweet, but what's a harem?"

"A harem is a place where evreyone is happy! That's my dream ever since I was a little kid, to create a harem of dueling where evrey duelist can be happy by dueling, and not duel for money, nor cos someone is forcing him or her."

"Now that's a lovely dream, Edo-kun, really! But sadly, it's pretty much impossible, because you see, this world ain't perfect. Not everyone can be happy, same for every duelist. We all have our dark pasts or stories."

"Still, I have my hopes for building this harem, Subaru. At the Temple I was hoping I could build it based on the friendship of Rad, Sora and the old apprentice, but that dream had disappeared last night. Now I have my other dream to build it here based on my friendship with you, Tsugumi, Kokujo and Doctor Root, and I think that this time the dream may come true."

"Why so, Edo-kun?"

"Because this harem will also be based on your love with Tsugumi! If a harem is based on love as well, then it's much more close to reality than any normal one!" Edo said and put his hand on Subaru's shoulder. "Subaru, will you help me build my harem?"

"Edo-kun..." Subaru said and stared in his eyes while grabbing his hand. "Sure thing! I will try my best to see your dream of building a harem in this world! So ... friends?"

"Friends." Edo replied and they shaked hands. "So what should we do now ?"

"How about we go out and have some fun before my dear Tsugumi finishes her beauty sleep?"

"Okay, then let's..."

Suddenly Edo saw a strange figure through the window. It was the figure of a girl standing on the snowy lawn with the sunrise behind her. The girl had long green hair and was wearing white clothes. Edo looked carefully at her face and saw that she had it painted with purple symbols and she also had green eyes.

"Impossible, it's her!" Edo exclaimed.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Subaru asked.

Edo then rushed out of the house towards the girl. The green haired girl jumped in a tree and then in another having Edo follow her. Subaru took his deck and got out of the house as well and followed them yelling:

"Edo-kun, where are you going? It's under zero degrees and we're in pajamas! Edo-kun! Edo-kuuuuun!"

Edo didn't listen to Subaru's calls. He was trying to catch the girl and have a talk to her.

"If she's who I think she is, this is our lucky day!" Edo thought.

After running for about fifteen minutes, the three had reached a garden from the park of the city. The park was deserted because it was Monday and people was going to work. Subaru fell on a bench trying to relax after all that running while Edo looked arround to find the green haired girl.

"God, why did we run all this way here, Edo-kun?" Subaru asked while taking deep breaths.

"I gotta find this girl! It's important that she joins us!" Edo said while looking up to the trees without seeing anything strange.

Suddenly someone jumped out of the bushes and flew towards them. Before they could have any reaction, the person made Edo trip with its feet and then pushed the falling boy on the bench on Subaru. The thing happened so quickly that Edo didn't even see the one which did it. Subaru on the other hand was feeling squashed as if Edo was a tone heavy.

"E-Edo-kun, could you please be kind and get off me?" Subaru said with a low voice.

"I could if I wouldn't feel so dizzy." Edo replied with the same kind of voice.

" ou've remained the same weak loser I've known, Edo Kanda." they heard a girly voice.

Subaru and Edo looked up and saw the green haired girl dressed in white clothes. She was giving them a cold stare of despise. Edo's eyes then shined with happiness as the boy almost yelled to her:

"Sora, it's really you!"

"S-Sora? Is she one of the chosen duelists?" Subaru asked.

"Yes, I'm the nature chosen duelist. And somehow, this weakling, Edo Kanda, is the chosen water duelist. Chosen duelist my ass!"

"I don't think you should be that tough with him, miss. Edo-kun is a wonderful person in my opinion."

"Yeah right, he was just weakening us all, that's why we lost to the Red Priest!"

"And by mocking him and insulting him do you think that you would've won?" Subaru said frustrated.

"H-how do you know that?" Sora asked and then she remembered that Subaru was one of the three old persons which got young again last night. "Don't tell me, you're the darkness chosen duelist, right?"

"Subaru Hanzou at your disposition, miss." Subaru said and got Edo off him. "Excuse me for being in my pajamas in front of you, miss, but I was in a rush."

Subaru then bowed politely in front of Sora. That thing made the girl blush and even laugh. She found it funny that a man was for the first time in her life acting politely to her. Sora then stopped letting herself taken over by her emotions and spoke to Subaru:

"So Subaru, you're the chosen darkness duelist. How about you prove to me that you're better then Edo by dueling me?"

"W-what? That won't prove that I'm better than him! It will only prove that I'm better than you, but not than Edo because we two have never dueled." Subaru said and showed his glowing deck.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sora said bored and showed her glowing deck.

"SHIELDS UP!" both yelled.

And so the duel between Subaru and Sora began. They both raised their shields and drew 5 cards in their hands. Edo was standing on a bench relaxing himself and wondering of how stupid the situation looked. A boy in long pajamas dueling a crazy shaman girl with purple paint on her face, all this happening in a winter's morning with the temperature under zero degrees. Just how idiotic can the situation be? On the other hand, he was also wearing pajamas and they were shorter than Subaru's, but he didn't think at that. He was too concentrated on watching the duel.

"Heh, I'm gonna start rushy as always." Subaru said smiling. "I summon Marrow Ooze, the Twister!"

"Then I summon Dreaming Moonkife and put Natural Snare in my mana zone!" Sora said and placed the nature spell card on her mana zone.

"O, increasing mana, aren't we? Lets see how darkness rush works against nature mana growing. I summon Propeller Mutant and then attack with Marrow Ooze, break her shield!"

A mud like living dead creature with a long mouth instead of a left hand crawled to the girl's shields and smashed one of them. Afterwards the creature got destroyed as its effect said. Sora took the card to her hand and started her turn.

"I generate Weaponized Sound – Jamming Beat! And now Dreaming Moonkife break his shield!"

"This is just too easy, I summon Horrid Worm!" Subaru said and a giant worm crawled behind him. "And now Propeller Mutant break her shield!"

A purple plane with hands and head flew towards Sora and shot one of her shields breacking it into pieces. The pieces turned fast into a card which started shining meaning it was a shield trigger.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Dimension Gate! Dimension Gate will let me search my deck and take a creature from it to my hand." Sora said smiling. "I shall take Deathblade Beetle to my hand. And now my turn, I summon Deathblade Beetle!"

A giant gray insect with red eyes and long clutchers on its mouth appeared behind Sora and roared. The girl then spoke to Subaru with a superior voice:

"Behold the power of the nature civlization! Deathblade Beetle is a double breaker and gets 4000 more power when it attacks. This creature is better than all your rushy darkness creatures. Your defeat is approaching, Subaru!"

"Don't be too sure of that, Sora! You don't know what surprises my deck has for you!"

"Heh, dark surprises always excite me, Subaru."

"Oh, now here's one interesting girl!"

"Like you wouldn't be interesting ..."

"Will you please get over these pathetic discussions and continue the duel?" Edo said bored. "Seriously, its so cold here!"

"Tsh, Dreaming Moon Knife, suicide with Propeller Mutant!" Sora said and then discarded a card due to Propeller Mutant's effect. "Now all you've got is that pathetic Horrid Worm while I have a magnificent double breaker by my side."

"Lets see if my Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void is more magnificent than your bug." Subaru replied smiling. "Vile Mulder is a 7000 powered double breaker and he's also a Demon Command. And after summoning Vile Mulder I attack with Horrid Worm. When Horrid Worm attacks you'll discard a card from your hand, and now Horrid Worm break her shield, ike!"

The giant worm fired its brain towards Sora breaking another shield. The girl thought that it was weird for such a nice and well mannered boy like Subaru to have such disgusting slimy creatures. Sora gave up her thought because she got a shield trigger in her shields. She wanted to show Subaru that nature creatures are much more clean than those filthy darkness creatures and much more powerful, and now she had the occasion.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare! Send Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void to your mana zone!"

"What the…" Subaru said shocked.

"And now my turn, I cast another Natural Snare to send Horrid Worm to the mana zone as well. Fear the power of nature, Subaru! Deathblade Beetle, double break his shields, make mommy proud!"

The giant insect roared and slashed two of Subaru's shields. The boy took cover to not get hurt by the insect and waited for the shield shards to regenerate into cards.

"Oh no, Subaru is in danger! He lost all his creatures and has two shields left while Sora has that Deathblade Beetle by her side. This is bad, very bad!" Edo exclaimed from the bench.

Subaru then took the cards to his hand and smiled with an evil smile. Sora was surprised of seeing Subaru looking self confident once again and prepared herself for the worse.

"Let me show you one of my favorite cards, miss." Subaru said and showed a glowing card from his hand. "Meet Deathliger, Lion of Chaos!"

A giant liger demon made of bones appeared behind Subaru and roared so hard that it made some trees from the park fall. Sora was amazed by the great power which Subaru's creature had . His Deathliger seemed like it could crush her Deathblade Beetle anytime.

"Amazing! This creature is purely amazing!" Sora said while having her mouth open wide. "But still, that thing won't help you win that easy! It's over, Subaru - I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and evolve it into Barkwhip, the Smasher! Ike, Deathblade Beetle, break his final shields!"

The giant insect roared and slashed Subaru's last shields into big shards which hit the boy. Edo got that worried that he started sweating with waterfalls and his cheeks got redder than tomatoes.

"Oh no, Subaru's gonna lose to Sora!"

"Say your prayers, black haired one!" Sora said smiling. "Barkwhip, the Smasher todome..."

Suddenly Subaru's sight made the girl freeze. The boy smiled to her with the expression of a guy which was about to make a comeback. Sora just couldn't give the order yet for she saw that his shields were turning into cards. Both cards stood in the air and shined powerfully as Subaru spoke to Sora.

"Shield triggers, I summon Locomotiver and cast Terror Pit! Terror Pit will destroy Barkwhip, the Smasher!"

"Oh no ..." Sora said shocked as lots of demonic hands grabbed her creature and smashed it. "Like it matters, I still have two shields and my Deatblade Beetle. If I get any shield triggers you're doomed."

"Hehehe, I loved this duel. You were a really good challenge Sora, but it's over!" Subaru said and his hand glowed with a purple light.

"Huh?"

Sora started sweating as Subaru took one of the cards from his hand and showed it to Sora making a cool move with his right arm. As they saw the card, Sora got scared while Edo's eyes shined with stars in their eyes and the boy cheered Subaru.

"WOO HOOO, WAY TO GO SUBY! YOU'RE THE MAN!"

"Thank you, Edo. And now I summon Gajirabute, Vile Centurion!" Subaru said and a blew demon with angel wings and lightning sword appeared behind him and roared. "When Gajirabute comes into the battlezone I'll send one of your shields to the graveyard!"

Sora took a deep breath and stared at Gajirabute which struck one of her shields with his lightning sword. The shield shards united into a card which fell on the dueling table in her graveyard. The card was Mana Nexus, a shield trigger which could've made her put Natural Snare from her mana zone to her shields. But since shield triggers to go the graveyard she couldn't use Mana Nexus.

"Locomotiver, break her final shield!" Subaru ordered and a red locomotive went through the final shield of Sora's breacking it into many pieces.

Sora took the last card to her hand hoping for a shield trigger but her hopes were in vain. She didn't get any shield trigger so she had lost. The girl stared scared at Subaru's giant lion demon made of bones which was looking at her with its cold blue eyes. The creature was waiting for Subaru's order to eat her and get a good feast.

"Deathliger, Lion of Chaos, todomeda!" Subaru ordered. "And don't be too cruel with the girl."

This surprised Sora, for she wasn't expecting mercy from him, and if she was in Subaru's situation she wouldn't have had any mercy. Deathliger jumped in the air, aimed its paws for Sora and in a few seconds hit her with them. The girl flew in the air and landed all hurt on Edo which was standing on the bench.

"I didn't knew you were that heavy, Sora!" Edo said while trying to get the girl off him

"Oh please shut up!" the girl replied and gave him an angry stare.

Subaru packed his cards and then Sora's and afterwards he gave Sora's deck to her. After all that happened, the three were up on their feet and were laughing as if nothing had happened. Subaru and Edo were feeling a bit embarrased because they were both in pijamas in front of a girl outside in the middle of a winter morning.

"So Sora, why did you come here? Weren't you on Rad's side?"

"Oh, I still think you're a big loser, Edo, but I don't agree with his idea of us being separated just because of that. After a night of meditation I decided that the right thing to do is to come and join you and the other chosen duelists."

"That's great! Now we have only one chosen duelist left to find. The fire one, I think that Rad was his name, right?"

"Yes Subaru, his name is Rad, but watch out, he's as stubborn as a bull!" Edo said sweating. "We'll hardly convince him to accept our offer!"

Sora wasn't bothering herself with these problems right now. The girl was looking at the two boys analyzing them. She found both cute, admiring their hairs, both long to their necks, their teenage faces, their brown eyes and even found it lovely that they were in pajamas. Suddenly without any warning Sora spoke to them with lust in her voice:

"Subaru, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, her name is Tsugumi, she's the blonde girl which is the light chosen duelist."

"Screw that! I think that you can dump her!"

"W-what? Don't tell me you that want to be my girlfriend!" Subaru said sweating.

"Hell no! I think it would be lovely if you and Edo would be loving each other!" Sora said and got hearts in her eyes.

"WHAT?" both Subaru and Edo yelled.

"In case you didn't know, I'm a die hard yaoi fan. I just love to see boy couples, they're so gorgeous!"

"O-okay, we have a weird one by our side..." Subaru said sweating. "What should we do now, Edo-kun?"

"What do you mean what? LET'S RUUUUN!"

Both Subaru and Edo ran from the park back to Subaru's house with Sora behind them. Sora was a shaman girl and had had tough body training, so she was faster than them. In a couple of seconds she jumped and landed on the two.

Subaru and Edo rolled on the snow and landed on the ground, one on the other and with their mouths kissing. Sora blushed and got so hot that she melted the snow on which she was standing. Finally her dream of seeing a real gay couple was true. And what a couple! In her eyes Subaru and Edo were now even more beautiful than Adam and Eve. In the next moment Subaru opened his eyes and saw what he was doing. He fast got up from Edo and spitted hard on the ground looking disgusted. Edo also wiped his mouth with his hands as hard as he could to get rid of the awful taste.

"YOU TWO ARE SO CUUUUUUUUUTE!" Sora yelled with a squeaky voice and jumped happily in the air.

"E-Edo-kun, I can't breathe!" Subaru said while spitting. "How are we gonna survive with this girl on our side?"

"Why do you ask me? I'm still wondering why the hell did I join her and Rad." Edo replied and kept wiping his mouth.

Then for a short moment all three remained silent. Subaru and Edo stared at Sora's lusty eyes and drooling mouth. Afterwards the two looked in eachothers eyes and without any warning the two shouted out loud:

"WHY US?"


	7. A free day

A few days have passed after Sora had joined the group. The green haired girl had befriended Tsugumi and the two girls had a lot of fun in their own way. Sora also tried her best to pair Subaru up with Edo but the two were avoiding her like a virus. Kokujo and Doctor Root on the other hand weren't wasting their time with silly things. Doctor Root was using all his science to find what Rezo was up to while Kokujo was searching the town for Rad and occasionally dueling some bullies. But since none of these activities were helping them advance in their duty, Root had decided that this day was a free day where evreyone could relax and do what they want. The reaction at this news was...

"WOO HOOO! THANKS SO MUCH, DOC!" Edo yelled and jumped, looking happy. "I'm so gonna make that statue for you one day!"

"Free day? YAHOOO, I CAN DO ALL MY GIRLY STUFF WITHOUT BEING BOTHERED BY WORK!" Tsugumi yelled and jumped as well.

"Free day? This means that I'll have more time to make Edo and Subaru love each other!" Sora spoke to herself with her eyes shining of evilness.

"Gee, thanks for the free day doc!" Subaru said and then pulled Edo with him in a corner. "Hurry, let's find some place where we could have fun before Sora comes and tries to make us kiss again!"

"Or worse." Edo replied sweating. "Hurry, let's go!"

The two left immediately without even saying good bye. Sora saw that and got a bit angry but decided to let that matter for later. And so the girls left to the nearest hair dresser which was a few buildings up in the air. They had to pay a flying platform to take them to that building, and even though they didn't like it both paid 50 cents and left.

As the girls flew away, Subaru and Edo got out from a bush and stretched their hands.

"Now that they're gone we can REALLY relax." Edo said.

"So what should we do in this free day?" Subaru asked. "Go to a bar?"

"Nah, too boring ... I have an idea!"

Back at Kokujo's house, doctor Root was getting his new robots ready to help him find Rezo. Kokujo also had his deck ready to kick some ass. Before the two could leave the house, Edo and Subaru bumped in and almost fell on the two.

"What are you idiots doing here? Wasn't this your free day?" Kokujo asked with a cold voice.

"I thought that maybe in this free day we could relax in the house, just the two of us?" Edo said sweating.

"And why don't you relax in Subaru's house? Why did you pick mine?" Kokujo continued with the same cold voice.

"He has inspected all the corners from my house. He wants something new, that's why he chose your house, Kokujo-kun." Subaru said.

"Tsh fine, you can stay. Let's go, doctor."

And so Kokujo and doctor Root left Edo and Subaru all alone at Ko's home. The two boys stood on the floor staring at the door and doing nothing for a few seconds until they had realized that it wasn't a dream. They were actually alone at Kokujo's house. They were more than excited and didn't know what to do first.

"How about we watch TV?" Subaru suggested.

"Yay! I'll get the popcorn!" Edo said with an energical voice.

The brown haired boy ran to the kitchen and in a few seconds the corn was already popping in the machine. Edo didn't know if butter, salt or cheese would be better so he threw all three of them in the machine along with the corn which was popping.

"This will be one hell of a pop corn." Edo said and rubbed his hands. "Edo Kanda, you've done it again!"

After fifteen minutes of search full of anger and vein pops Subaru finally managed to find the remote control. It was under Kokujo's sofa which was full of spider webs and dust.

"Okay, this is not my day ..." Subaru said sweat while trying to get his hands under the couch. "OW ! IT BIT ME!"

Subaru then took his hand out and saw that he had it stuck in a rat trap. The boy sweated and took his hand out of the trap while saying:

"Kokujo-kun just loves to let useless stuff under the couch. At least he could've been nice and leave some cheese in this trap."

Subaru put his hand again under the couch and after a few seconds of search he got it hurt again. The boy yelled even harder than before and saw that he had touched an electrocuting trap for insects.

"Me and my retarded luck!" Subaru cried.

Back at Edo, the boy was searching for something to read while the pop corn was being made. He had found some newspapers on the table, but sadly almost nothing was interesting for him. They were all political newspapers which Ko had received from politicians so that they could get his vote. Kokujo took the newspapers because they had free cakes as well. The only thing which was interesting for Edo from these newspapers were the porn stars from page 5. Those girls were pretty hot, he thought. But he couldn't enjoy the newespapers pretty long because the pop corn had been too much in the machine and blew up before he even knew it

In the living room, Subaru had heard the explosion but he was still searching for the remote control and couldn't rush to see what was going on. Smoke was coming out of the kitchen but there was no fire. Suddenly Edo came to the living room with his clothes and face full of ash and holding a pot filled with popcorn which had melted cheese, butter and salt on it.

"Haha, I've done it again!" Edo laughed. "Hey Subaru, want some pop corn? Subaru? Where did you go?"

Suddenly Subaru poped out of Kokujo's couch making a hole in it. The boy was covered with dust and spider webs and he had the remote control in his hands.

"At last, I, Subaru Hanzou, got the remote control! Hahaaaaaa!" Subaru laughed.

"Sweet! Want some popcorn?" Edo said and sat on the couch.

"Yes, but Edo-kun, watch out for the ..."

Before Subaru could finish his warning, Edo fell in the hole of the couch and landed with his butt on spiky strings. The boy then got tears in his eyes and spoke to Subaru with a crying voice:

"Why didn't you warn me earlier?"

"I tried ..."

"Get me outta here!" Edo yelled.

"Hold on!" Subaru replied and grabbed the boy's hands. "At three you try your best to jump. Come on: one, two, three!"

Subaru then pulled Edo with all his power while the brown haired boy made one of the most poweful jumps he had ever had. In a few seconds Edo got out of the couch but their power was too big so Subaru fell with his back on Kokujo's favorite table crashing it and Edo flew and smashed Kokujo's favorite paiting with his head.

"Wow, we're underestimating our own powers." Edo said.

"Superman would be jealous." Subaru added.

The two boys laughed and after they got up and wiped the dust off their faces they took some normal chairs and sat on them. Edo put the bowl filled with popcorn between the two while Subaru took out the remote control and pressed the ON button. When the TV turned on the two saw a blue lighted stage, a crowd of people in the darkness and they heard a baby like song:

_Wrinkled shrunken baby heads  
Poisoned spiders in the bed  
Bath tub smelly clumpy red  
Mommy kiss goodnight the dead  
Stab my little doll with pins  
Make me suffer for your sins  
Once again we shall begin_

_The scarctic circle GATHERING ! _

Then they heared noises which sounded like a bomb countdown and they were becoming faster and faster. Then they heard a monstrous voice saying:

"Four ... three ... two ..."

"Wow, looks like someone's gonna put up a show!" Edo said smiling.

"Just wait and see." Subaru replied.

"...one ... IGNITION!"

Then the lights started flashing and flashing while the drums and guitars played loud riffs. Then some fireworks went off and a minotaur-looking creature holding a bass guitar and a mummy looking creature holding a lead guitar appeared on the stage playing their instruments. There was also a set of drums behind the bassist on which an alien looking creature was drumming while behind the lead guitarist there were some sets of keyboards with a corpse bride looking creature playing them.

"It's them! I can't believe it, after all these years, it's them!" Subaru said excited.

"Huh? But who are these monsters?" Edo asked.

"MUNCHEEEEEEEN!" they heared a yell from the TV.

"Hell yeah, it's actually him!" Subaru yelled as a fifth monster holding a microphone came on the stage. "It's Mr Lordi!"

"Mr Lordi? That's the monster looking guy with black cape and bat wings?"

"Yes, Edo-kun, they're the well known heavy metal monster band Lordi. They won the eurovision a hundred years ago and became super stars all over the world. And you know what's the best part?"

"What is it Subaru?"

"They are real monsters! I've had the honor to meet them! And they were a really good help for me and Kokujo-kun on our quest against Zakira."

"I see ... so far they have a really good show! It's really interesting!" Edo said while staring at Mr Lordi which was doing the metal salute while having his hand flowing in the air.

"THEY'RE RISING AT MIDNIGHT, THEY REEK OFF THE GRAVE, THEY'LL PAY BACK BETRAYAL WITH RAAAAAAAGE!"

Mr. Lordi then clapped his hands and started singing the chorus along with the two guitarists and the keyboardist. Also pyrotechnics were firing up to give more energy to the show.

"GIRLS GO CHOPPING FOR REVEEEEEEEEEEEENGE! RETRIBUDION NIGHT BRING THE AXE DOWN! GIRLS GO CHOPPING FOR REVEEEEEEEEEEENGE! BLOOD WILL FLOW ON SIGHT DROWNING OUR TOWN!"

The two guitarists played their riffs once again while Mr Lordi was making the crowd go whild as he usually does.

"COME ON MUNCHEN! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!"

Subaru had happy tears in his eyes because he hadn't seen Lordi live for ninety years ! Just listening to the songs from the MP3 wasn't enough , he wanted to see the five monsters perform the songs live , and now it was the moment he had been waiting for all this time .

Edo on the other hand was amazed by everything which Lordi meant. The monster costumes, the pyrotechnics, the show they were pulling out, the energetic and always catchy songs and even the objects which Mr Lordi was bringing for the songs. Now he had an axe for the song Girls Go Chopping.

"So waddaya think of them Edo-kun?" Subaru asked.

"These Lordi guys ..." Edo said and a shadow covered his eyes . "... are the most f*cking rocking band I've heared in my entire life! It's so cool! I mean… the suits, the songs, they're too good, I think better than KISS!"

"Wow, I didn't knew you liked KISS, Edo-kun!"

"Why of course ... but please Subaru, tell me more about these Lordi!"

Meanwhile at the hairdresser Tsugumi was sitting with her long blonde hair in a bowl full of water waiting for the hair dresser to come while Sora was having her nails cut by herself. For a few minutes they stood silent but then Sora broke the silence because she was really interested in finding out if Subaru did have a relationship with Tsugumi or not.

"So Tsugumi-chan, it seems that we're the only girls in the group." Sora said.

"Yeah, seems so ..." Tsugumi replied while relaxing her head.

"So tell me - is it true that Subaru is your boyfriend?"

"Well yeah, we've known each other for quite a long time …" Tsugumi replied blushing. "We've been through so many that I think we could easily be called Romeo and Juliet."

"Oh but I'm afraid that I cannot let this happen!"

"W-what? Don't tell me that you plan on stealing my dear Subaru, Sora!"

"Oh not at all, Tsugumi-chan. I think that he would fit more in a gay relationship with Edo." Sora said and got hearts in her eyes.

"W-what?" Tsugumi yelled and got her head up with her hair wetting Sora's nails.

"H-hey, my nails! Be careful, Tsugumi-chan! And besides, what's wrong in having Subaru and Edo love each other? They're both really cute boys and I think that together they'd be a perfect couple."

Tsugumi then got her head all red with fury and she got up on her feet and walked to the green haired girl. She gave Sora a menacing look and then she caught the girl by her shirt and lifted her up.

"W-what's your problem, Tsugumi-chan?" Sora asked sweating.

"Subaru is MY boyfriend! If you think that I'm gonna let you change his sexuality and couple him with his friend Edo, you must be crazy!"

"B-but what's wrong in a gay relationship? Shouldn't there be freedom for them as well? For how long will we continue with this discrimination?"

"Shut up Sora! I'm not opposing against gay relationships, I'm opposing coupling Subaru with his friend!"

"B-but Tsugumi-chan, I couldn't find any other cute boy which could fit him and ..."

"DON'T YOU GET IT SORA? I DON'T WANT SUBARU TO LOVE ANY OTHER MAN! I WANT HIM TO LOVE ME AND ONLY ME!"

"Oh I didn't knew you were a man, Tsugumi-chan ..." Sora said and widened her eyes.

"God, you're so stupid ..." the blonde girl said sweating and let Sora fall from the air.

Back at Kokujo's house the Lordi concert was finishing. They were playing the last song Hard Rock Hallelujah which had made even Subaru and Edo headbang and sing.

"Hey Subaru ..."

"Yes Edo-kun?"

"You sure that Mr Lordi didn't point to us through the TV to us when he said 'The true believers, thou shall be saved'?"

"It would've been great!" Subaru said and turned to the TV. "Now comes the best part."

At the TV they finished the second chorus and it was time to start the guitar riffs. After a one second pause they started the craziness. OX showed his bass to everyone and how he was playing it while Amen jumped on the stage while playing the guitar. Mr Lordi tried to make the crowd more and more excited so he yelled to them with all his powers:

"JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUUUUUUUUUUMP!"

At Kokujo's house Subaru and Edo were jumping so hard that they made Kokujo's vases and mini statues fall on the ground and break into pieces but they didn't care. When Mr . Lordi tells you to jump you just have to jump wildly. And now Mr Lordi yelled again, but this time with a more raspy voice:

" JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! "

If at the concert evreyone would destroy the whole arena at Kokujo's house it was a total disaster. The TV's volume was at maximum, Edo was air guitaring while jumping and Subaru was headbanging while jumping and accidently breaking one or two mirrors. Suddenly the band calmed down with the instruments and Mr Lordi continued to sing:

"Wings on my back, I got horns on my head. My fangs are sharp and my eyes are red. Not quite an angel nor the one that fell. Now choose to join us OR GO STRAIGHT TO HEEEEEEEEEELL!"

The noise was so powerful that it broke all the windows from Kokujo's house. Edo and Subaru didn't even care, they were having the time of their life. And now they were shouting along with the great Mr Lordi:

"HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH! HARD ROCK HALLELUJAAAAAAAH! HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH! HARD ROCK… YEAAAH! ROCK'N'ROLL ANGELS BRING THAN HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH! DEMONS AND ANGELS ALL IN ONE HAVE ARRIVED! ROCK'N'ROLL ANGELS BRING THAN HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH! IN GOD'S CREATION SUPERNATURAL HIGH!"

Pyrotechnics came out once again in front of the five monsters. Also the blue reflectors were moving like crazy all around the stage. And if that wasn't enough, Mr . Lordi had his bat wings pullen out and had fire coming out from his axe microphone. Everything, the song, the atmosphere, was perfect! It was the Lordi dream, a dream which could beat even the american dream. Subaru and Edo felt sad because they weren't right there in the crowd and were watching the concert from TV. But it didn't matter anymore. They were all having a great time even though the song was ending.

"ROCK'N'ROLL ANGELS BRING THAN HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH!" Mr Lordi sang and then turned his sights to the crowd. "MUNCHEN!" then he went back to singing. "ROCK'N'ROLL ANGELS BRING THAN HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH!"

Mr Lordi bowed in front of the crowd which was gathered there as the rest of the band kept playing their instruments. And so with two Hard Rock Hallelujah shouts, the concert ended.

"HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH!" they all shouted . "HARD ROCK HALLELUJAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Kokujo's living room was in a total disaster and Subaru and Edo were both a bit tired, but only a bit, because Lordi had charged their baterries enough for other stuff.

"So what do you think of Lordi, Edo-kun?" Subaru asked.

"I think I've found new idols, but not any kind of idols - music idols!" Edo replied having stars in his eyes.

"Anyway what songs did you like the most?"

"Oh, well let's see: Rock The Hell Outta You was a classic one, Deadache was a really addictive one, Chainsaw Buffet was an amazing masterpiece and The Children Of The Night was a real heart toucher."

"Oh my ... The Children Of The night and Deadache are also my favorites, Edo-kun!" Subaru replied while smiling.

"Fate's hand or what?" Edo laughed.

"Haha yeah. Anyway, what should we do now?"

"How about some duels?" Edo said and showed his glowing deck.

"Bring it on!" Subaru replied and showed his glowing deck.

"Shields up!" both yelled and started duels INSIDE Kokujo's house.

Meanwhile at Kokujo, the long haired boy was walking through the streets of the city defeating bullies and taking they money they stole from the innocent, and obviously he kept the money for himself instead of taking them back to their rightful owners. And so after collecting a good pair of money, Kokujo was heading for the candy shop to buy some sweets. Once the long haired boy was in front of the door, he saw a strange figure coming out of the candy shop.

"Thanks for the chocolate cakes, Joe!" said the figure.

"Anytime, pal." Joe the seller replied.

When Kokujo looked better, he saw that the strange figure was none than the masked duelist, and he had his favorite type of cake. The masked duelist turned his sight and found Kokujo standing in front of him. Both exchanged angry stares and then Kokujo spoke with a cold voice:

"Get outta my way, I wanna go and get some cake from the candy shop!"

"O, cake? Then I'm sorry to tell you Kokujo, but the cakes are gone! This is the last cake from the shop." the masked duelist replied and made an evil laugh.

"Tsh, then let me show you what a real man will do!" Kokujo said and took out his glowing deck. "Masked duelist, I challenge you to a duel! The winner gets the cakes!"

"Heh, it will be a pleasure to bring your head to Lord Rezo, Kokujo!" the masked duelist replied and showed his glowing deck. "Fine, I accept your challenge."

"SHIELDS UP!" both yelled.

And so Kokujo and the masked duelist deployed their shields and the duel started. After lots of turns had passed, Kokujo had Bloody Squito, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil, Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper and Ancient Arhat Bangren in the battle zone and also he had two shields left. The masked duelist on the other hand had Bisecting Skullcedony, Necrodragon Dobolzark and Darkness Southern in the battle zone and also he had all his five shields, none of them getting broken till that moment. It was Kokujo's turn. The long haired boy drew his next card, charged mana and showed the next card he was going to use with an evil smile on his face.

"My turn, I evolve Ancient Arhat Bangren into Death Monarch, Lord of Demons!" Kokujo said grinning and a giant red demon sitting in a pot and with six tentacles appeared behind him and roared.

"I-impossible! Since when do you have Death Monarch in your deck?" the masked duelist asked scared.

"Since the death of a certain person ..." Kokujo replied and stared at the sky with a sad expression on his face.

"Death of a person? Tell me, who is that person?"

"None of your business. And now time to finish you off! Death Monarch suicide with Bisecting Skullcedony! And now that Death Monarch got destroyed ..."

"All your non-evolution Demon Commands from your graveyard will go straight to the battlezone." the masked duelist said shocked.

Kokujo's Death Monarch and the masked duelist's Bisecting Skullcedony destroyed and then the Skullcedony card went to the masked duelist's mana zone and Kokujo revived all the Demon Commands from his graveyard which were Ancient Arhat Bangren, Olzekia, General of Decapitation and Daidalos, General of Fury.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! When Olzekia is summoned I'll destroy two of your creatures and one of mine. I'll destroy your Necrodragon Dobolzark and Darkness Southern and my Bloody Squito. And that's not all. Now that your creatures got destroyed Bell Hell De Gaul will let me shuffle my deck 3 times and reveal 3 cards! If the cards are non-evolution Demon Commands I can summon then for no cost!"

Kokujo shuffled his deck once and revealed the next card which was Bell Hell De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord and summoned it because it was a non-evolution Demon Command. He then shuffled his deck again and revealed Dorballom, Lord of Demons which was an evolution Demon Command so he took it to his hand instead. And now Kokujo shuffled his deck for the third time and then put it on the table. The two were both sweating, for the card which Kokujo revealed might make one of them win. Then Kokujo got the guts he needed and revealed the card which was Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade.

"Perfect! Gal Volf is a non-evolution Demon Command so I can summon him!" Kokujo said grinning.

"Oh crap ..." the masked duelist said sweating.

"I choose the race Zombie Dragon!"

The masked duelist revealed the two cards from his hand and to Kokujo's surprise they were two Supernova Death Dragerions. Since Death Dragerion has the race Zombie Dragon, Kokujo discarded one of them and made the masked duelist lose a shield which was Inferno Sign.

"And now time to attack! Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper, double break his shields!"

The giant bone demons with six heads which had shiny purple eyes roared and fired a powerful lazor towards the masked duelist destroying two of his shields. One of the shields turned fast into a card which shined meaning it was a shield trigger.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare!" said the masked duelist . "Send super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil to your mana zone! Heh, the rest of your creatures can't attack this turn meaning that it's my turn! At last I get to use this creature against you, Kokujo! Mana Galaxy Vortex, I summon Supernova Death Dragerion!"

Then a giant dragon looking creature with a red eyes, long blue wings, short claws and long head appeared behind the maske duelist and roared. Kokujo stared angry at Death Dragerion as if Zakira came back from the dead. The masked duelist made an evil laugh and threw to the graveyard two of the three cards which he evolved into Death Dragerion saying:

"Meteorburn! I'll put Necrodragon Guljeneraid and Heavy, Dragon God into the graveyard. Now all creatures in the battlezone shall lose 6000 power!"

"Grrrr ..." Kokujo murmured angrily.

Death Dragerion fired a powerful laser towards Kokujo destroying his Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper, Ancient Arhat Bangren, Olzekia, General of Decapitation, Bell Hell De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord and Gal Volf, Dark Woflblade. The only creature which he had left was Daidalos, General of Fury.

"Supernova Death Dragerion, break his final shields!" the masked duelist ordered.

Death Dragerion roared and fired another lazor towards Kokujo destroying his final shields. Kokujo took cover as his shields got destroyed and then he took the cards in his hand. The boy smiled and showed a card to the masked duelist saying:

"Thanks. Shield trigger activate, I cast Grudge Gathering! And since I have exactly eight cards in my grave and your Death Dragerion costs eight mana ..."

"Uh oh ..." the masked duelist said sweating.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! GO TO HELL, DEATH DRAGERION! " Kokujo yelled.

The masked duelist's creature blew up and then Kokujo showed the next card he was going to use. It was a card which was glowing with a powerful purple light.

"And now I evolve Daidalos into DORBALLOM, LORD OF DEMONS!"

Daidalos fired three lazors from his mouth and eyes and afterwards his bone body cracked and out of it the Great Lord of all Darkness, Dorballom came out. The demon stared at the puny mortal in front of him AKA the masked duelist and then looked at Kokujo and spoke:

"At last I'm back in this world after so many years!"

"Yeah, it's a real pleasure to see you once again, lord Dorballom." Kokujo said to the demon and then turned to the masked duelist. "When Dorballom comes to the battle zone all non-darkness creatures and mana are destroyed. We have no other creatures to get destroyed and I lose one mana while you lose three. And you also lost three more mana when you summoned Death Dragerion. I think it sucks to have just two mana, espcecially when your opponent has in the battlezone a big ass demon like Dorballom."

"Grrr... you're gonna pay for this, Kokujo!" the masked duelist said with an angry voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Cakes, here I come! DORBALLOM, BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS!" Kokujo yelled and Dorballom fired a powerful laser breaking all of the masked duelist's shields. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Both your Death Dragerions are dead and you have no shields nor blockers to protect yourself! Surrender, masked duelist! Your fate is at my hands!"

"Tsh, just take these stupid cakes and leave me alone!"

The masked duelist packed up his cards fast and disappeared in the dark of the night leaving the chocolate cakes he bought to Kokujo. Kokujo was angry because he didn't finish him off, but remembered that there is always a next time so he took the cakes and headed home.

Meanwhile at Kokujo's house Edo and Subaru were enjoying themselves dueling. They were having a lot of fun that they didn't care if that broken shield shards or creature blasts may destroy something from the house.

"Aqua Hulcus, todomeda!" Edo ordered and a green liquid creature threw a giant wave towards Subaru making him fall on the ground all wet.

"Horrid Worm, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and a big slimy worm fired its brain over Edo pushing him against the wall.

"Aqua Surfer, todomeda!" Edo ordered and a water surfer hit Subaru with its surf board and made the boy land on Kokujo's desk breacking it in two pieces.

"Dorberos, Imprisoning Fiend, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and a three headed dog demon fired lasers from its mouths and made Edo cause a hole in the wall.

"Crystal Paladin, todomeda!" Edo ordered and a crystal blue centaur rushed twoards Subaru and hit the boy with its sword making him land on the ground hurt.

"Trox, General of Destruction, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and a giant demon made of yellow bones slashed Edo with its giant axe and made the boy land on the ground hurt as well.

"Cutie Heart, todomeda!" Edo ordered and a blue cyber virus with a pink heart inside its body flew towards Subaru and attacked him with a water tornado making him land on the ground wet once again.

"Dark Titan Maginn, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and a skeletal bee-like demon fired a laser from its needle on Edo and destroyed Kokujo's sofa and chairs.

"Aqua Sniper, todomeda!" Edo ordered and a giant blue creature made of water attacked Subaru with both its blade hands.

"Deathliger, Lion of Chaos, todomeda!" Subaru ordered a giant lion demon made of bones jumped over Edo and attacked him with its giant paws.

"Crystal Zweilancer, todomeda!" Edo ordered and a giant centaur made of gold attacked Subaru with two golden lances.

"Dorballom, Lord of Demons, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and Dorballom fired an enormous lazor over Edo destroying everything which was in Kokujo's living room.

And so after all those duels Subaru and Edo fell on their knees tired and laughing at how fun it was. They also noticed that Dorballom didn't disappear yet from the house and was laughing with them as well.

"Dorballom, why are you still here?" Subaru asked.

"I wanna have some fun before going back to the creature world. This place is better than Disney Land!"

"So what shall we do now, Edo-kun ?"

"I know exactly what we're gonna do!" Edo said with the face of a guy which had a crazy plan ready to be put in action.

Meanwhile Kokujo had finally arrived at his home. The boy looked at the house which from the outside seemed unscratched and spoke to himself:

"Heh, I wonder what those two are doing ..."

In the next moment the house's walls fell along with the roof and Kokujo stared at the house which got destroyed in front of him. A mountain of white, brown and red food came out of it with Subaru, Edo and Dorballom in it.

"What the hell happened here?" Kokujo asked while staring at them with his eyes almost out of their orbits.

"We wanted to make some ice cream pizza, hehe ..." Edo said sweating.

"The BEST meal I've ever eaten!" Dorballom replied and bit a slice of pizza which was covered with chocolate ice cream.

Suddenly the whole mountain shaked and the three fell and landed on the ruins of the house. Dorballom kept eating the food while Subaru and Edo turned their heads up to find a really angry Kokujo staring at them.

"Hehehe, Kokujo-kun, it's really not what you think." Subaru said sweating.

"Explanation! I demand one!" Kokujo said with a strict voice.

"Uh oh, I think we're in trouble. " Edo said while sweating as well.


	8. Rad, the fire racer

Christmas was about to come in a few days and yet Kokujo, doctor Root and the chosen duelists weren't relax a bit, they were too busy for that. Edo had to do the biggest sacrifice from his entire life: to give all the money he had won in tournaments to Kokujo so that he could pay builders to remake his house. Besides that, Kokujo kept updating his deck and trying to anticipate how Rezo's deck would look like waiting anxious for the moment when they would face each other. Doctor Root kept working on his precious laboratory.

The four chosen duelists had the hardest mission, to search for Rezo and his minions. They had made a secret headquarters in the attic of Subaru's and Tsugumi's house where they brought two computers, lots of radio stations, a table with five chairs and lots of maps of the city. There they spent almost evrey day from early morning until sunset. Tsugumi and Sora had to check the maps of the city and always mark places where strange things happened with an X. Later the girls would check those places while Subaru and Edo were taking their map job and chatting with them on the radio stations. But Subaru's and Edo's real job was to watch what was happening in the city on the computers through cameras installed in different parts of the town.

And so on the day when Kokujo's house was finally rebuilt, we find the four duelists ending their work for that day. They didn't seem to be going anywhere because they didn't find the masked duelist nor Rezo and the group was still uncompleted because of the chosen fire duelist which wasn't even found yet. The girls were preparing to leave the headquarters and spend their evening doing their stuff, but this time something strange happened.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Sora asked.

"Well you see, we guys are more resistent than girls and if we want good progress then we must work more than eight hours per day." Subaru explained.

"Yeah, and also the coolest members of the team must work more!" Edo added.

"Oh I get it, come on Sora, let's let the fancy dudes continue their work." Tsugumi replied and walked away from the attic room with the green haired girl.

"Who knows, they might make love while we're gone." Sora thought.

Subaru stood at the door and watched how the girls climbed down the stairs. As he was 100 % sure that they were gone, he rushed in the attic room and closed it fast. The black haired boy turned to Edo with shiny evil eyes and the brown haired boy responded with the same type of eyes.

"We did it, Edo-kun!"

"At last, we did it, Subaru!"

"WE DID IIIIIIT, HAHAHAAA!" both yelled and danced. "WE'RE GONNA SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER! WE'RE GONNA SLACK ALL NIGHT AND F*CK THE WORK! WE'RE GONNA WATCH ANIME ALL NIGHT! VICTORY FOR MEN!"

Subaru and Edo ran to the boxes from the attic and took out everything from them. There they had magazines, food and cards. First they ate at the table while discussing what random stuff had happened in the world of showbiz and what new dueling strategies they had found. Afterwards they watched some anime on the computer and played games like hell. After all these days of hard work this break was more than deserved for the two.

"And after he took his shirt off, the girl fell on her knees and said: 'Oh, great lord of the sexual harem, please make me your servant!' And he took the girl up, threw off all her clothes leaving her in underwear and opened the gate which led to the great harem of sex: a red room filled with couples which all were happy, there wasn't any man or woman raping or abusing his or her partner! The lord of the harem took the poor girl on his personal bed and there he showed her the beauty of making love, and so they lived happily ever after enjoying sexual days. The end." Edo finished the story.

"Oh my ... these harem stories are unbelivable!" Subaru replied amazed. "I so can't wait to see how your dueling harem will look, Edo-kun. It must be something fantastic!"

"Oh, I can see it now, Subaru." Edo replied and stared into nothingness. "It's a paradise!"

Meanwhile at Kokujo's house, the long haired boy was staring at the window thinking at his stuff while doctor Root was working more on his laboratory.

"So Kokujo, may I ask you, if you don't mind, what's your opinion about this whole thing?" Root asked.

"About what?" Kokujo replied.

The situation, the mission, Rezo and the five chosen duelists."

"Tsh, this situation pretty sucks right now since we still need to find one more chosen duelist. The mission is exciting though, it seems to be a really good challenge. Rezo looks much more tough and challenging than last time, so I look forward to duel with him! As for the chosen duelists... I think that there must be some kind of mistake!"

"W-what do you mean?" Root asked.

"Come on, doctor, just look at them!" Kokujo exclaimed. "Subaru is still not ready to be a real darkness user, Tsugumi is just too girly and dreamy for this tough mission, Sora is just obsessed with yaoi and can't concentrate, and finally Edo... Edo is just too concerned with fun, and he's pulling Subaru down as well. I don't think that they really are the chosen duelists!"

"Don't worry about that, Kokujo. They're just fooling arround, when the time will come they'll show who they really are."

"I guess you're right ..." Kokujo replied and then looked at the window from the next door house's attic where he saw Subaru and Edo making posters with 'Black Metal sucks, hail Jesus Christ!' and so on. "Or maybe you're wrong, doctor ..." Kokujo said while sweating. "I don't think that they'll ever grow up."

Back at Subaru and Edo, the two were again having the fun of their lifetime. Since two alikes were together, both came up with ideas which could easily be accepted by eachother. And so they made some several 'projects' for fun, watched anime like hell and ended up dueling in the attic.

"I summon Aqua Strummer to rearrange the top 5 cards from my deck. Afterwards I summon Bubble Lamp and draw a card and finally I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace a shield with a card from my hand. Your turn, Suby." Edo said.

"Heh, most likely you've got a shield trigger, Edo-kun, but I'll take care of that!" Subaru replied and showed the next card he was going to use. "I cast Slash Charger! With its effect I'll put I'll put Gajirabute, Vile Centurion in the graveyard. Then I summon Propeller Mutant. And now Daidalos, General of Fury, double break his shields!"

Due to Daidalos' effect, Propeller Mutant was destroyed and Edo discarded Aqua Super Emeral. Then the creature broke his two shields.

"Perfect!" Edo said with a self confident smile. "Shield trigger, I cast Transmogrify! I'll destroy Bubble Lamp and replace it with the next card from my deck which is AQUA SNIPER!"

"W-what?" Subaru said shocked as the giant blue creature creature appeared in front of him and roared.

"Snipy, send Daidalos and Gajirabute back to Subaru's hand!" Edo said smiling and Aqua Sniper hit the two giant knights with its blades making them disappear. And now my turn, I evolve Aqua Strummer into CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER!"

The room got filled with water as a giant golden centaur with giant blades appeared and roared. Edo smiled as Subaru made a step back staring scarred at the creature and sweating.

"Crystal Zweilancer, triple break his shields! Aqua Sniper break his shield! Heh, one shield left."

Subaru then stared at Edo with an evil look as the shield shards stopped floating in the air arround him. The boy then got an evil smile as well and the shards slowly united into four cards and out of them two were shining meaning that they were shield triggers.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit to destroy Crystal Zweilancer!" Subaru said smiling as lots of demonic hands grabbed Zweilancer and smashed him into bits. "Also shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Gajirabute, Vile Centurion which will throw your Emeral shield to the graveyard!"

The blue winged demon appeared out of nowhere and flew towards Edo's shields smashing one of them with its lightning saber. Edo got angry and stared at his graveyard where the card which was his shield went. The card was none other than Aqua Surfer, and since he had two other Surfers in his deck and one more in his graveyard, he couldn't use anymore of them.

"And now I summon Deathliger, Lion of Chaos and Marrow Ooze, the Twister!" Subaru continued and the giant lion demon made of bones and with a blue electric mane appeared behind him and roared while Marrow Ooze appeared as a tiny mud creature. "Behold the power of the darkness civlization, Edo-kun! You cannot win! Gajirabute, break his final shield ! "

Edo took cover as Gajirabute slashed his final shield with his sword . Subaru really thought that he would win, but then he noticed Edo's smile through the shield shards . The brown haired boy took the card into his hand and showed it saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Cutie Heart, send Marrow Ooze back to his hand!"

"WHAAAAAAAAT?" Subaru yelled shocked.

"It's all or nothing!" Edo continued. "Cutie Heart, break his final shield!"

Subaru took cover as the blue cyber virus went through his final shield breaking it. He took the card into his hand and to his shock saw that it was Dorballom, Lord of Demons. In this situation Dorby was useless. But it was just a friendly duel, so Subaru didn't mind that he lost. He just closed his eyes and spoke to Edo as if it was something normal:

"You won, Edo-kun, now finish me off."

"What the ..." Edo said and remembered that the kid he killed at the tournament said the same thing to him. "Subaru... I... Whatever, it was just an accident back then, it will never repeat again! Aqua Sniper, todomeda!"

Aqua Sniper roared and slashed Subaru. The boy flew in the air and landed on the floor without any serious injuries. He didn't have any sign of wound or bleeding. Edo sighed and thanked God for not killing the boy as he did back then. The brown haired boy packed up Subaru's deck and went to help the boy get up and hand his deck.

"Need some help?" Edo asked and handed Subaru his hand.

"Yeah, thanks." Subaru replied and got up with the help of Edo.

"Here's your deck. Good duel!"

"Thanks, Edo-kun, the duel was amazing!"

"So, Subaru, what shall we do now?"

Before the boy could answer, they all heard a bump. When they turned their backs, they were shocked to find Tsugumi and Sora. The girls were wearing pajamas and had angry looks on their faces.

"That's what you're working all night, son of a bitch?" Tsugumi said.

"We can't even close an eye due to your dueling and TV watching!" Sora added.

"Hehehe, Sora, Tsugumi, we can explain!" Edo said sweating.

"We can?" Subaru asked.

"Shut up, Subaru. I mean, of course we can!"

But before they could know it, Subaru and Edo got beaten up by the two girls. Subaru was lucky to sneak out of the girl's fury after a few minutes of getting hit. The black haired boy got out of the house as fast as he could and took a few deep breaths.

"God, that was close!" Subaru said and then he heard Edo's screams. "Poor Edo-kun, I think I should go help him ..."

Suddenly a red rocket with flames on it appeared out of nowhere in front of the black haired boy. Subaru stared at the rocket amazed, for he had never seen a racing rocket before and he found it fascinating. The rocket's door opened and out of it a red haired boy wearing red racer clothes appeared. He walked towards Subaru while giving him a cold stare. The black haired boy sweated a bit and made a few steps back thinking that the mighty boy behind him might be a threat.

"Are you the chosen darkness duelist?" the racer asked.

"Y-yes ... and you're a minion of Rezo's, right?" Subaru asked.

"What? Hell no! I'm the chosen fire duelist in case you haven't noticed. Rad's the name." the red haired boy said and handed his hand.

"My name's Subaru, nice to meet you, Rad." Subaru replied and shaked hands with Rad.

"Listen, you up for a little ride "

"In that rocket? Of course, let's go!" Subaru said and ran inside of it.

Rad followed Subaru and the rocket's doors closed. Inside it there were only two sweats and enough room behind them for maximum five persons. Rad sat on the driver's seat and obviously Subaru sat on the other seat. After both had fassened their seat belts, Rad pressed some buttons and the rocket flew off.

The rocket flew with a speed of 220 km/h through the shiny city. At night cities in the future looked even better than Paris in the present. Subaru was amazed of all the colours the buildings had due to the lights and of the spectacular forms, shapes and games created by those lights.

"Wow, it's amazing !" Subaru exclaimed while staring at the city from the window.

"You like it?"

"Like it? I LOVE it, Rad-kun!"

"Glad to hear that. Your first time on a rocket, huh?"

"Yeah, you see, technically I'm one hundred six years old and ..."

"I know, I know, I've been at the Temple that night." Rad replied and then spoke with a serious voice. "I need your help."

"W-what do you mean?" Subaru asked.

Suddenly Rad stopped the rocket. Subaru was a bit shocked and he almost fell from his seat. The black haired boy turned his sight to Rad and saw that his face had a serious expression. The boy was staying to the sky as if a threat was about to come.

"They're here." Rad said.

"What?" Subaru asked sweating.

Suddenly a dark portal opened in front of the rocket. It was the same type of portal which Rezo used to escape back then. Out of it lots of persons wearing black robes came out and jumped on the rocket. Rad got angry because their shoes were runinig the rocket's painting and screamed to them:

"GET OFF MY ROCKET! YOU IDIOTS DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MILIONS I HAD TO PAY FOR THIS BABY!"

"Er, Rad-kun?"

"What is it, Subaru?"

"I don't think that they really care about your rocket ..."

"What do you mean? Everyone loves my rocket!"

Suddenly they heard an evil laugh which made their spines shiver. Its cold sound could easily kill a little insect and bring fear even in the most courageous soldier. Subaru and Rad turned their heads to the portal and saw a mysterious dark figure come out of it. The figure was wearing a black robe and a mask which represented the emblem of the darkness civilization.

"The masked duelist!" Rad exclaimed.

"Huh? How come you know of him, Rad?" Subaru asked.

"That scum is Rezo's right hand and has orders to bring those which aren't in the group yet a.k.a. doctor Root, Sora and me."

"Well doctor Root and Sora are in the group, but you?"

"We'll discuss about that later, Subaru." Rad said and opened the door of the rocket.

Subaru thought that Rad was either going to jump out of the rocket and fall to his death or surrender to the masked duelist and Rezo's minions. The black haired boy tried to stop him but Rad simply ignored him and stared at the masked duelist.

"Are we gonna solve this through a duel?"

"Heh, you're no match for us." the masked duelist replied and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly two dueling tables appeared out of nowhere on two flying platforms. Rad jumped on one as one of the dark robed minions jumped on another. Subaru stood inside the rocket and watched how Rad started his duels. The masked duelist laugh a bit inside his mind thinking that Rad will be easy to defeat.

And so after lots of turns both had no more shields. Rad had no creatures while his opponent had Mudman and Stallob, the Lifequasher in the battle zone. It was Rad's turn. The boy drew his next card and smiled.

"You're finished!"

"W-what?" the minion asked.

"I summon Pyrofighter Magnus!" Rad said and a red reptile with hands and feet wearing a white armor appeared behind him. "Magnus is a speed attacker meaning that he can attack once summoned! Finish him off, Pyrofighter Magnus, todomeda!"

Pyrofighter Magnus ran to Rezo's minion and with a slash of its armors blades killed the clone. Subaru cheered Rad from the rocket while the masked duelist made a 'tsh' and send the next opponent to Rad.

Meanwhile at Subaru's and Tsugumi's house, after hours of beating up Edo, Tsugumi and Sora finally got tired and let the poor boy alone. Edo was lying on the floor with lots of scratches and marks on his body and his uniform filled with small holes. The boy was wondering if he could still feel his body because after all that pain he now felt a little weird, almost like he had been raped several times.

"Girls these days and their hormones ..." Edo spoke with a weakened voice.

"Hey Tsugumi, have you seen Subaru?" Sora asked.

"Nope, he probably escaped while we were beating Edo. Let's go and find him, he also deserves a good ..."

But before Tsugumi could finish her sentence, she heard the doorbell. The girl rushed to the door and was surprised to see Kokujo when opening the door.

"Kokujo! What are you doing at this time of the night?"

"Hurry up, Tsugumi! Subaru had left with a red rocket and is somewhere in the city with the masked duelist!"

"WHAT?" Tsugumi yelled. "Did you hear that, Sora?"

"Red rocket? That must be Rad, he's the fire chosen duelist." the green haired girl replied. "What are we waiting for? These guys need our help!"

"W-what about me?" Edo asked while crawling down the stairs.

Back at Rad's duels, the boy was defeating opponent after opponent with ease, thing which made the masked duelist angry and Subaru happy to the point of tear dropping. The black haired boy was amazed by the fire in Rad's soul and the passion he was putting in his duels. Lots of his creatures were speed attackers and when he was summoning them he seemed as if he was driving his rocket in a race.

"I summon Bolbalzak, Swordflash Dragon!" Rad said and a red dragon wearing a samurai armor and weilding four swords appeared behind him and roared. "Samurai Generation - I'll generate Rumble Blade – Raging Zacks. And now I cross Raging Zacks to Bolbalzak! Also, Totto Pippichi turns all my dragons into speed attackers, so I attack with Bolbalzak, Swordflash Dragon !"

"Uh oh ..." the opponent murmured while sweating.

"Bolbalzak, attack Heavy Metal! My Bolbalzak now has 19000 due to the fact that he's attacking a God, so I'll destroy Heavy Metal!"

"Tsh, I'll send Heavy, Dragon God to the graveyard and keep Metal, Dragon God in the battlezone."

"Heh, like that would make any difference. Raging Zacks untaps Bolbalzak, so he can attack one more time! I now destroy Metal, Dragon God with Bolbalzak! Also, Bolbalzak's effect makes himself untap one more time, so say your prayers!"

"Mommy!" the opponent cried.

"Bolbalzak, Swordflash Dragon, break his final shields! Totto Pippichi, todomeda!"

A fire bird flew towards the clone and burned it to ashes. The masked duelist kept standing back and sending opponents to Rad hoping that he would get tired after all those duels and lose, but the boy's fast deck had another thing to say.

"I summon Bolshack, Yamato Dragon!" Rad said and a red dragon wearing a samurai armor and wielding a long sword in its right hand appeared behind him. "Now I attack with Bolmeteus, Samurai Dragon and sacrifice my final shield. Now that Yamato Dragon is in the battle zone, Bolmeteus, Samurai Dragon's effect will destroy one of your creatures which has power 12000 or less instead of 6000 or less!"

"W-what the?" the opponent said shocked.

"Destroy his Syrius, Firmament Elemental! Bolmeteus, Samurai Dragon, break his final shields! And also, Bolshack, Yamato Dragon is a speed attacker, so adios, muchacho! Bolshack, Yamato Dragon, finish him off, todomeda!"

Bolshack Yamato Dragon roared and flew towards the clone which was trembling awaiting its death. The dragon slashed it in two with its long sword and the body slowly vanished into thin air.

"WOO HOOO! GO, RAD! GO, RAD! YOU'RE THE BEST!" Subaru cheered from the rocket where he was safe and sound.

"Hehe, thanks, Subaru! That's what it takes a REAL man to do! " Rad replied and winked to the boy while his teeth shined.

"We're not done yet! Next opponent!" the masked duelist spoke with an angry voice.

Meanwhile we now go at Rezo's lair, the Red Priest was standing in the throne chamber looking through magic mirrors at what was happening on earth. He was watching Rad's duels and analysing the boy's behavior.

"This Rad kid ... He's a very powerful fire duelist." Rezo spoke and then saw on another mirror the rest of the group approaching Rad's rocket by a running through cyber streets. "I think I know how I'll make sure he'll never join them!"

Meanwhile at Rad's duels, they were getting pretty intense and the opponents more and more powerful but they were no match for Rad and his fire deck.

"Shield trigger, I summon Kamikaze, Chainsaw Warrior!" Rad said smiling. "And now my turn, I summon Core-Crash Lizard and throw your final shield to the graveyard!"

The clone's final shield got burned away by the magma monster and he saw that the shield was Natural Snare, but he couldn't use it since shield triggers which go to the graveyard can't be activated.

"Kamikaze, Chainsaw Warrior, todomeda!" Rad ordered.

And so more and more duels had passed. Rad was defeating opponent after opponent making Subaru admire him even more

"Bolmeteus Kensei Dragon, todomeda!" Rad ordered and a robot dragon made of white iron fired a laser over a clone. "Bolberg Cross Dragon, todomeda!" Rad ordered and a dragon made of gold slashed another clone with its giant claws. "Cocco Lupia, todomeda!" Rad ordered and a red fire bird burned another clone with its body. "Cook Pollon, todomeda!" Rad ordered and another fire bird did the same thing.

The masked duelist was more than angry. He was losing clone after clone and ended up with only one clone left. Rad whipped his nose looking victorious and receiving compliments from Subaru. The masked duelist was ready to escape while sending the final clone to duel Rad to its death, but then he got a telepathic message from Rezo.

"Masked duelist, listen up, don't leave yet!"

"But why, Lord Rezo?"

"Kokujo and the other three chosen duelists are coming. If the plan I have in my mind works, then Rad won't be joining them sooner or later. Try to stall for time by sending the final clone to duel him, and if it dies as well, then go and duel him. After my calculations, the deck I made for you is powerful enough to surpass the chosen duelists."

"Your wish is my command, Lord Rezo!" the masked duelist replied and spoke to Rad. "Tsh, don't rest on your laurels, chosen duelist! You still have an opponent to face!"

"Heh, I'm soon gonna finish you all, so bring it on!" Rad replied and showed his glowing deck again without losing a bit of energy from his body.

And so lots of turns have passed. Rad had a little difficulty on this one and he got his final shields broken. The boy thought that he'd lose, but then he changed his mind as he saw what cards were in his shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell Scrapper, destroy Aqua Hulcus, Aqua Surfer and Aqua Skydiver!"

"Impossible!" the opponent exclaimed.

"And now my turn, I summon Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon!"

Then a giant dragon made of blue metal which was armed to the brim with giant guns and cannons appeared behind Rad and roared. The creature was amazing, almost like from another world. Subaru recognized it from the start, it was Rad's chosen card and it was for the first time he was seeing him using it.

"Bolmeteus is a speed attacker, and to make it even better, he puts your broken shields to the graveyard!" Rad explained.

"W-what?" Rezo's minion spoke with fear..

"Ike, Bolmeteus, take down his final shields! Good night, sweetheart, Bolshack Yamato Dragon, todomeda!"

And so the final clone had been killed. Subaru got out of the rocket, jumped on the platform and ran to Rad.

"That was fantastic, Rad-kun! You didn't lose a single duel!" Subaru stated out.

"Hehe, you can't defeat a racer like me that easy!" Rad replied and arranged his hair while looking with a superior sight to the masked duelist. "Had enough defeats for one day, bull(shit) mask?"

The masked duelist jumped from the rocket on the other platform and walked at the dueling table. He looked behind Rad and saw Kokujo and the chosen duelists running and approaching them. The masked duelist pretended that he didn't see them and spoke to Rad

"I see that if you want a job to be done, you must do it yourself. I challenge you bastard to a duel!"

"Heh, say your prayers, masked duelist!" Rad replied and was about to accept the challenge when...

Suddenly Rad heard some voice yelling his name. When he turned his head he saw Kokujo, Tsugumi, Sora and Edo approaching them. The boy was almost stupefied, he wasn't expecting them to come, and especially not in that moment.

"Raaaaaaad!" Sora yelled and jumped to him. "Man, I thought I would never see you again!"

"Hehe , it takes more than that to get rid of me, Sora!" Rad replied and looked at Kokujo and Tsugumi. "So the blonde girl must be the chosen light duelist, right? But who's the long haired dude with that black trench coat?"

"Yep, the blonde girl's name is Tsugumi and she's the chosen light duelist, as for the trench coat dude, his name's Kokujo and he's a real legend throughout the duelists."

Kokujo walked slowly to Rad and analysed the boy from head to feet. He seemed to be more serious and mature than the others due to his image, but he was about to find that out later. Rad also looked at Kokujo and measured this and that about him and came with the conclusion that he's a powerful and respectful duelist.

"Heh, so you're the legendary darkness duelist known as Kokujo, right?"

"Yep, and you're the chosen fire duelist. It took us some time to find you ..." Kokujo replied.

"Yeah, I'm a little on the move, you see ... But anyway, nice to meet you, Kokujo." Rad said and then he shook hands with the long haired duelist.

Everything seemed normal until they noticed that the masked duelist was also there. Subaru explained what happened and Rad was about to go back to the dueling table to accept the challenge. But suddenly Rad had seen a person which he didn't notice before. It was Edo! As his eyes meet the brown haired boy, Rad felt a strange anger fill his head. He left the dueling table and walked angrily to the group. He stopped in front of Edo and gave him a stare of hate.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Edo Kanda? I thought I clearly said that our ways wiill be separate for good! " Rad shouted at him.

"W-what? Don't blame me, Rad, for being here!" Edo tried to defend himself. "They insisted and ..."

Suddenly Subaru ran between the two separating them and spoke to Edo.

"There's no need for you to defend yourself, Edo! It was the right thing to do! You're the chosen water duelist and you had to join us!" Subaru said.

"Heh, chosen duelist my ass! This weakling will never be a real chosen duelist!" Rad said with an arrogant voice.

"Watch out how you talk of my best friend, Rad!" Subaru changed his voice to a menacing one. "Or I might change from the friendly person I am!"

Rad then got shocked of what he just heard. Edo Kanda, the boy which he disliked and underestimated so much was Subaru's best friend. And to think that he was trying to convince Subaru to join him in his own quest against Rezo. Rad's eyes got covered by a dark shadow and the boy spoke to them:

"Edo Kanda's best friend, huh? You surely don't know what kind of friend you have there, Subaru."

"W-what do you mean?"

"I was thinking of asking you to help me on my mission to defeat Rezo, but if you're on Edo's side then you must be as pathetic as he is."

"H-hey! Don't you speak of Subaru like that, Rad!" Edo said.

"Silence, worm!" Rad replied and gave Edo a cold stare. "I see now, this group just ain't good enough for me."

Rad then took his deck from the dueling table and slowly walked to his rocket under the shocked sights of Kokujo's and the other chosen duelists. The masked duelist grinned behind his mask because he knew that Rezo's plan was working. He just had to stay back and watch the show.

"Rad, where are you going?" Sora asked and was about to run to him.

"None of your business, Sora!" Rad replied and entered his rocket. "From now on I am a loner. Don't you ever try to cross paths with me again or you'll regret it! Especially you, Edo!"

The red rocket flew away with a crazy speed leaving Subaru, Tsugumi, Sora and Edo stare at the sky with lost eyes. All were regretting the hact that they weren't able to convince Rad to join them. Now the chosen duelists would never work together.

Kokujo on the other side didn't concern himself with these kind of problems. The long haired boy jumped on the masked duelist's platform and spoke to him:

"Long time no see! What did Rezo tell you to do to him? Did you cast some kind of spell on his mind or did you trick him with something?"

"Heh, I didn't do anything. The reasons why he'll never join them are some conflicts of the past." the masked duelist replied and jumped on another cyber street which was a little higher in the air. "Remember this, Kokujo: you can change other's lives, but not their past. Hehehehehehehe!"

And so the masked duelist disappeared out of the scene. Kokujo, Subaru, Tsugumi, Edo and Sora headed back to their home disappointed of what had happened. On their way home, none of them spoke about what had happened that night.


	9. A Christmas star! The group is united!

At last Christmas Eve had arrived. The city was shinyer than ever and there were Santa robots evreywhere for kids. The robots were controlled by parents so that they could make their kids be nicer (kind of mean to control the kid's behaviour through a robot, eh?). The whole town was full of happiness and joy, thing which couldn't be the same for Kokujo, doctor Root and the chosen duelists.

Kokujo only put a Christmas tree in his house which Root had decorated with some green and yellow balls and red and blue lights. At Subaru's and Tsugumi's house the Christmas atmosphere was only a bit better. Tsugumi had hanged toy Santas and golden decoratios with pine branches all over the house. The Christmas tree was looking almighty with evreything it needed: balls of all colours, tiny Santa toys, small present boxes, golden bells, red, blue, green and yellow lights, colored papers on each branch and so on. Also the house was warm and filled with the sweet smell of Tsugumi's and Sora's cooking.

But even so, they weren't fully enjoying the Christmas atmosphere. Everyone was thinking of Rad and what might happen to them all if Rezo would start an attack.

Edo and Subaru were now sitting on the couch watching TV commercials while Sora was helping Tsugumi make a pizza in the kitchen.

"So Edo-kun, why do you think that the Japanese just love restricting all those cool cards?" Subaru asked.

"I don't know, they just LOVE restricting water cards!" Edo replied and got tears falling from his eyes.

"Not just water cards, Edo-kun." Subaru replied. "Darkness has lots of cool cards restricted as well: Inferno Sign is now getting restricted to 1 and same for King Alcadeias, Holy Gaia."

"At last that broken King Alcadeias got restricted to 1! Seriously, he's a real pain in the ass!" Edo replied. "But why did they have to restrict to 1 cards like Cyber Brain, Streaming Shaper, Pacific Champion, Emeral and Aqua Hulcus? It's just too unfair!"

"Yeah, I know how you feel, Edo-kun, I really do."

Subaru then put his hand on Edo's shoulder and silence came back in the room. Both were staring at the floor with shadows covering the sad expressions from their eyes.

"Where is he?" Subaru asked.

"What's he up to?" Edo also asked.

Both were thinking about Rad. Since that night it seemed as if they couldn't rest without knowing what was going on with him. Then the boys heard the girls calling them for supper. They closed the TV and walked to the kitchen to help them set up the table.

Meanwhile at Kokujo's house, the long haired boy was staring at the falling snow through the window while doctor Root was getting presents ready for him and the chosen duelists. Kokujo then felt something strange when he saw the moon shine powerful through the clouds. It was as if something terrible was about to happen. He guessed fast what was going on and spoke in his mind:

"Rad, you idiot, don't go and face Rezo all by yourself!"

Meanwhile overflying around the city was none other than Rad's rocket. The boy was trying to find out where exactly was Rezo's hideout so that he could take care of the Red Priest once and for all. The red rocket was flying slowly above the floating buildings so that Rad could see if there was something suspicious going on. For a few hours he didn't find anything and snow was making his rocket heavier. When the boy was ready to give up, he felt something strange. Rad wiped the snow off the windows of his rocket and saw the masked duelist sitting on the top of a building.

"What the ... him again!" Rad said and flew with his rocket towards the masked duelist.

Obviously the masked duelist didn't stay there. He jumped off the roof of the building and landed on another. Seeing that Rad's rocket was following him, the masked duelist kept jumping roof after roof.

"Where could he be going?" Rad asked himself and tried to make the rocket move a little faster.

And so after a few minutes of following him, Rad noticed that besides snow flakes there were also lightnings coming out of the sky. The clouds were now black and he couldn't see the silver moon anymore. Also the buildings began to become rare and the masked duelist was jumping either on trees or buildings. Suddenly Rad saw a giant mountain in front of him and he was about to hit it. He pressed the stop break button and the rocket stopped.

Rad then heard lots of thunders and when he looked up he saw that on the top of the mountain there was a black castle surrounded by lightning and storm. The masked duelist landed on a rune of the mountain and without any warning did an extremely loud scream to announce Rezo that they were there. The scream was so loud that the whole mountain shook and Rad's ears almost began to bleed. The masked duelist's voice sounded as if it belonged to a demon which made a scream to awake his master. But once the scream was over, Rad heard some violins or keyboards with symphonic notes being played and saw the gates of the castle opening. The masked duelist then spoke to Rad with a menacing voice:

"You wanted to find Lord Rezo's castle, chosen fire duelist? Here it is! Now everything lies on a decision which you will have to take: will you enter the castle or not?"

"W-what do you mean?" Rad asked.

"Hehehehe, come and see for yourself, Rad!" the masked duelist replied and started climbing the mountain towards the castle. "Lord Rezo awaits you!"

Rad stood in front of the mountain for a few minutes thinking at what to do. If he would enter the castle most likely he'd fall into a trap, but if he would go back there might be the chance that he'd never find Rezo again. So it was all or nothing, Rad had to climb the mountain and enter the castle.

The boy pressed some buttons and the rocket began to fly. Through his timeless and decayed dreams he would have never dreamt of flying with his rocket towards a castle on the top of a mountain. The moist winter wind was making the rocket move slower, but it didn't matter because it was Rad against the mountain. While the rocket was climbing, the red haired boy admired the rune on the mountain which was washed by wind, rain and snow. Suddenly Rad felt an enchanting force of evil lurking close. When he turned the camera on he saw that he was in front of the castle's opened gates. His rocket couldn't fit through the gates so Rad parked it a little lower on the mountain and entered the mighty castle by foot .

The castle's corridors were dark and filled with dark blue walls which had strange medieval paintings on them while red rugs were brighting a bit their colors. Rad wandered through the corridors still amazed of the sights. Due of curiosity, he looked outside a window and saw that the whole castle was erected straight to the sky in the middle of lightning and rain, storm blown out of its black inner. Rad couldn't believe that such a castle could actually exist in reality. The red haired boy then found himself in front of a door made of black metal. Swallowing once and with sweat on his hands, Rad pushed those doors and saw the throne chamber.

The place was filled with mystic objects, books, substances and what other stuff Rezo used for his spells. The masked duelist was in the left side of the room sitting in the shadows and waiting. And finally, Rezo the Red Priest was sitting on a throne which had its back on the opposite wall of the entrance. Rezo was wearing his usual red robes and was holding his staff in his right hand. The Red Priest looked at Rad with his blue and yellow eyes and spoke at once:

"Rad the chosen fire duelist, at last we meet!"

"Rezo!" Rad replied and walked towards the throne.

"Answer me, young one, why did you come here?"

"Why to kick your sorry ass and get rid of you bastard once and for all!"

"Heh, are you sure that this is gonna happen, Rad? Don't you remember what happened to you the last time you fought me?" Rezo said and both got a flashback in their minds.

_"Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, todomeda!" Rezo ordered and the giant knight with dark lord armor and red cape took out both of his guns and shot away the red haired boy._

The flashback ended and Rad layed his head down with shame. Even though he wanted to face Rezo and defeat him so badly, deep down inside his heart he knew that he wasn't ready for this challenge. Rezo also knew it and was now playing with his feelings just to make his moral fall.

"Heh, you call Edo Kanda the weakest member of the group, but you're the one which always reacts fast and hotheaded. You always jump to conclusions too fast and no one can change your opinion, no matter how hard they try. I think that they were right when they said that you're stubborn as a bull, hehe!"

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE WRONG! I'M NOT THE WEAKEST, NOR THE CRUELEST! That's it, you've gone too far, Rezo!" Rad said and took out his glowing deck. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"Is this really what you want, child?" Rezo said and got up from his throne.

Rad got a bit scared and made a few steps back as Rezo slowly walked to him from the throne. The red haired boy felt a cold blade cutting his back and sucking his life by each step the Red Priest was making towards his direction. In a few seconds Rezo and Rad were face to face.

"W-what do you want?" Rad asked scared.

"Me? All I want is you to open your eyes." Rezo replied . "Just look at you, Rad! You're a powerful fire duelist, thing which was proven when you had defeated a whole army of clones without even sweating. Why should your talents be wasted in the service of those weak chosen duelists? Come with me, Rad, and together we shall create a new order for Earth! We shall rule over all weaklings and evreyone will fear and respect us!"

Rezo's words were almost like a spell for Rad. The Red Priest's offer sounded outstanding and it tempted Rad to the bones. At last the red haired boy had the chance of getting the respect he deserved and show weaklings like Edo Kanda that his way is the right one. To make it short, the Earth had been offered to him on a golden plate, he just had to reach his hand and take it a.k.a. he had to accept Rezo's offer.

Back at Subaru's and Tsugumi's house, the dinner made the four chosen duelists a bit happier and it also helped them forget about Rad. This was a good thing because they started to socialise more and to enjoy the spirit of Christmas more. Subaru was the one which brought interesting topics of discussion, Tsugumi was the one which cared of how others were feeling and was trying her best to make sure everyone was having a good time, Sora was the one which wanted to help the others solve their problems when those came in discussions and Edo was the one which kept the happy mood by his never ending jokes and stories about harems and other interesting stuff. And so Tsugumi started developing a friendship with Edo, thing which Subaru was more than happy, because now the girl he loved was friends with his best friend.

After dinner they separated and did their own stuff in the house. Sora did some exercises, Edo stood on the couch and Subaru on the floor near the Christmas tree and both watched TV and Tsugumi stood at the window admiring the sky which was now cleared of clouds and filled with blue stars. Suddenly Tsugumi saw a star which was shining more than the others. It was the same star which shined when Jesus Christ was born. Deep inside she knew that. Tsugumi fell on her knees, clasped her hands together, bowed her head down , closed her eyes and prayed with a low voice:

"Jesus Christ, if you can hear my prayer, could you please make sure that the lost chosen duelist will find his way? I beg of you, I really want Rad to join us! He seems to be a great person and I'm sure that the conflict he had with Edo will pass. Please, Jesus, don't let Rad die!" Tsugumi said and tears fell from her eyes. "I don't want him to die!"

Subaru noticed Tsugumi's silent crying and went to her. The blonde girl then felt warm arms sorrounding her body and grabbing her back into a heavenly hug. It was Subaru. Edo was a little surprised, for he never knew that side of Subaru's. For him Subaru was just an ordinary polite boy which loved metal and wanted to have fun, but he never knew that he could also be romantic. Subaru was now showing him that he also had a big heart and just couldn't stand when he saw his dear Tsugumi cry.

"Sssh, don't cry, Tsugumi. Rad will be ok, God will make sure of it. Sssh, please don't cry." Subaru calmed her down.

Back at Rezo's castle, Rad was staring at Rezo still amazed of his purposal. Rezo's body was surrounded by a dark red aura and the Red Priest was grinning. A single word could change Rad's life forever, and that word was 'yes'.

"So will you join me, Rad?" Rezo asked.

Rad hesitated to answer. Even though he wanted all that power, he felt like something was just not right. Everything was being offerred too easy to him and also if he would join Rezo, then who would be his friends? Rezo and the masked duelist? They didn't seem to be like the friends he wanted and then he started missing Sora, Subaru and even Edo. The whole world offerring and glory seemed cold and empty to him now. This time Rad was about to do the right thing.

"Tsh, nice try, Rezo, but you won't trick me. I have no need for your service." Rad said and showed his glowing deck once again. "I challenge you bastard to a duel!"

"Fool! Do you realise what did you just refuse?" Rezo said indignated.

"Yep, a life of slavery under you! Now take out your deck and face me, you coward!"

"You're going to pay for those words, chosen fire duelist!"

Rezo ignored Rad's challenge and walked back to his throne. Then the Red Priest did a sign with his eye and the masked duelist stepped forth in front of Rad.

"I don't want you to say that you lost in front of me and had no chance, so I'll prove to you how weak you are by letting my minion the masked duelist duel you." Rezo said.

"Tsh, bring it on, goat faced loser!" Rad said and put his deck on a dueling table which appeared in front of him out of the floor.

"Heh ..." the masked duelist laughed and did the same.

"SHIELDS UP!" both yelled and the duel started.

"I summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw." Rad said.

"I summon Dandy Eggplant." the masked duelist said. "When Dandy Eggplant is summoned I'll put a card from my deck to my mana zone and a card from my mana zone to the grave graveyard. Hehehe, I'll just put Necrodragon Guljeneraid directly to my graveyard."

"I summon Kamikaze, Chainsaw Warrior, and now Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw, break his shield!"

"Heh, shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life and gain a mana. And now my turn, I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to gain another mana. Afterwards I summon another Dandy Eggplant and put another Necrodragon Guljeneraid into my graveyard. Dandy Eggplant, suicide with Braid Claw!"

"Heh, you're pretty resistent, masked duelist, but you're no match for my rush deck. I summon Pyrofighter Magnus! Ike, Kamikaze and Magnus, break two of his shields!"

The masked duelist stood there as Rad's creatures rushed through his shields breacking them into pieces and those shards floating in the air arround him. He had only two shields left and he didn't break any of Rad's shields yet. But still, the masked duelist remained calm as if it was no big deal. The shards united into cards which the masked duelist took in his hand and then he started his turn. The masked duelist showed a darkness card and spoke with an evil voice:

"I summon Heavy, Dragon God! When Heavy is summoned we'll both destroy a creature and I'll draw a card. I shall destroy your Kamikaze and my Heavy, and whenever any of my dragons gets destroyed I shall revive all the Necrodragon Guljeneraids from my graveyard!"

"WHAT?" Rad yelled scared as two dark brown dragons appeared in front of him and roared.

"So I summon two Necrodragon Guljeneraids from my graveyard! And now Dandy Eggplant and Bronze-Arm Tribe break his shields!"

"Shit!" Rad said angry as the masked duelist broke two of his shields. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell Scrapper to destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe and Dandy Eggplant! And now my turn, I summon Pyrofighter Magnus and Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw! Ike, Pyrofighter Magnus, break another shield! There, you have one shield while I have three. Let's see you win now, you masked loser!"

"My pleasure." the masked duelist replied as the shield which Magnus broke turned into a card and he took it in his hand. "Shield trigger activate, I summon Darkness Southern. When Darkness Southern is summoned all your creatures lose 1000 power so say good bye to your Blaze Claw!"

"Oh no!" Rad said shocked.

"Heh, my turn, I cast Faerie Life to gain another mana. Afterwards I summon Necrodragon Dobolzark and take Supernova Death Dragerion from my deck to my hand. You still think that your pathetic rush can defeat me, Rad? Watch how I triumph against you! Necrodragon Guljeneraid, double break his shields!"

Rad took cover as the giant dragon fired a lazor and destroyed two of his shields. The boy took the cards into his hand fast and stared at them. One of them was a shield trigger, and by his luck it was exact the one he needed.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell Scrapper!" said Rad. "Destroy Darkness Southern!"

"Grr... my other Necrodragon Guljeneraid, break his final shield!" the masked duelist ordered angrily and the brown dragon fired a giant fire ball breaking Rad's last shield.

"Shield trigger activate!"

"NOT AGAIN!"

"I summon Kamikaze, Chainsaw Warrior! And now my turn, I summon Pyrofighter Magnus and cast Comet Missle to destroy Dobolzark!"

The masked duelist stared shocked at Rad which was winning. The boy had only a few weak creatures, yet he was owning. The masked duelist turned his scared sights to Rezo only to see his master with an angry expression on his face. He knew that if he'd lose this time there was no more forgiveness.

"You're finished, masked duelist! I'm gonna throw that girly mask back to the puffy pink box from where it came!" Rad said with the victorious voice he once had. "Ike, Kamikaze, break his final shield!"

The masked duelist took cover once again as his final shield got broken. He closed his eyes and trembled awaiting for his defeat when he senced something strange. When the masked duelist opened his eyes, he saw a shiny card in the air. He reached his hand to take it, and to his surprise saw that it was Natural Snare. The masked duelist then made one of the scarriest evil laughs he had ever done.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SHIELD TRIGGER! NATURAL SNARE!"

"W-what?" Rad asked shocked.

"Send Pyrofighter Magnus to your mana zone!" the masked duelist said and Rad's Magnus got surrounded by a green aura and disappeared. "I've got bored of you, weakling! MANA GALAXY VORTEX, SUPERNOVA DEATH DRAGERION!"

Suddenly a dragon like creature with long head, lots of blue wings and hands appeared behind the masked duelist and roared. Rezo smiled and made an evil laugh as Rad layed his head down ashamed because he had lost.

"There's the proof, Rad! You aren't strong enough to defeat me!" Rezo said. "Maybe if you would've joined me or the chosen duelists, you would've become more powerful, but since you chose to be a loner, you'll stay a weakling forever! Masked duelist, finish him off!"

"Yes, Lord Rezo!" the masked duelist replied. "Death Dragerion, todomeda!"

The creature fired a powerful laser over Rad which pushed the boy along with his cards out of the dueling room. Rad flew in the air all hurt and in the end landed with his cards in his rocket. The red haired boy was hurt very bad but he was still breathing. Rad knew what would've happened if Rezo found out that he didn't die so in an effort he got up, sat on his driver seat and flew away with the rocket from the castle.

The rocket was flying slowly in the Christmas Eve night. The reason was that its driver was too tired and hurt to concentrate on that anymore. Rad was now thinking at the chosen duelists and Kokujo and was regretting what he had done back then.

"Did I become an animal from the nice guy I once was?" the red haired boy asked himself.

After some minutes of flying, Rad found himself in front of two houses. In the house at the right he saw the four chosen all gathered in a warm living room with a Christmas tree. In the left house he saw Kokujo which was at the widnow. Both Rad and Kokujo exchanged glances for a moment. At first Kokujo was giving him an angry stare filled with hate but slowly his red eyes changed to a friendly sight which was telling Rad 'Welcome back !'. Rad nodded to Kokujo and then walked to the house from the right.

Inside the house the four chosen duelists were again minding their business. Sora was still doing exercises, Tsugumi was sitting on a chair reading a girl magazine and Subaru and Edo were sitting on the couch watching TV and chatting about their stuff. Suddenly they heard a knock at the door. Subaru thought that it was just Kokujo which wanted to bring them some Christmas presents but when he opened the door he saw Rad.

"Oh my ... Rad-kun, what are you doing here?"

"Did he just say Rad?" Sora spoke and stopped her physical exercises.

And before Rad knew it, all four were gathered around him as if he was Santa Claus. They were all happy that the red haired boy had come back. Rad apologized for his behavior and after a few serious discussions he and Edo made peace. And so the fifth chosen duelist had come and after weeks of struggle the group was finally united.

Tomorrow was Christmas so they all went to bed early that night. Even though it didn't look like it, Subaru's and Tsugumi's house had enough room for everyone. Rad was sleeping on the couch in the living room, Sora was sleeping on the floor (she was used to do that), Edo was sleeping on a bed in the guests room and Subaru was sleeping with Tsugumi in their own bed. Everything seemed to be back to normal at last.

At Kokujo's house, doctor Root was snooring like hell on the couch, but Kokujo wasn't sleeping yet. The long haired boy was still standing at the window staring at the moon and thinking about Rezo and the masked duelist.

"Rezo, the time of our duel is approaching. You just wait, Red Priest, I will soon show you what a real hell in a duel is!" Kokujo's words disappeared in the dark of the night.


	10. Rezos plot and the last night of freedom

6 : 30 winter morn. Snow kept falling, silent dawn. It was Christmas! Joy could be felt everywhere, even though no-one was on the streets yet. Suddenly the doors of Subaru's and Tsugumi's house opened. Edo came out in pajamas and walked on the cold snow with his slippers. The brown haired boy took a few deep breaths and suddenly he screamed so badly that the whole city almost shook:

"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! WISH YOU ALL THE JOY IN THE WORLD AND TO BE HAPPY ALONG WITH YOUR FAMILIES AND LOVED ONES, AND I ALSO WISH YOU LOTS OF CHRISTMAS PRESE..."

Suddenly a stone got thrown from a window and it hit Edo in the head. The brown haired boy got dizzy and walked a bit confused in circles and at last he fainted on the snow. Kokujo got out of his house dressed in his night kimono having tired marks on his eyes. The long haired boy turned his angry sights to Edo and screamed to him:

"SHUT UP, I NEED TO HAVE MY GOOD LOOKING EVIL GENIUS SLEEP!"

Edo was now lying unconcious on the snow. The brown haired boy wasn't bleeding at all so Kokujo thought that he didn't damage him that much. The long haired boy went back to his house leaving Edo alone in the cold.

When the stone hit him, Edo felt pain for a few moments. A small headache which brought the dizziness, but as he fell on the snow, he entered into a sleep which was so sweet for him that he would never want to wake up again. Edo dreamt that his own harem had been finally built and that evreyone including him was happy. Suddenly Edo felt a warm touch calm his body and make him forget all the pain and suffering he had endured. The boy slowly opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure of a blonde girl wearing white clothes.

"Are you an angel?" he whispered.

"Angel? What are you talking about, Edo-san? "he heard a familiar voice.

Edo closed his eyes to get rid of the blur which was in his sight and when he opened them again, he saw that Tsugumi was holding him in her arms near the warm fire. The brown haired boy blushed a bit because of that and thought it was embarrassing that his best friend's girlfriend was holding him in her arms.

"Don't worry, you're almost done." Tsugumi said.

"A-almost done? What are you talking about?" Edo asked.

Edo then saw that even if the girl was holding tight his body to hers, he was still wet. That was because of the snow in which he had fainted. Somehow Tsugumi's hug was bringing Edo back to life.

"Um... Tsugumi..."

"What is it, Edo-san?"

"Although I really enjoy having a beautiful girl hug me on Christmas, wouldn't Subaru be upset if he would find us in this situation?"

"Hihihi, you're so funny, Edo-san." Tsugumi laughed. "Subaru was the one which suggested me to melt the snow off you by hugging you. Don't you worry, Edo-san, your virginity is safe with me."

"Is it?" Edo asked looking dumb.

Suddenly Subaru climbed down the stairs rubbing his tired eyes. The black haired boy stretched his arms and stopped in the living room in front of the two. Seeing them hugging, Subaru smiled and spoke to them with a really sweet voice:

"Merry Christmas, you two! This is Tsugumi's present for you, Edo-kun, I hope you fully enjoy it."

"Hehehe, you didn't have to..." Edo replied and sweated.

After a few hours evreyone was awake and they were all gathered in the living room. Kokujo and doctor Root had also come, and everyone except for Kokujo had presents to offer to each other. Kokujo just stood in a corner staring at them and coming only when he was called. Edo brought Rad two fur dices for his rocket, Sora a yaoi magazine, Tsugumi a French perfume, doctor Root a special crème for glasses cleaning, Kokujo some special water to make his evil laugh sounder more fearsome and finally he brought Subaru all the Sonic Advance games, knowing that he was a collector.

Tsugumi brought Rad a racer costume, Sora a free ticket available for a month to the hairdresser, doctor Root a photo with him, Kokujo, Subaru, Edo and her which was taken by them a few days before they had encountered Sora, she also brought Kokujo a shampoo for long hair, Edo a perfume for men and she told to Subaru that she'll give to him her present when they would be all alone.

Sora brought Rad two irons to pump his muscles, Tsugumi a fashion magazine, doctor Root some natural herbs for his experiments and Kokujo a cake made of natural ingredients. As for Subaru and Edo, Sora gave them a book titled '10 ways to make you love a person of the same gender as yourself' which made them both faint.

Doctor Root brought Rad a box with oxygen explaining that it was necessary for the moments when he would be driving in space. Root also brought Sora a book with the title '10 ways to make you like straight couples' which made Edo and Subaru laugh at her. Then the doctor brought Tsugumi a golden necklace which he had personally put on the girl's neck. Afterwards the doctor gave Kokujo some booster packs hoping that he would get some new cards. Next up was Edo and doctor Root gave him a blue towel with the water civilisation emblem on it, telling him to never give up when it comes to defenting the water civilisation's honor. And finally Root gave Subaru an emergency medical case, telling him that he would need it soon.

Rad brought Sora a necklace made of pebbles from the river, Tsugumi a red lipstick, doctor Root some hair gel to fix his hair, Kokujo a deck case with the darkness civilization emblem on it and Subaru a helmet so that when they go on rocket rides his long hair won't be messy because of the too much speed. As for Edo, Rad didn't bring him anything. That rendered the brown haired boy speechless and cry with waterfall tears.

And finally, Subaru brought Rad a tiny rocket model, Sora some special seeds to use them in battle, doctor Root a book about universal biology, Kokujo a Deadache album digipack version and Edo a DVD with the best comedy anime he could find. As for Tsugumi, he told her that he would also give her his present when they were alone.

And after evreyone had got their presents, Kokujo got out from his corner and walked to them. The long haired boy looked at them with a serious voice in spoke to them:

"I lied."

"What are you talking about, Kokujo-kun?" Subaru asked.

"I do have a present for you."

"Really? Where is it?" Tsugumi asked.

"It's outside, hehe." Kokujo laughed and walked towards the door.

"Is it Chuck Norris? Or Michael Jackson? Or a hot chick? "Edo asked with an anxious voice. "Oh. Oh, wait, I think I know what it is! Is it my dueling harem?"

"None of them! " Kokujo said and smiled evilly.

The long haired boy opened the door and stepped outside in the snow. He was immediately followed by Edo and Subaru which were more than anxious to find out what did Kokujo bring. In the next moment both Subaru and Edo got extremely big eyes and stared with them at something with their mouths wide open. When Tsugumi, Rad, Sora and doctor Root came out as well, they also got shocked of seeing what Kokujo brought.

Kokujo's Christmas present for them all was a UFO that had the exact dimensions of a house. The UFO had its superior part black and its inferior part red. Kokujo made a loud evil laugh and spoke to them all:

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MERRY CHRISTMAS! "

"I-i-is t-that w-what I-I th-think i-it is?" Rad hardly spoke, still amazed of the UFO's dimensions.

"Yep, it's the hardcore kickass UFO I saw yesterday at the mall and which I bought it with the evil money I gained from my new good looking evil genius yogurt commercial! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kokujo said and laughed even harder.

"That guy was crazy enough to buy a giant ass UFO and make it a present for us all! " Subaru said and kept staring at the UFO.

"And I thought that no one could be crazier than me! " Edo added while also staring at the UFO.

Kokujo walked to the UFO and took out a remote control. The long haired boy pointed the remote towards the space ship and pressed a red button which made a ladder get out of it and go down in front of them. Then he turned his back to them and spoke:

"From now on we're going to live in this UFO until our goal is achieved AKA until Rezo is defeated. So pack up all your stuff and move in here! And don't worry, there's enough space for us all."

"W-what about your stuff, Kokujo?" Doctor Root asked.

"You're gonna be kind and bring it all to me! " Kokujo replied and smiled again. "I want ALL the things from my house to be in the UFO in maximum one hour, 'cause that's when we're leaving."

"B-but where are we leaving?" Sora asked.

"You'll see soon. Anyway, see ya back here in an hour!" Kokujo said and entered the UFO.

Even though they still couldn't believe what Kokujo just did in that moment, the chosen duelists and doctor Root went back in their houses and in exact one hour they took EVREYTHING from them and transferred them in the UFO. The UFO's insight was very modern with blue walls on the halls and lots of rooms. Everyone had chosen their own rooms and had unpacked their stuff. In maximum half an hour they were all familiarized with the place and they started to like it.

Kokujo then called everyone for a meeting in the control room which was the biggest from the whole UFO. As always, Edo was too busy admiring the sights to come in time. As the brown haired boy was looking around, he saw Subaru running like hell.

"Hey there Suby, where are you rushing?"

"You mean you don't know?" Subaru asked and pulled Edo with him.

Subaru was running very fast while pulling Edo and the brown haired boy seemed like a flag flowing in the air. Edo was amazed of Subaru and had tears falling from his eyes because of the black haired boy's speed.

"Wooaah, what's with all the speed? Where are we going?"

"Kokujo wants us all to come to the control room for a meeting!"

"So? Can't he wait?"

"He said be there OR ELSE!" Subaru said and got a scared expression on his face.

"Uh oh ... THEN RUN FASTER!" Edo yelled.

Meanwhile at the control room, Tsugumi, Rad, Sora and doctor Root were all there standing on their feet and looking at Kokujo which was sitting against a wall with his arms crossed and with an angry expression on his face.

"If those two idiots Subaru and Edo don't arrive here in the next ten seconds, they'll so regret the day they were born! " Kokujo said and looked at the clock. "Eight, seven, six..."

Meanwhile at Subaru and Edo, the black haired boy was rushing faster than always, because he had a time limit. Edo was trying to hold himself on Subaru, but it was hard.

"Don't give up, Subaru! Feel the real man inside you! Think that at the control room there's a harem filled with wonderful girls and that our goal is to reach there in a few seconds! "Edo encouraged. "ONLY A REAL MAN CAN RESIST AT THIS SPEED TO ACHIEVE THIS STRONG GOAL! ARE YOU A MAN? "

"I am!"

"I said ARE YOU A MAN?"

"I AM A MAAAAAAAAAN!" Subaru yelled and in the next moment rushed almost with the speed of light towards the control room's entrance.

Back at the control room, only a few seconds were left until the countdown ended. Tsugumi and Sora started whispering about what would happen to the two if they wouldn't come, while Rad laughed a bit inside. Kokujo was getting a vein pop in his head and his temper was about to blow up.

"Three...two...one... " he counted.

In the next moment Subaru and Edo bumped in the room, but because of Subaru's high speed, both ended up hitting themselves on a wall and fall on the floor. Kokujo walked to them and gave them an angry stare. Both boys sweated while staring scarred at the long haired boy which was almost like a grim reaper ready to cut off their necks.

"One more second and you were late ..." Kokujo said with a cold voice.

"K-Kokujo-kun, w-we can explain!" Subaru said sweating.

"You see, we were...um...yeah, what the heck were we doing, Subaru?" Edo asked.

"I thought that you knew what we were doing, Edo-kun."

"Never be late again, OR ELSE!" Kokujo warned them and went back to his place.

And now that they were all gathered, the meeting could finally start. Kokujo walked in the center of the room and snapped his fingers. A giant screen came out of the ceiling and went down behind him. The long haired boy took out his remote again and spoke to them with a serious voice:

"Today a material had appeared on TV. It is not a joke, it's 100 % real. What you're about to see will show the reason why we'll need to go on a mission with the UFO!. So any questions?"

"Yeah, got any pop corn?" Edo asked.

"Edo-kun, this is something serious!" Subaru said.

"But hunger is also something serious!"

"As I was saying, it's time to show you the video." Kokujo said and clicked a button on his remote which opened the screen.

They all saw Rezo, the Red Priest in his castle. Behind him was a Power Metal band which had a flag with the name 'Derdian' on it. Rezo spoke to the world through that video while the band was playing a song.

"People of the Earth!" Rezo spoke. "Though I'm here to regenerate your lands, I am your master, and I need all the power of my 'friends'!"

The band then played a war rhythm while Rezo sang the 'Living and Fighting forever' song and showed on a magic mirror his clone army marching in the world and killing duelists.

"Living and fighting together, Living and Fighting forever, Lighting and Fighting wherever, I am one with all your souls! Under the rage of my fire I will transform your desires and I'll increase all my powers under the aid of my own god! "

Then to show everyone his power , Rezo created tsunamis in south eastern Asia , earthquakes in the United States , hunger in central Africa and heat in south Europe causing the pain and deaths of many people. All these catastrophes were shown on Rezo's magic mirror. The Red Priest turned his sight back to the camera and spoke:

"I'm the evil, I can feel you, and I'm the demon of the night! You can fight me and despise me, but your destiny is signed!"

Rezo then took out map of the Earth and with a stick he pointed to two spots on it AKA Tibet and eastern China.

"By establishing these positions, WE CAN RULE THE WORLD! Now I want to hear your voice, FOLLOW ME AND MY SWORD! "Rezo said and took out a long sword.

Rezo then sand the 'Living and fighting forever song' once again and repeated the fact that he needed to conquer the Tibet and eastern China. In that time, the Derdian band played their instruments with an amazing epicness and Rezo kept showing on his mirror natural catastrophes and duelists dying, things which were really happening when he was recording the video. Then to finish his message, Rezo spoke once again:

"We will return after solving this annoyance! Dark clouds of war ARE NOW GATHERING ON MY LAAAAAAAND!"

The video ended, Rezo's message being clear. He was on his way to Tibet and eastern China where he could find the power he needed to take over the world, and if someone had a word to say, he or her wouldn't stand a chance against the Red Priest. Everyone in the room stood silent with serious looks on their faces. A hard battle was about to start, and they needed all the power they could get if they wanted to defeat Rezo. Kokujo pressed on the remote control and the giant screen was gone.

"So I guess that now you know how serious this situation is." Kokujo spoke.

"Don't worry, even if it looks extremely bad, me and Kokujo had though of a plan which will help us defeat Rezo." Doctor Root added.

"Plan? What plan?" Tsugumi asked.

"You see, Rezo wants to reach two places which are Tibet and eastern China. Most likely he'll send an army to one and he'll go to the other. Either way, we'll both be ready for him. We're going to form two groups which will head to the two points and try to stop Rezo and his army. Don't worry, after studying the way you all work, I've already made the two groups: the group which will go to Tibet will be formed by me, Kokujo, Subaru and Edo, the rest going to eastern China. Any objections?"

Root didn't get any answer, meaning that it was all ok. He looked at the young duelists and he saw that all had the same serious look on their faces which showed their wish for defeating Rezo and bringing peace back in the world. The doctor continued with the final details to make sure that everything was perfect.

"Rad, do you have enough space in your rocket for you and the girls?"

"Yes, doctor, and I also have enough fuel for a month!" the red haired boy said.

"Good, as for Kokujo, does this UFO have everything we need to fulfill our mission?"

"Still asking, doc? It's obvious that I've worked on all the details!" Kokujo said and walked to the computer which was controlling the UFO and pressed a button. "Okay, the UFO has now started flying towards eastern Asia. We should arrive there by tomorrow morning. For now you are all dismissed. Enjoy the quality time you still have together."

Everyone had left the control room. Doctor Root went into his laboratory where he did his work for the great battle. Kokujo stood in his room working on his deck and thinking of strategies with his Demon Commands such as Bell Hell De Gaul or Death Monarch. Subaru and Tsugumi retreated into their room to have some private time together. Rad went to work on his rocket so that it would be at full capacity the next day. Sora went into her room which was Feng Shui designed and worked her body with hard exercises so that she could be useful to Rad and Tsugumi tomorrow.

And so, Edo was the only one left without anything to do. The brown haired boy had nothing to get ready for the battle, he wasn't a scientist or doctor, he didn't need to work on his deck and think of new strategies, he was a single, he didn't have to take care of any rocket or UFO and he didn't need to do any body exercise. Edo walked in his room and sat on his bed staring at the ceiling and thinking. He was reflecting at his past and thinking at how the future battle might look. The brown haired boy remained in his room swapped in his own thoughts as the Christmas day had passed.

Night had come. At Subaru's and Tsugumi's room, the two lovers were sitting on the bed all quiet. Both were enjoying the fact that they still were together, but only by watching each other. Tsugumi then snapped out of her dreamy stare towards Subaru and got up from the bed saying:

"Silly me, I almost forgot the fact that I also have a Christmas present for you."

"You don't have to, you're the only present I could always wish and... " Subaru spoke, but he stopped as he saw Tsugumi taking something out from a drawer.

The blonde girl took out a little musical box and gave it to Subaru. The black haired boy played it and hearted a lovely piano song. The tiny box had the smell of Tsugumi's perfume which made it even more precious.

"No matter where I am, Subaru, I'll always be with you, through this box! "the girl whispered to him.

"Tsugumi... I also have a present for you."

Subaru then got up from his bed and took out a media player where he inserted a CD. He played it and they heard a piano playing. Tsugumi sat on the bed as Subaru started singing to her the song which was called Where I can fly as a love serenade. Every second of it was gold for the girl's ears and heart.

The song ended with a few piano notes. Filled with powerful love, both Subaru and Tsugumi fell asleep in each other's arms. It was probably the best night they had spent together.


	11. The quest begins!

A loud noise, almost as loud as an explosion, made Subaru open his eyes and wake up from his honey sweet sleep. The boy found himself all alone in the bed and saw everyone running through the UFO.

"What's going on?" he asked himself and got up from the bed.

The black haired boy dressed up quickly and got out of the room. He then saw on a window Rad's rocket fly away from the UFO with Rad piloting it and with Sora and Tsugumi inside. It was then the moment he remembered that they had a mission to accomplish. They had to separate into two groups, his going to Tibet, the other going to eastern China. Deep inside him Subaru was regretting the fact that he didn't even get the chance to say 'good-bye' to his beloved Tsugumi. But he soon got swiped out of these thoughts as he saw Edo walking down the corridor towards him.

"Good morning, Edo-kun!"

"Good morning, Subaru!"

"So it's only us, Kokujo and doctor Root left, right?"

"Yep, and I still can't believe that this whole UFO is ours!" Edo said and stared amazed at the giant hall.

"How long will it take till we reach Tibet?" Subaru asked.

"Doctor Root said that tonight we'll surely be there. Till then I suggest we do something fun."

"Edo-kun, you're a genius!"

"I-I am? I mean s-sure I am! But why was I a genius again, Subaru?"

"You'll see." Subaru said and started running. "Hurry up!"

"Here we go again... Wait for me, Subaru!" Edo said and ran as well.

Meanwhile Kokujo and doctor Root were having a walk through the corridors chatting about the mission and dueling strategies. If you wouldn't know them you would think that they were two philosophers or scientists talking about the problems of humanity.

"If I could only get that XENOM, the Reaper King, I would so add some discarding card strategies in my deck. And who knows, I may use Romanoff the 1st again, doctor."

" But that would imply taking Subaru's Romanoff from him Kokujo , since you were the one which gave it to him. And it's a pity since he has such great Knight cards!"

" Tsh if I have to I'll help Subaru remake his whole deck just to get Romanoff back and make the discarding deck which I dream of!" Kokujo said. "But for the moment I'm not disappointed of how my deck looks , and I think that I should give Bell Hell De Gaul a few more tries while he's still a new card ! "

" Good idea , Kokujo , that's what I want to hear ! Be patient and wait until you get a XENOM , and keep relying on your actual cards ! " Doctor Root said and then changed the subject of the discussion . " So , what do you think that Subaru and Edo are doing at the moment ? "

" Do you want my sincere opinion or ... " Kokujo said while sweating .

" Kokujo , please don't joke arround with me ! "

" Okay , doctor , do you really want to know what Subaru and Edo are doing ? "

" Yep ... "

Kokujo then went to the computer game room . The long haired boy pressed a button and the doors opened . Inside the room there were lots of computers , all filled with thousands of games . Edo and Subaru were both sitting at one of them playing a Sonic the Hedgehog racing game .

" That's what they're doing ! " Kokujo said .

" I see ... " Root replied and sweated . " So this is how these two are getting ready for a mission ! "

Edo and Subaru were too concentrated on the game to notice that Kokujo and Root had entered the room . They had a mine level where they were racing . Edo's character was Tails the Fox while Subaru's character was Knuckles the Echidna . At speed they were both equal , but both had special powers . Tails could fly while Knuckles could destroy stuff with ease . It was the last lap of the race . Both were equal in speed and they were soon reaching the finish line .

" Come on , Tails , you can do it ! Show Subaru and Knuckles who's the man ! GO TAILS ! GO TAILS ! " Edo yelled while holding some keys on the keyboard .

" Knuckles , we cannot let these two defeat us and our pride now , can we ? RUN LIKE THE WIND , KNUCKLES ! RUN ! " Subaru yelled while also holding keys .

When both were reaching the finish line , someone had pressed alt and f4 closing the game . Subaru and Edo stared shocked at the computer screen with open mouths .

" And I was so gonna win ! " Subaru said with tears falling from his eyes .

" Kokujo , why did you close our game when we were about to finish it ?! " Edo yelled and got up from his chair .

" Tsh , we're on a mission and we don't have time to waste with silly games , so grow up a bit ! " Kokujo spoke to the two with a cold voice .

" Then what do you want us to do ? I mean , we've dueled over a thousand times and improved our decks even more ! There's nothing else to do so that we could get ready ! " Edo said .

Kokujo then took out something from his pockets . What he took out were two cards . He threw them to Subaru and Edo and each catched one . The two cards were two Supernova Neptune Shutrom . Supernova Neptune Shutrom was a water Phoenix which evolved from Grand Devils , Demon Commands and/or Angel Commands . It's power was of 13000 , it was a triple breacker and it had meteorburn ability . By its meteorburn ability , when it attacked , its user could put one of the creatures he/she evolved into Shutrom to the graveyard and send all of his opponent's creatures to the top of his/her deck in any order !

" Oh my God ! THIS CARD ROCKS ! " Edo yelled and manly tears fell from his eyes . " I'm proud of being a water duelist ! "

" Wow , was this card in your Castle of the Demon deck , Kokujo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" Yep , and I even remember using it one or two times... " Kokujo said and remembered the good old times when he was on his quests against Zakira , when he was a lone wolf , when Malice was alive . " Those were the days , that's for sure ! "

" So , um... what are we supposed to do with these cards ? " Edo asked .

" You two will build together a Supernova Neptune Shutrom darkness and water deck having all the mono darkness and mono water cards at an equal number ! This will show how much you can concentrate on building a deck together ! " Kokujo said and walked out of the game room . " Come with me , there's something I need to show you ! "

Subaru and Edo walked out of the game room and walked after Kokujo and doctor Root which had already left . The four went to a room which had extremely big doors . Kokujo grinned and took out his remote control . The long haired boy clicked one of the buttons and the doors opened . Subaru and Edo got big eyes as they saw that behind the doors there were drawers filled with Duel Masters cards , all arranged after civilisation , race and card type . It was evreything which a duelist could wish !

" Just exactly how many cards do you have here , Kokujo-kun ? " Subaru asked still amazed of what he was seeing .

" Oh , not many , just twenty thousand ! " Kokujo spoke with an uncaring voice .

As they heared the word 'twenty thousand' , Subaru and Edo fell on the floor with shocked expressions on their faces . Edo then got up and spoke to Kokujo while trembling :

" A-and how in the world can you keep all those cards in this room ? "

" Professional secret ! " Kokujo answered .

Subaru also got up , and together with Edo walked to the drawers and searched for darkness and water cards . Doctor Root and Kokujo stood in the room a bit to watch the two take all the cards they needed . Subaru and Edo had a big pile of cards on a table . Both sat on the chairs and started thinking of how the deck would look without noticing that doctor Root and Kokujo were leaving . They were too absorbed in their work to pay attention to other details . Kokujo closed the doors of the room with his remote and walked relaxed on the corridors with his hands behind his head .

" Where are you going , Kokujo ? " Doctor Root asked .

" To the living room ! I'm gonna read the evil genious newspapers and watch some good animes where bad guys always win ! " Kokujo answered and kept walking .

" Good luck , then ! I'll be in my lab if you need me ! " Doctor Root said and walked in the opposite direction .

Subaru and Edo were working on the deck harder and harder . For starters they added their favorite cards AKA Deathliger and Aqua Sniper .

" Okay then , one Deathliger and two Aqua Snipers should do fine ! " Subaru said .

" But I want four Aqua Snipers ! " Edo said .

" I'm sorry , Edo-kun , but they'll take too much space in the deck ! Two are enough ! "

Edo sighed and after they put the three cards on the two Shutrom cards , they continued thinking . After their favorite cards they needed their trump cards .

" Next up are the trump cards ! " Subaru said . " Lets say one Ballom Emperor and two Crystal Paladins ! "

" B-but your Ballom Emperor will destroy my water creatures ! " Edo said sweating .

" This deck will have the number of darkness and water creatures equal , so it won't count that much , Edo-kun ! "

" Yeah , good way to treat your friend's favorite civilisation ! " Edo said with tears falling from his eyes .

" Stop whining and help me here ! " Subaru said and looked through the cards . " Okay , now we need bait for Ballom Emperor and Crystal Paladin ! For Ballom Emperor I'll take some useful Demon Commands , hmm , I think that two Gajirabute , Vile Centurions would work well ! Oh yeah , I'll also take this other Demon Command which fits like hell ! It's Shiver of Sealed Devil Jumazohl ! We'll talk about it later , now tell me what Liquid People you want to use as bait for Crystal Paladin ! "

" Hm... besides Aqua Sniper ... I think that one Aqua Hulcus and three Aqua Surfers will do fine ! " Edo said . " Speaking of that , shouldn't we also add three Terror Pits since they're basic shield triggers along with Aqua Surfers ? "

" Of course ! " Subaru said and added all the cards . " Lets see now , so far this deck has : two Supernova Neptune Shutrom , one Deathliger Lion of Chaos , two Aqua Snipers , one Ballom Emperor Lord of Demons , two Crystal Paladins , two Gajirabute Vile Centurions , two Shiver of Sealed Devil Jumazohl , one Aqua Hulcus , three Aqua Surfers and three Terror Pits ! So far there are just nineteen cards ! I think that we should think for a few more spells for this deck ! I know , lets add just shield trigger spells ! Any suggestions ? "

" Lets add Streaming Shaper , Energy Stream , Eureka Charger , Emergency Typhoon , Transmogrify and Cyber Brain ! " Edo said smiling .

" Um...Edo-kun... most of these spells don't have shield trigger except for Emergency Typhoon , Transmogrify and Cyber Brain ! " Subaru replied and sweated .

" So ? They're cool and have great drawing power ! "

" You don't get it ... oh well I think that we could add two Transmogrify and one Cyber Brain ! " Subaru said . " Also I'll add one Inferno Sign as well and we're done ! "

" B-but why just one Inferno Sign ? " Edo asked .

" Because from now on it's restricted to one ! I know , damn japanese producers ! "

And after half an hour of intense work , the two had only one part of the deck to work on . The most important AKA the Grand Devils they were going to add . Since Shutrom had Grand Devils as evo bait , they had to be careful what Grand Devils they would add in that deck . Now this was the point where the real war between the two had started . It was darkness Grand Devils VS water Grand Devils . Both Subaru and Edo were as tough in opinions as the creatures they were choosing and so the battle of cool creatures and eye stealing combos had begun .

" Fuuma Ravaal , the Reaper is perfect for this deck ! It makes all evolution creatures cost 1 mana less , so Neptune Shutrom will be summoned faster ! Also it's a great combo with Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! " Subaru said .

" Yes , but Sealed Devil Balzoo is also great ! It's a cheap and non-shield trigger Aqua Surfer ! " Edo said .

" Yeah , but he's no match for Sealed Devil Garmagias which is a frigging cheap 8000 powered double breacker ! In this deck it would be invincible ! " Subaru said .

" It may be , but this deck is not only about fast attacks ! Blockers might also be good and that's why I think that Sealed Devil Webaris is good for this job ! He's a more powerful Aqua Guard ! " Edo said smiling .

" Oh , but Edo-kun , lets not forget Sealed Devil Josjaks ! " Subaru said . " He's a slayer and ..."

The heated discussion went on and on and the deck seemed to become improving and powerful . Edo and Subaru spent hours in that room working on that deck and they had great fun , even better than playing ordinary computer games .

The UFO kept flying above the world like a lost cloud in the eternal blue horizon called sky . If you could look at it from a decent distance , you would think that it's just moving calmly like all the other clouds , but actually it was moving really fast , because it had to reach Tibet before Rezo or his army .

The black and mystic night had fallen over the lands darkening all the places and making impossible for people to see anything without the help of a torch or flashlight . A cold and menacing snow storm was approaching the Tibet mountains . The UFO had reached the moutains by 8 PM and had stopped at their bottom .

Inside the UFO , doctor Root had given the announcement to the other three passengers that they had arrived to their destination . Kokujo got up from his couch and put the good looking evil genious magazines under the table . Afterwards he closed the TV and rushed to the control room . Subaru and Edo got out of the card room as well . Both had their clothes and hair messy , because of all that struggle with the deck planning .

" God , too much thinking can make your head explode ! " Edo said .

" Yeah , but it's better than watching Teletubies non-stop for a whole week ! " Subaru added . " So , shall we go to the control room ? "

" Yep , doctor Root called us , so it must be something serious ! "

" Or maybe he wants to give us candy ? "

" I haven't thought of that , Suby ! LETS GO GET SOME CANDY ! " Edo yelled and ran while followed by Subaru .

The four passengers of the UFO were now gathered in the control room . Doctor Root held an important speech about safety measures and health protection on mountain expeditions . Edo didn't pay much attention because he was too busy to cry for not getting any candy . Subaru and Kokujo on the other hand listened to Root's whole speech , no matter how long and boring it was . But before the doctor could finish his speech , the UFO suddenly shook .

" What's this , an earthquake ? " Subaru asked while grabbing a hold of a pillar .

" No , it's something worse ! " Kokujo replied while staring at one of the windows . " It's the masked duelist ! "

" WHAT ?! " Subaru , Edo and doctor Root yelled .

They all got out of the UFO and had found the masked duelist standing in front of the moutain . Behind him was a blue energy barrier which was blocking the UFO's way . It was clear now that Rezo was a step further than them . The masked duelist was just sent there to slow them down a bit .

" You've arrived sooner than Lord Rezo had expected ! " the masked duelist said .

" Tsh , get outta the way or you'll regret it , worm ! " Kokujo said with a cold voice .

" Hehe , you'll pass this barrier only through my dead body ! " the masked duelist said and took out his glowing deck .

" You've asked for it ! " Kokujo replied and was about to take out his deck .

Suddenly Subaru put his hand in front of Kokujo and made a step foward to the masked duelist . The black haired boy took out his glowing deck and stared at the duelist which was wearing a black robe and a mask with the darkness civlisation emblem .

" Stand back , Kokujo-kun , this guy is mine ! " Subaru said .

" Ooo , so the chosen darkness duelist wants to face me ? Heh , bring it on , kid ! I'll make sure your death will be quick and painless ! " the masked duelist replied and made two dueling tables appear .

With a deep breath and a sigh , Subaru put his deck on the table and set up his five shields , thing which the masked duelist also did . The duel which would decide if they would continue their journey had started .


	12. Truth! Identity of the masked duelist!

An extremely cold blizzard was blowing to the bottom of the tibetan mountains announcing the iminent snow storm . Subaru and the masked duelist started their duel having Edo , Kokujo and doctor Root as observers . Subaru had to rush the duel so that they could climb the mountains before the snow storm would start .

" I summon Marrow Ooze , the Twister ! " Subaru said and a white mud creature appeared behind him .

" I summon Dandy Eggplant and put Unleashed Getchell to my graveyard ! " the masked duelist said and an eggplant looking creature which was weilding a big club appeared behind him .

" I summon Propeller Mutant ! " Subaru said and a purple plane with hands appeared on Marrow Ooze's left .

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana ! " the masked duelist said and a green horse wearing a skin jacket and weilding a giant fork appeared behind him and roared .

" They're both equal in rush ! At this rate we'll never climb the mountains under good weather ! " Edo exclaimed .

" Don't you worry a bit , Edo-kun ! Evreything is under control ! " Subaru said and showed the next card he was going to use . " I fortify one of my shields with Rose Castle ! As long as the shield which is fortified with Rose Castle stays in the shield zone , Rose Castle's effect will make all your creatures lose 1000 power ! "

" WHAT ?! " the masked duelist yelled .

" Say good bye to your Dandy Eggplant and Bronze-Arm Tribe ! " Subaru said smiling as the masked duelist's creatures blew up . " And now Propeller Mutant and Marrow Ooze break his shields ! "

Propeller Mutant flew towards the masked duelist while Marrow Ooze crawled to him . The purple plane shot one of his shield to pieces and he took cover so that the bullets wouldn't hit him . Then the mud like creature smashed another shield with its long hands . The masked duelist was sorrounded by lots of shield shards and he stared at Marrow Ooze which died after it made the attack because of its effect .

Subaru smiled because he was gaining advantage while Edo was cheering him . Doctor Root had a serious face , because the duel was just getting started and Kokujo stood there grumpy as always thinking that Subaru was too confident .

The masked duelist took the cards from his shields into his hand . He didn't get any shield trigger , but he didn't mind . He charged mana and showed a card saying :

" My turn , I cast Inferno Sign ! The spell's effect will revive my Unleashed Getchell ! "

" What the ... " Subaru said and sweated a bit .

" Unleashed Getchell ! It's a 7000 powered double breacker and whenever it attacks , the masked duelist will put a card from his hand to his mana zone or shields ! " doctor Root said sweating .

" This means that Subaru must get rid of that thing fast before the masked duelist could get his chance to attack with it ! " Edo added . " Subaru , I know you can ! Destroy Unleashed Getchell ! "

Subaru stared at his hand with sad eyes . He didn't have any good card which could help him get rid of Getchell . He just had four mana , and none of his destroying cards costed four mana . Also he didn't have any blocker so that he could protect his Rose Castle shield . In other words , he was pretty much doomed . But the black haired boy didn't give up yet ! He still had all of his shields , while the masked duelist had just three . If he could continue his rush and scare him , maybe he would win .

" My turn , I summon Vile Mulder , Wing of the Void ! " Subaru said and a black bat demon appeared behind him and roared . " Propeller Mutant break another shield ! "

The masked duelist grinned behind his mask as Propeller Mutant shot another of his shields . This time he got a shield trigger ! The shield shards united in a card which shined with a bright green light .

" Shield trigger activate ! I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! " the masked duelist said . " And now my turn ! I charge mana and summon Fly Lab , Crafty Demonic Tree ! Fly Lab makes all my spells cost 1 mana less , so I now cast Vine Charger for only three mana ! Vine Charger will force you to choose one of your creatures and send it to the mana zone ! "

" I send Propeller Mutant to my mana zone ! " Subaru said and the purple plane got sorrounded by a green aura and disappeared .

" Also Vine Charger goes to my mana zone instead of the graveyard since it's a charger , so I get one more mana ! And now I also cast Venom Charger and again get another mana ! " the masked duelist said with an evil voice . " Surrender , Subaru , you don't stand a chance ! "

" Never ! I'll never give up in front of a creep like you ! "

" You asked for it , kid ! Unleashed Getchell double break his shields ! And I'll add the last card from my hand to my shields ! HAHAHAHAHAHA TAKE THAT !!! "

Subaru took cover as he got two of his shields broken . The boy stared scarred at his Rose Castle shield which turned into shield shards and his fortress card fell in his graveyard . He took the two cards into his hand and started his turn .

" I summon Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias ! Biragias's effect will make your Fly Lab lose 3000 power and die ! And now Vile Mulder double break his shields ! "

The black bat demon flew straight towards the masked duelist and went through two of his shields breacking them into pieces . The masked duelist made a 'grr' and took the shields which turned into cards to his hand . The duelist spoke with anger in his voice to the black haired boy :

" Shield trigger activate I cast Natural Snare and send Vile Mulder to your mana zone ! "

Subaru , Edo and doctor Root stared scarred at Vile Mulder which disappeared after getting sorrounded by a green aura . Kokujo was more than sure that the masked duelist would be a tough opponent for Subaru and was regretting that he let the black haired boy duel him . But it was too late to change something , because the duel was already reaching its intense point . The masked duelist made a loud evil laugh while Subaru layed his head down .

" HAHAHAHAHAHA ! I TOLD YOU TO GIVE UP WHILE YOU STILL COULD , SUBARU ! NOW IT'S TOO LATE TO GO BACK ! " the masked duelist yelled . " My turn , I summon Necrodragon Guljeneraid ! And now Unleashed Getchell double break his shields again and I'll add another card to my shields ! "

Subaru took cover again as his shields got broken . The boy trembled a bit and then fell on his knees as the shield shards turned into cards and went into his hand . Subaru was sweating and was afraid that he might lose and that they would never suceed in stopping Rezo . Edo was about to go to him and consolate him , but Kokujo stopped him by pulling his hand .

" Don't ! " Kokujo spoke to Edo with a serious voice .

" B-but he's losing ! He needs some friendly advice so that he won't... "

" He donsen't need any friendly advice ! If he wants to become a man , he'll have to learn it the hard way , so trust me and leave him be ! "

Edo stared at his friend which was standing there all alone on his knees suffering . He was cold and tired because of the duel . And if it wasn't bad enough , he was also losing ! Subaru was searching deep down inside him for something which could free him from that awful situation in which he was in . But he couldn't find anything ! He really thought that it could be the end for him , but then he remembered the night he had spent with Tsugumi and the love they both felt back then .

" That's right , I can't leave my love all alone ! " Subaru thought . " We've promised to eachother that we'll meet again after this whole thing ends ! I musn't give up now ! "

This thing motivated him and he slowly got up on his feet and turned to the masked duelist . As he saw him get on his feet again , the masked duelist stared at him with discust and spoke :

" Tsh , still not giving up , you little loser ? "

" No , masked duelist ! I have too many things dear to me in this world to give up ! Your dueling days will soon be over , scum ! " Subaru said and showed a card which glew with a bright purple light . " Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit ! Destroy Necrodragon Guljeneraid at this instant ! "

Lots of demonic hands appeared behind Subaru and reached the giant dark brown dragon which belonged to the masked duelist . Before the masked duelist could notice , his Necrodragon Guljeneraid got smashed by all those hands . Subaru then a darkness card on his Biragias card and spoke once again :

" I evolve Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias into Ballom , Master of Death ! "

A giant blue skinned goat demon wearing a bone armor and with giant bird wings appeared behind Subaru and roared . Subaru smiled as the masked duelist made a few steps back and gave him an angry stare . Edo started cheering Subaru once again as doctor Root and Kokujo smiled to him with 'go on' expressions on their faces . Subaru then put his hand on the card and spoke :

" Ballom , Master of Death destroy Unleashed Getchell ! There , lets see you defeat me now without your precious Getchell ! "

The masked duelist drew his next card and got angrier than before . It was just a Faerie Life which couldn't help him that much in his situation . He decided to just charge mana with it and end his turn . Subaru then started his turn and showed what he was going to summon .

" My turn , I summon two Marrow Ooze , the Twister and Gajirabute , Vile Centurion ! " Subaru said smiling . " Gajirabute's effect will throw one of your shields to the graveyard and you can't use its shield trigger ! "

A blue demon with angel wings and lightning sword appeared behind Subaru and roared . It was Gajirabute and with just a slash of his mighty sword he made one of the masked duelist's shields get destroyed and the card go to the graveyard . The shield was a Terror Pit which was a shield trigger , but the masked duelist couldn't use it .

" Time to put an end to this once and for all ! " Subaru said . " Ballom , Master of Death break his final shield ! "

The demon roared and created a lazor ball in its hands . The masked duelist stared scarred at Ballom which held the ball in its hands for a few seconds and then fired it towards him . The lazor ball not only broke his shield into lots of shards , but it also made his mask get a few cracks . The masked duelist got a little shocked because of that , but he couldn't help it anymore . The shield shards were also pushed by the lazor and they were hitting his mask as well causing more and more cracks to appear . The masked duelist layed his head down until Ballom finished his attack .

The demon stopped its powerful lazor and the masked duelist showed his head to Subaru and the rest . They all saw that his mask had gotten lots of cracks and they could see his red eyes filled with anger a lot better . Suddenly his mask started falling apart , piece by piece , and this time he wasn't covering his face anymore . And so , he slowly revealed his mouth , cheeks , nose to the anxious Subaru , Kokujo , Edo and doctor Root . After a few seconds of waiting , his whole face had been revealed to them . They all got big shocked eyes of seeing who the masked duelist really was . His face was the same as Kokujo's , only a bit younger !

" Oh my ... he's Kokujo ? Impossible ! " Subaru spoke with a shocked voice .

" K-Kokujo ? The masked duelist ? It can't be ! " Edo added with the same shocked voice

Kokujo stared at the masked duelist and got in his minds some images of his past having a small boy which looked like him . It was then when Kokujo remembered who the masked duelist really was !

" Ichiro , is that you ? " Kokujo asked .

" At last you remembered me ... father ! " Ichiro answered and turned his evil glare to Kokujo .

" FATHER ?! " Subaru , Edo and doctor Root yelled .

Kokujo stood still having a dark shadow cover his face . He was amazed ! How could his son , Ichiro , be alive after all those years ? Especially after what had happened ...

" Heh , won't you give your long lost son a hug , father ? " Ichiro asked with an arrogant voice . " Or are you still the same cold hearted scum which left me to die back then ?! "

" What's he talking about ? " Doctor Root asked asked Kokujo which was still standing with the dark shadow covering his eyes . " Explain , Kokujo , who's this Ichiro kid and what's he babbling about being your son ? Is it true ? "

" It's true ! " Kokujo answered with a serious voice . " Ichiro... is my son ! He was the only child which I had with Malice ! We had him when we left to the United States of America for sixteen years ! He was conceived in Malice's belly a few months after we arrived there and after just one year of being in the US , he was born ! "

" B-but why didn't you tell me and Tsugumi that you had a son , Kokujo ? " Subaru asked . " Afterall we're your friends ! "

" It's because he died ! " Kokujo spoke with a serious voice . " It all happened when Ichiro was fifteen years old ! He was having his first kaijudo duel against me and we were dueling on a cliff ! "

Kokujo then got a flashback in his mind as he kept narrating about what happened .

_It was a sunny day . Kokujo and Ichiro were dueling on a cliff near the ocean . Ichiro was standing with his back to the sea while Kokujo was standing with his back to the cabin where they lived together with Malice . Ichiro had no more shields and it was Kokujo's turn ._

" _My turn , I evolve Daidalos , General of Fury into Dorballom , Lord of Demons ! " Kokujo said and the great lord of all darkness , the red winged goat demon withsix golden tentacles which ended in goat heads and six hands appeared behind him and roared . _

" _Wow , what an amazing creature , father ! " Ichiro said and stared amazed at Dorballom ._

" _One day I promise I'll tell you how I won this creature and your mother's love as well , son ! But till then you must learn the taste of defeat ! Dorballom totomeda ! "_

_Dorballom roared and created a giant lazor ball . Ichiro got scarred of what was going on and made a few steps back . Kokujo tried to calm him down telling him that it will hurt just for a few seconds , but Ichiro didn't listen and walked back until he accidently slipped and fell off the cliff . Kokujo saw that and ran after him , but Dorballom then fired his giant lazor destroying that part of the cliff and making Kokujo unable to run and save his son . _

_Kokujo yelled Ichiro's name and after Dorballom finished his attack , he searched for him . Kokujo digged evrey piece of stone and sand he could find at the cliff's bottom , but there was no track of his son . He also searched the ocean as hard as he could , bu Ichiro was gone forever ! _

The flashback ended as Kokujo finished his narrating .

" Since that day I kept living with the guilt of killing my own son , but I soon forgot about that as I got absorbed in duels . That's all you need to know for now ! "

" Kokujo-kun.... " Subaru spoke with a sad voice .

" Bullshit ! You never came to save me ! " Ichiro yelled . " Admit it , you just left me to die like an animal ! "

Kokujo didn't answer anymore . What he was feeling was beyond evreyone's imagination . The long haired boy just stood there like a mighty statue ignoring evreything and evreyone . Subaru just couldn't stand the fact that Ichiro was making Kokujo feel horrible after all he had suffered to save him and yelled at him :

" YOU SHOULD SHOW SOME RESPECT TO YOUR FATHER ! WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE THAT HE ACTUALLY TRIED TO SAVE YOU ?! "

" You shut up , chosen darkness duelist ! This is not your buisness ! " Ichiro replied and got back to the duel . " Shield trigger activate , I summon Darkness Southern ! "

" When Darkness Southern is summoned , all of Subaru's creatures will lose 1000 power ! " Edo said sweating .

Subaru's Marrow Oozes blew up as Ichiro made an evil laugh and got a crazy expression on his face . The boy now seemed inhuman to them . He was like an unleashed beast .

" My turn ! MANA GALAXY VORTEX ! I SUMMON SUPERNOVA DEATH DRAGERION !!! " Ichiro yelled and a giant dragon like creature with lots of hands and dark blue wings and a long head appeared behind him and roared .

" Oh no ! This is not good at all ! " Edo said .

Subaru stared scarred at the giant Death Dragerion which was looking more menacing than ever . Ichiro made a maniacal evil laugh as Edo and Root were staring with shocked expressions at Subaru which was losing .

" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!! YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR ME , SUBARU ! NOW TIME TO KILL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL ! DARKNESS SOUTHERN BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELD ! "

" Gaaah ! " Subaru yelled as his final shield got broken .

The boy didn't have luck . His last shield wasn't a shield trigger . Subaru then accepted his fate and stood there like a real man waiting for his opponent to finish him off .

" TIME TO GET RID OF THIS WORLD OF YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL !!! SUPERNOVA DEATH DRAGERION TOTOMEDAAAAAAAAA !!!!! " Ichiro yelled .

The giant creature gathered all its energy into a powerful lazor ball and casted it towards Subaru . The black haired boy flew in the air while burning because of the lazor . Ichiro made another maniacal laugh because of his triumph , but then he felt pain inside his body . The boy fainted on his dueling table under the shocked sights of evreyone .

Kokujo and Edo ran to the dueling place while Root ran back in the UFO to bring his medical suitcase . Edo ran to Subaru while Kokujo ran to Ichiro .

" Subaru , are you okay ? Subaru ? Subaru !! " Edo yelled .

Suddenly Subaru slowly opened his eyes and saw Edo's worried face . The black haired boy smiled to the brown haired boy and spoke :

" Don't worry , I'm okay . It takes more than a Death Dragerion blast to get rid of me ! "

" Freaky as always ! " Edo laughed . " Glad to have ya back , Subaru ! "

Kokujo ran towards Ichiro's dueling table . Even though he had hurt him so much , he was still his son , and he needed to find out what was between Rezo and him . But before Kokujo could reach the dueling table , two glowing cards came up from it and created a dark sphere in which they put Ichiro and the dueling table . Kokujo saw that the two cards were the two Supernova Death Dragerion cards which Rezo had given to Ichiro . The dark sphere then flew in the air along with the Death Dragerion cards leaving Kokujo all alone staring at them .

Suddenly the blue energy barrier which was blocking the UFO's way towards the tibetan mountains had disappeared . Kokujo was still staring at the sky with lost eyes . He couldn't believe what had just happened in that night . He was swipped out of his thoughts by Edo's voice which spoke to him :

" Kokujo , Subaru's okay , lets get in the UFO and leave ! The snow storm's approaching and we don't have much time left ! "

" Tsh , lets go ! " Kokujo replied and walked towards the UFO having Subaru helped by Edo follow him .

Meanwhile , in the middle of the tibetan mountains , Rezo had parked his castle awaiting for the time to come so that he could start searching for the source of power that he needed . The dark sphere had arrived at the castle and a minion had put Ichiro on a bed in Rezo's throne chamber which was also his laboratory . As Ichiro was resting , Rezo was looking at him while holding the two Supernova Death Dragerion cards in his hand .

" So Kokujo had finally found out who you are ! Good job , Ichiro ! " Rezo said and then turned his sight to a fourty eight card deck which was lying on a table . " The darkness and nature Zombie Dragon deck which I had made for you was just a cover deck ! This deck which I had just built will show the true power of Kokujo's son and in combo with Supernova Death Dragerion it will bring the Black Death's end once and for all ! "


	13. Revival of the X

If in the Tibet a snow storm was about to come , in China there was no such thing . The night sky was clean of clouds and filled with shiny blue stars . A red rocket was flying through the sky with a normal speed , for there was no rush . It was Rad's rocket , and it was piloted by the red haired boy while Sora was standing on his right being the co-pilot and Tsugumi was staring at the window amazed of what she was seeing . It was her first rocket ride , and she had never seen the skies so close , nor the land so far .

" Fantastic ! This is more than amazing ! " Tsugumi said while having her face sticked on the window glass . " The stars , the sky , the villages , the people , the snow ! I must've died and flew to heaven ! "

" Tsugumi-chan , you really should calm down a bit , hehe ! " Sora replied sweating .

" Watch out and don't mess my windows with drool , or you'll suffer the conciquences , pretty lady ! " Rad warned the blonde girl but she didn't answer , thing which annoyed him . " Are you done looking stupid ? "

" What was that ?! " Tsugumi asked with surprised voice .

" Are you done looking stupid ? " Rad repeated .

" Why you little ! I'm gonna... crap , I forgot what I was gonna do... "

" You were gonna go back to your sightseeing ? " Sora suggested .

" Good idea ! " Tsugumi exclaimed and turned back to the window .

" I'm sorrounded by idiots... " Rad spoke to himself and kept driving the rocket .

And so they continued their rocket journey through the night having Tsugumi annoy them with her sightseeing observations .

" Wow , what a long river ! And what a big village ! And what beautiful snow ! " the blnode girl exclaimed .

" God , why must you punish me like this ? " Rad spoke while having his veins in his head ready to pop out .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . The servants were running through the halls executing ordeers . Most of them had to make food , clean up the halls and polish objects . Ichiro was still sleeping on the bed having two servants watching on him . Rezo was too busy to do that , that's why he put those servants to do it .

Rezo , the Red Priest was working on a formula . He had checked all his black magic books and had added all the chemicals he needed in a bowl with hot water . After mixing them with a long iron spoon , Rezo looked in the bowl and saw that the substance was a green liquid which had purple bubbles . The Red Priest grinned and walked to a drawer which he opened and took out a piece of paper with the form of an X .

" Hehehehe , in a few minutes they'll all pay for even thinking of trying to fight me ! When you'll be awaken once again , the whole odds will change to my side ! " Rezo spoke and walked to the bowl . " Land evil come to me ! I order you to free this slave of yours ! Sky evil come to me ! I order you to make this soul breathe your air once again ! Water evil come to me ! I order you to bring blood back in this person's heart ! And at last , powerful and undying fire evil ! Make this unworthy being get back its miserable life and create the disorder and chaos you wish ! May your will be done once and for all ! XENZIA !!!! "

Rezo threw the X shaped paper in the bowl as a red lightning stroke the whole bowl filling it with dark energy . Its radiant power was unbelivable ! And to think that all this was just for bringing someone back to life . God knew what serious damage Rezo would do if he would make an attack .

After a few minutes of radiating with an enormous energy , the lightning disappeared and evreything calmed down . Rezo walked to the bowl and put his hand in it . The Red Priest pulled out a dark purple hand and finished the rebirth ceremonial saying :

" As your mother had given birth to you , this way I'll also bring you back to life ! "

The Red Priest then pulled out of the bowl a female body which had a dark purple armor on her and was wearing a giant X helmet . The poor woman was breathing hardly and Rezo let her stay on her knees to recover .

" Welcome back , Xanagazu ! " Rezo spoke .

" And SHOCK , you must be Rezo , the Red Priest , right ? " Xanagazu spoke .

" Ah , you remember me ! Great ! "

" Of course I remember you ! You were the blind loser which tried to defeat Zakira , but failed in the stupidest way ! "

" Yes , but my power had grown significantly since then , dear Xanagazu ! I've brought you back to life because I know that you'll come pretty handy in the battle which is about to begin ! "

" Your powerful aura can be felt from miles away and you really seem like ready for battle ! " Xanagazu spoke amazed . " Okay , at least you don't seem boring like that Zakira was ! Tell me evreything about this whole battle , Rezo ! "

" Of course , and it's Lord Rezo to you ! " Rezo said and grinned .

" Understood , Lord Rezo ! "

And so , Rezo explained to Xanagazu that they were in the future , that they had to fight against the five chosen duelists , Root and Kokujo , that they were heading towards Tibet to find a certain power source and that Kokujo's son , Ichiro , was his servant . Xanagazu smiled with an evil smile and thought that this whole thing might be fun for her , so she accepted Rezo's offer of serving him .

" I gladly accept your offer , Lord Rezo ! " Xanagazu said while bowing . " It will be a pleasure to crush Kokujo Kyoshiro's bones once and for all ! "

" I'm afraid that you'll have to wait for that ! " Rezo replied . " I'm gonna send you on a mission to bring down the second group which is formed by the fire , light and nature chosen duelists ! You see , I'm sendin you t take care of them because they're going towards eastern China ! "

" Did you just say China ? "

" Yep , have a problem with it , Xanagazu ? "

" SHOCK ! I'm gonna pack my stuff and head there right away ! "

Back at Rad's rocket . After a few hours of sightseeing , Tsugumi had finally stopped admiring the sights of China . The girl sat in a corner of the rocket and stood there quiet . Rad was so happy that it was silence and that he could concentrate on his driving , that he didn't notice what happened with Tsugumi . Sora on the other hand was wondering why the girl was so silent and turned her head back to see her standing all alone in a corner .

" Tsugumi-chan , what's wrong with you ? " Sora asked and got up from her seat .

" Oh , didn't even notice that she had shut up ! Man how I love silence ! " Rad laughed .

" Tsugumi-chan , is something wrong ? " Sora asked as she was approaching the girl .

The blonde girl didn't answer . She stood in her corner with her hands covering her face . Sora then noticed that Tsugumi was crying silently and she had been covering her face so that they wouldn't hear her .

" Oh my ... Rad , she's crying ! " Sora exclaimed .

" WHAT ?! B-but why ? " Rad said shocked .

Tsugumi didn't answer . She just kept crying inside as if she was trying to get rid of a demon which was possessing her . After enjoying the beauties which China had to offer , she got struck by the memories of the Christmas night which she had spent with Subaru . The blonde girl was now missing Subaru more than anything else and her heart was aching for his hug and his gentle touch .

" Come on , dear , please tell me what going on ! " Sora said while hugging Tsugumi and tapping her head . Come on , don't cry ! Now now , please calm down ! "

" Subaru ... " Tsugumi sobbed .

" Huh ? What's with Subaru ? " Sora asked .

" I miss him ! I just can't imagine spending a day without my love ! " the girl continued .

Then the two girls heared a bump . Sora turned her head and saw Rad bumping his head on a wall of the rocket because he had had enough of Tsugumi's useless behaviour .

" God , please , take me now ! " Rad spoke with tears falling from his eyes .

" Ignore him... " Sora whispered to Tsugumi which was still sobbing . " Don't you worry , the sooner we finish this mission , the sooner you'll get to see him again ! "

" R-really ? " the girl asked while Sora was whiping off the tears from her face .

" Yeah , now how about we ... "

Just then the whole rocket shook a bit a stopped . Something must've hit it , but what ? There was nothing in the air except for them . The girls ran scarred to Rad's seat and hid behind it , taking out only their heads . Rad was sweating hard and looking evreywhere to see the cause of their 'wreck' . Suddenly a barrier made of blue energy appeared in front of them .

" Wh-what's this creepy thing ? " Rad asked sweating .

" You got SHOCKED , right kids ? " a voice from above spoke .

A dark figure came down on a ball of blue energy . Then they saw that the one which caused all this was none other than Xanagazu !

" Xanagazu ? Impossible ! I thought she was dead ! " Tsugumi spoke with a scarred voice

" Huh ? You know her ? " Sora asked .

" Yes , I do know her ... You see , in the past I was sacrificed by Zakira to create the Prood of Duelmaster . Later he brought me back to life to serve him and his crazy intentions , but Subaru and Kokujo saved me from his clutches . While I was under his service , I also had two work mates and those were Yu his younger sister and Xanagazu , this crazy woman ! "

" I may be crazy , Tsugumi , but at least I'm more powerful than you ! " Xanagazu added . " To complete your story , Zakira had found out that I was planning to betray him and killed me . Then a few hours ago , Rezo , the Red Priest brought me back to life and offered me a place in his army . Obviously I accepted it and now my mission is to make sure you brats don't reach eastern China ! "

" She means buisness , what are we gonna do ? " Rad whispered to the girls .

" I'll go ! " Tsugumi said and walked to the door .

" W-wait , Tsugumi-chan ! " Sora tried to stop her , but no use .

Tsugumi opened the door and walked out of the plane like in a trance . When Sora and Rad thought that she was gonna fall , they saw that actually she was walking in the air . This was because of Rezo's spell , and they knew it . Xanagazu snapped her fingers and two dueling tables appeared in the air . Tsugumi took out her deck and put it on the table , the X lady doing the same thing .

" SHIELDS UP !!! " both yelled and the duel started .

After a few turns had passed , it was Xanagazu's turn to do her move .

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain a mana ! " Xanagazu said .

" I summon Miele , Vizier of Lightning ! " Tsugumi said smiling . " Miele will tap your Bronze-Arm Tribe and now Sarius , Vizier of Suppression destroy it ! "

" Tsh , I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier ! Skysword will give me one more mana and one more shield ! "

" Hehe , desperate for mana , right ? I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law and now Miele break her shield ! "

" Heh , shield trigger activate ! Cyber Brain ! I will draw 3 cards and now my turn ! " Xanagazu said smiling . " I summon Qurian which will let me draw one more card ! Afterwards I summon Tajimal , Vizier of Aqua ! "

" Heh , at last you summon a blocker ! I was beginning to think that it's too easy ! " Tsugumi laughed . " Anyway , I summon Valkyer , Starstorm Elemental and end my turn ! "

" She has a pretty nice amount of blockers , but she'll be no match for me ! " Xanagazu thought and then spoke . " I cast Xanatic X and make tap your Valkyer and Sarius and make them battle ! Sarius will die and Valkyer remains tapped ! Then I cast Miraculous Snare and send Ultimus to your shields ! Hehe , lets see you block me now ! Qurian and Skysword break her shields ! "

Tsugumi took cover as Xanagazu's creatures broke two of her shields . The girl looked a bit scarred as the shield shards sorrounded her . Rad and Sora got worried thinking that Tsugumi might lose and that they'd become prisoners of Rezo's . Tsugumi then opened her eyes as the shield shards united into cards .

" Watch out , these shield shards may make someone lose an eye ! " Tsugumi joked .

" What ? You aren't scarred even a bit ? " Xanagazu asked .

" Nope , you should've seen your face ! "

" You weren't even SHOCKED for a bit ? "

" Nope ! And now time for you to get SHOCKED , Xanagazu ! I evolve Valkyer into Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits ! "

A giant angel robot made of gold and with long white wings appeared behind the girl . Xanagazu made a step back and stared scarred at Alcadeias .

" As long as Alcadeias is in the battlezone , we cannot cast spells unless they're light spells ! " Tsugumi said smiling . " Good that my deck has only light in it ! "

" Tsh , I'll defeat you even if you have that annoying Alcadeias ! " Xanagazu said angry . " Your turn , lets see what you got , girly ! "

" Okay then ! Alcadeias destroy Qurian ! "

" Block it , Tajimal ! Is that all ? "

" Not at all , dear Xanagazu ! Miele breack her shield and I end my turn ! "

" Heh , perfect ! " Xanagazu said and showed a shiny card . " I summon Zen , Transcendent God ! "

A giant stone statue appeared behind Xanagazu and stared with an evil look towards Tsugumi and her Alcadeias .

" Zen is a 8000 powered blocker and a double breaker ! Lets see you handle him ! And now Qurian and Skysword break her shields again ! "

Tsugumi took cover as her shields got broken again . If the last time it was a joke , now the things were getting serious ! Xanagazu started pulling out her aces , and they weren't nice at all . Tsugumi knew it , she had to do the same thing , otherwise she was a gonner .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Heaven's Gate ! " the girl spoke . " Heaven's Gate will let me summon two blockers from my hand for free ! I summon Syforce , Aurora Elemental and Syrius , Firmament Elemental ! "

Then two giant robotic angels appeared behind the girl . One was orange towards red and had a shiny white aura sorrounding him . It was Syforce . The other had the shape of a space ship and was build of white metal . That was Syrius .

" And now my turn ! " Tsugumi said . " I cast Magic Shot – Glory Gate and reveal the top 3 cards from my deck and take a Knight card to my hand ! (the cards were : Pure White Thunder Beast , Magic Shot – Plus 1 and Urth Purifying Elemental) Since Magic Shot – Plus 1 is the only Knight card , I'll take it to my hand ! And now I cast Magic Shot – Plus 1 ! Its effect will add one card to one of my shields , the stack of cards being considered one shield ! And now time to bring you down , Xanagazu ! Syrius , triple break her shields ! "

Xanagazu took cover as Syrius fired all its lazors towards her breacking three of her shields into lots of pieces . The X lady took fast the cards into her hand and smiled .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! " Xanagazu said and a blue surfer appeared behind her . " Send her Alcadeias back to her hand ! "

" What ?! " the girl said shocked as Aqua Surfer flew towards her Alcadeias and with one surfboard hit made it disappear . " Now Xanagazu will be able to cast her spells ! "

" You got that right ! Shield trigger activate , I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! Continue , girly ! "

" Grrr... I end my turn ! "

" Hehehe , scarred of my Zen ? Fine then , I'll make you regret you didn't attack ! " Xanagazu said grinning . " I charge mana and cast VIOLENCE HEAVEN !!! "

" WHAT ?! " Tsugumi yelled scarred .

" Violence Heaven ! It's a 10 mana darkness spell ! " Sora said .

" And its effect destroys all creatures in the battlezone which aren't Gods ! " Rad added .

Lots of black swords started falling from the sky and they went through all of Tsugumi's creatures and through Xanagazu's Qurian and Skysword . After a few seconds , all the swords had disappeared and then the creatures which got hit by them blew up . Tsugumi had lost all her creatures while Xanagazu still had Zen in the battlezone . The blonde girl layed her head down and stood there without saying anything while Xanagazu made an evil laugh and said :

" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! You're finished , foolish girl ! ZEN , TRANSCENDENT GOD BREAK HER FINAL SHIELDS !! "

The rock statue creature roared and hit Tsugumi's last two shields with its powerful fists . The girl was sorrounded by shield shards again and she stood there awaiting her end . Nothing in the world could possibly save her now . She had no more shields while Xanagazu still had one left , and also light dosen't have speed attackers . That was it , she had lost ! But then Tsugumi saw a light in one of the cards and took the shields to her hand . Then she remembered that she had used Magic Shot – Plus 1 and added one more card to a shield , so she had three cards instead of two . And they were EXACTLY the cards she needed ! The girl smiled once again and turned to Xanagazu saying :

" Shield trigger activate ! "

" WHAT ?! Nothing can save you now , girly ! "

" Don't be so sure , Xanagazu ! I cast Heaven's Gate ! Its effect will let me summon two blockers , and these blockers are Syforce , Aurora Elemental and Valkyer , Starstorm Elemental ! "

" Still , only Syforce can attack me and I still have one more shield ! Hah , just a destroying or bouncing spell or creature and your blockers are gone ! "

" Think again ! " Tsugumi said and showed a shiny card . " I evolve Valkyer into Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits ! "

" NOT AGAIN !!!! " Xanagazu yelled scarred as a giant golden robotic angel appeared in front of her . " Grr , I just need an Aqua Surfer in my last shield and then you'll be history , girly ! "

" We'll see about that ! Syforce break her final shield ! "

Xanagazu took cover as the orange robotic angel slashed her final shield into pieces with one of its wings . The shield shards united fast into a card and Xanagazu stared at it . It was Terror Pit which was a shield trigger , but also a darkness spell , and Alcadeias didn't let players to cast non-light spells .

" Unbelivable ! I got SHOCKED by someone else ! " Xanagazu spoke amazed .

" ALCADEIAS , LORD OF SPIRITS FINISH HER OFF , TOTOMEDA !!! " Tsugumi yelled and Alcadeias created a yellow lazor ball in his hands and afterwards he casted it towards Xanagazu .

" NOOOO ! I SHALL RETURN !!! " Xanagazu yelled and flew away with her blue energy ball .

Alcadeias's blast didn't hit Xanagazu , but it damaged the blue energy barrier badly and after a few seconds the barrier got destroyed . Tsugumi packed her cards and walked back into Rad's rocket .

" Woohoo , you were amazing , Tsugumi-chan ! " Sora congratulated the girl .

" Hehe , thanks ! " Tsugumi replied .

" For a girl , you were really awsome back there , Tsugumi ! " Rad added .

" Thank you , Rad ! Now how about we head towards eastern China already ? We've got some ass to kick ! " Tsugumi spoke with an enthusiastic voice .

" Eye eye , captain ! "

And so the three continued their rocket journey in the night towards their destination .


	14. The betrayers of Rezo's kingdom

Midnight . Shadows of suspects were haunting Rezo . The Red Priest was walking through his throne chamber waiting for Ichiro to get healed and wake up . He had casted a healing spell upon the boy a few hours ago and he was waiting for the effect to come . A servant had told him that Xanagazu had returned to the castle and that she had been defeated . He ordered the servant to find a resting room for Xanagazu and to do the same for Ichiro when the boy would wake up .

And now Rezo was all alone once again . He kept walking in circles and one single thought was torturing his brain . And this was the thought of anger against doctor Root , Kokujo and the five chosen duelists . He was ready to unleash his anger , but he had to wait until he was all alone in the room . Suddenly Ichiro opened his eyes and got up . The boy was looking a bit confused and he stared into nothing .

" Ichiro , you're awake ! " Rezo said and walked to him .

" Lord Rezo , what had just happened ? " Ichiro asked .

" You've defeated Subaru Hanzou , the chosen darkness duelist , but something happened to you and you fell unconcious . I haven't discovered what that thing was , but you're now healed ! "

" I see , what's my next mission now , Lord Rezo ? "

" You must continue to keep that UFO away from Tibet ! I will not allow those bastards to interfeer in my plans ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " Ichiro said and bowed . " I think I must get going now ... "

" Wait , Ichiro ! I first must give you a little something ! " Rezo said and showed Ichiro a fifty card deck .

" W-what's that , Lord Rezo ? "

" It's a darkness deck based on the new Reaper cards ! This deck has the creature which Kokujo desires AKA XENOM , the Reaper King ! It also has some of Kokujo's well known trump cards like Gal Volf and Super Trash Train as well as some Ballom creatures as well ! And besides that , I've added in this deck your two Supernova Death Dragerions for more chaos ! So what do you say ? "

Ichiro got an evil grin on his face as he took the deck from Rezo's hands . The boy stared at the deck's evil purple aura and then spoke to his master :

" With this deck I will bring those chosen duelists before they'll know it ! Also my bastard father should watch out as well ! "

" Hehe , that's what I want to hear ! Ok , Ichiro , you are dismissed ! "

Ichiro left Rezo's throne chamber and was guided by two servants in his room . There he packed all the stuff he needed and in one hour he left Rezo's castle in the search of Kokujo's UFO . With the new deck he had , this time he was sure that he'll bring them down for good !

Now that he was all alone , Rezo let the rage inside his veins flow in the whole room . With one scarry scream the whole thing began .

" KOKUJO , SUBARU , TSUGUMI , EDO , SORA , RAD – TRAITORS OF MY KINGDOM I FEEL !!!! "

Rezo took out his crystal ball and waves his hands arround it . The crystal ball showed through a smoke Kokujo and the five chosen duelists talking with doctor Root and plotting to stop Rezo and his plan to rule the world . The Red Priest got angrier than ever and screamed even louder :

" BETRAYERS ! LIARS ! TRAITORS , BASTARDS – I'M YOUR MASTER , I WILL PUNISH YOU !! "

Rezo then remembered that he heared voices from his servants say that Kokujo and the five chosen duelsits used to meet at night with doctor Root . They said that they used to conspire with the good old doctor against him . So Rezo started thinking of a punishment . All of them represented a threat for him .

" So I'm the tyrant of the Earth or what ? " Rezo asked with the same anger . " They should be praising my name to God , because I'm fighting to unite all the states of the Earth and turn this planet into my kingdom ! But instead they conspire against me and they waste their time with filthy things such as friendship and love ! Paying their lack of devotion in the dark of a UFO ! Oh , they will so regret all they had done in their life ! "

Rezo then walked to the balcony of the room . The Red Priest stared at the vast mountains of Tibet and raised up both his arms . He then yelled an incantation as hard as he could :

" Land evil come to me , I order you all disaster ! I will find the most bloody revenge upon them – upon them ! I despise their behaviour , in the dark they will suffer ! I am the bringer of sorrow - malicious I'll be , bad I will be ! "

Rezo then walked to his mirror and the images of the seven traitors appeared on it . Rezo stared with anger at them all , their faces making him angrier . He then spoke with a monstrous voice towards the mirror :

" I will destroy the things you love , you know I hate you ! This is the secret of my curse , disaster all arround I'll bring ! The walls of that UFO will collapse , and burn forever ! What kind of promise did you receive from doctor Root , the Temple's lackey ? "

Rezo then unleashed the real anger from his body . The Red Priest walked through the room faster and faster speaking as fast as he was walking and with anger in both his voice and eyes .

" I will kill you like animals , oh my dear enemies ! This is your lesson if you conspire against me ! I will kill you like animals , oh my dear enemies ! This is your lesson if you conspire against me ! " Rezo then stopped from his running and screamed with all his powers that the whole castle heared him . " DEATH YOU'LL SUFFER ! THIS I'LL OFFER ! THIS IS MY DIMENSION !!!! "

Rezo then took out his glowing deck . The furious priest used his magic and in a few seconds he created seven clones of his seven traitors . Each had exactly the same deck as its real version . Rezo took out his powerful deck and challenged them all to duels . This was the only way he could calm down his temper .

All night the servants in Rezo's castle listened horrified to the Red Priest's yells and the creature roars which were followed by the sound of breacking shields . They thought that their master had gone mad and that they'll destroy them all , but Xanagazu wasn't thinking at all about that . She knew that Rezo was just unleashing has useless anger and was testing his dueling deck for new strategies . The X lady liked his weird , yet efficient plan .

Inside the throne chamber seven duels were going on . It was Rezo against the clones .

" Mana Vortex ! I summon Sky Garuda , Super Divine Dragon ! " Rezo said and a giant black dragon with bad wings appeared behind him and roared . " Sky Garuda break her final shields ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare ! " Clone Sora spoke . " Send Necrodragon Zanzibar to his mana zone ! "

" Heh , now at the start of your turn Sky Garuda will force you to destroy a mana ! " Rezo laughed . " What will you do now ? "

" I evolve Cavern Raider into Fighter Dual Fang which will give me two more mana ! Then I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare to my shields ! Diruga Vejida , Green Divine Dragon break all of Rezo's shields ! "

" YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT , YOU GREEN BITCH !!! SHIELD TRIGGER ACTIVATE ! I CAST TERROR PIT TO DESTROY DUAL FANG AND INFERNO SIGN TO BRING NECRODRAGON GILAND BACK TO LIFE ! Grrr and now my turn ! I destroy a mana and then I charge mana ! I summon Dark Lupia ! And now Vortex Evolution , I evolve Dark Lupia and Necrodragon Giland into DEATH PHOENIX , AVATAR OF DOOM ! " Rezo yelled and a giant phoenix made of dark red fire appeared behind him and roared . " DEATH PHOENIX THROW HER NATURAL SNARE SHIELD TO THE GRAVEYARD ! SKY GARUDA TOTOMEDA ! "

The giant dragon fired a powerful lazor killing the Clone Sora . Rezo then turned to another duel where it was his turn .

" I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye and put Ghoul Ginus , the All-Destroying Fear Lord into my graveyard ! Your turn ! " Rezo said .

" I summon Bolbalzak , Swordflash Dragon and generate Dragon Gear – Zangeki Mach Armor for free ! " Clone Rad said . " And now I attack with Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon and sacrifice one of my shields to destroy your Bloody Squito ! Bolmeteus break his final shields ! "

" Shield trigger , I cast Inferno Sign and revive Ghoul Ginus ! I shall destroy my Propeller Mutant and Ghoul Ginus will instantly break one of your shields ! Also since Propeller Mutant got destroyed , I'll discard a card from your hand ! " Rezo spoke with anger in his voice . " My turn , I cast Terror Pit to destroy Bolbalzak ! And now I attack with Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye ! Romanoff's effect will make me cast Terror Pit once again ! "

A giant knight wearing a dark lord armor with red cape took out one of his guns and shot Clone Rad's final shields as lots of demon hands appeared and smashed his Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon .

" Ghoul Ginus , the All-Destroying Fear Lord totomeda ! " Rezo ordered and Clone Rad got killed by the creature .

The Red Priest still wasn't satisfied . He turned his head towards his next opponent AKA Clone Tsugumi . He had a special hate for Tsugumi since she and Subaru were lovers , love being an important element in the triumph of the good .

" With Cocco Lupia's effect I summon Necrodragon Dobolzark for only three mana and take Death Phoenix , Avatar of Doom from my deck to my hand ! " Rezo said . " I also summon Necrodragon Giland for two mana ! And now Spear Lupia suicide with her Miele and I'll take a dragon from my deck to my hand ! Hm... I'll take Necrodragon Belzarogue ! And now Sealed Devil Josjaks suicide with her Lorenzo the 4th and I'll discard Necrodragon Belzarogue ! Your turn ! "

" I evolve Yurius , Spirit of Thunder into Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits ! " Clone Tsugumi said and a giant golden robotic angel appeared behind her . " Ike , Syrius , triple break his shields ! And now Alcadeias break his final shields ! "

" Time to put an end to you once and for all ! I summon Magical Dragon Babelginus for only 5 mana and destroy him to revive NECRODRAGON BELZAROGUE !!! " Rezo yelled and a giant grey dragon appeared behind him and roared . " And now Vortex Evolution , I evolve Cocco Lupia and Belzarogue into DEATH PHOENIX , AVATAR OF DOOM !!! Ike , Death Phoenix , throw her final shields to the graveyard ! "

Death Phoenix roared and fired an enormous lazor ball towards Clone Tsugumi destroying her last shields . The shields went to the graveyard , so she couldn't use their shield triggers . The shields were Super Spark and Heaven's Gate .

" NECRODRAGON GILAND TOTOMEDA !!! " Rezo yelled and a long black dragon fired a lazor killing Clone Tsugumi .

Rezo then turned his rageful eyes to Clone Edo and started his turn .

" I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye and put Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike to my graveyard ! " Rezo said . " Totto Pippichi makes all my dragons turn into speed attackers , so I attack with Romanoff the 1st and activate Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike which will destroy your Aqua Guard , Aqua Hulcus , Aqua Surfer , Aqua Super Emeral and Aqua Strummer ! ROMANOFF BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS !!! "

" Shield trigger , I summon Cuty Heart and send Totto Pippichi back to your hand ! " Clone Edo said . " And now my turn , I summon Aqua Sniper which will send your Romanoff the 1st and Bloody Squito back to your hand ! Cuty Heart break his final shield ! "

" Tsh , I have no time for your stupid tricks , kid ! " Rezo said with a superior , yet angry voice . " Shield trigger , I cast Inferno Sign and revive Czar Gandhi , Dark Divine Dragon ! You're finished ! Czar Gandhi totomeda ! "

A bat looking yellow dragon appeared out of nowhere and in the next moment fired a powerful lazor killing Clone Edo . Rezo then turned to Clone Subaru and spoke :

" I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye and put Necrodragon Belzarogue to my graveyard ! Totto Pippichi makes all my dragons speed attackers , so I attack with Romanoff and activate Inferno Sign to revive Magical Dragon Babelginus ! And now I destroy Babelginus and replace him with Necrodragon Belzarogue ! Romanoff double break his shields ! And now Totto Pippichi break his final shield ! "

" Shield trigger , I cast Inferno Sign and revive Alexander the 3rd , Emperor of the Demonic eye ! " Clone Subaru said and a knight with red armor and giant gun instead of a right hand appeared behind him and roared . " And now my turn , I summon Death Romanoff the 5th , Demonic Eye General and with his effect I'll put Locomotiver to my mana zone and take Magic Shot – Dual Zanzibar to my hand ! My turn , I cast Magic Shot – Dual Zanzibar for free and also use its Knight Magic ! Also Alexander the 3rd lets me cast another Magic Shot – Dual Zanzibar , so I'll use its Knight Magic as well and this means 2000 X 4 ... your Necrodragon Belzarogue shall lose 8000 power ! And now I attack with Romanoff the 1st and use Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike which will make ALL your creatures lose 5000 power ! Totto Pippichi , Bloody Squito and Necrodragon Dobolzark will die while Necrodragon Belzarogue has 1000 power left and your Romanoff the 1st has 3000 power left ! Now my Romanoff destroys your Romanoff ! Also I attack with Fernando the 7th and since I have three spells in my graveyard , your Necrodragon Belzarogue shall lose 3000 power and die ! Fernando double break his shields ! Alexander double break his shields ! One shield left ! "

" Tsh , I've wasted enough of my time with you ! Mana Vortex , I summon Sky Garuda , Super Divine Dragon ! Sky Garuda finish him off , totomeda ! "

Sky Garuda roared and fired a powerful lazor killing Clone Subaru as well . After seeing that he could easily kill the clones of the five chosen duelsits , he laughed maniacally , for he was more than sure that he'd get rid of that threat easily . But now the last two clones were more powerful . They were Clone Kokujo and Clone Root . But Rezo didn't mind , he just proceeded to the next duel , and he accepted to duel both clones in the same time .

" I summon Olzekia , General of Decapitation and destroy my Maxval and your Cocco Lupia and Necrodragon Zanzibar ! " Clone Kokujo said . " And now that two of your creatures got destroyed , Bell Hell De Gaul will shuffle my deck and I will reveal two cards ! If any of them are non-evolution Demon Commands , I may summon them for no cost , otherwise I'll take them to my hand ! "

Clone Kokujo shuffled his deck once and revealed a Terror Pit which was a darkness spell . Clone Kokujo took it in his hand and shuffled his deck again . This time he revealed Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade which was a non-evolution Demon Command and summoned him .

" I summon Gal Volf and choose the race Zombie Dragon ! "

The only Zombie Dragon from Rezo's hand was Ghoul Ginus , the All-Destroying Fear Lord and Clone Kokujo discarded it . Also Rezo lost a shield which was Inferno Sign .

" And now Bell Hell De Gaul break his final shields ! " Clone Kokujo ordered and the six headed demon fired a powerful lazor breacking Rezo's last shields .

" Shield triggers , I cast two Terror Pits and destroy Bell Hell De Gaul and Olzekia ! " Rezo said and lots of demonic hands grabbed two of Kokujo's demons destroying them .

" I evolve Lucky Ball into Astral Tempest ! " Clone Root said . " And now that Astral Tempest is summoned , I will draw cards with the equal number of cards in my mana zone , so I'll draw nine cards ! And now I attack with Unryu , Sumo Doctor and reveal the next card from my deck which is Saving Sword – Memory Accela ! I will generate it and now Unryu break his shield ! Now I'll untap Unryu and attack once again ! "

This time the card which Clone Root revealed was Soderlight , the Cold Blade which wasn't a cross gear , so this was Unryu's last attack on this turn .

" Unryu break his shield ! And now Astral Tempest break his final shield ! "

" Heh , my turn ! " Rezo spoke . " At Kokujo's side I'll do this ! Mana Vortex , I summon Sky Garuda , Super Divine Dragon ! At Root's side I'll do this ! I summon Cocco Lupia , Necrodragon Giland and evolve them both into Death Phoenix , Avatar of Doom ! Death Phoenix throw his final shields to the graveyard ! And now ROMANOFF THE 1ST FINISH ROOT OFF , TOTOMEDA ! AND SKY GARUDA FINISH KOKUJO OFF , TOTOMEDA !!! "

The creatures roared and attacked the last clones creating a real massacre in Rezo's throne chamber . At last it was over . All the clones had been killed by Rezo . The Red Priest packed his deck and walked outside on the balcony where he did the incantation once again :

" Land evil come to me , I order you all disaster ! I will find the most bloody revenge upon them – upon them ! I despise their behaviour , in the dark they will suffer ! I am the bringer of sorrow - malicious I'll be , bad I will be ! "

Then the sun rised from the east . The mountains were the same . The shadows of suspects were still there haunting Rezo . But the Red Priest felt like the useless anger had passed and that it won't return to blind him . Now it was time for his revenge !

Rezo walked inside the throne chamber towards the mirror which had the images of Kokujo , doctor Root and the five chosen duelists . The Red Priest reached both his hands in the air and yelled to the mirrior saying :

" BETRAYERS OF MY KINGDOM , YOU WILL TRY MY OWN JUSTICE ! "

Rezo then walked to his throne and sat on it like an evil emperor . He then snapped his fingers and the doors of the throne chamber opened , meaning that the servants were now allowed to disturb him .

" Vassal , come here and listen ! " Rezo called for one of his loyal servants .


	15. Return of a fallen Knight

Kokujo's UFO kept moving through the tibetan mountains , but hard . The snowstorm had come last night and held on till the next day on lunch time . That was when it calmed down and the UFO could move normally . Inside it Kokujo was piloting it in the control room while doctor Root was checking the weather and Subaru and Edo were still working on the Supernova Neptune Shutrom deck . With just one more card added , Subaru got up from his chair and spoke with a victiorious voice :

" We did it ! At last , the Supernova Neptune Shutrom deck we had to build is done ! "

" Haha , this deck looks awsome ! " Edo added .

" So , wanna use it first , Edo-kun ? I would like to update a bit my own deck and get a chance to use my Demons and Knights more ! " Subaru said and took out his cards . " You don't have to stay with me , you can go and have fun by yourself instead of getting bored by me and my deck ."

" Yeah , have fun... " Edo said sweating and then spoke in his mind . " I wonder what kind of fun I could have in a UFO ... "

Edo walked out of the room and wandred through the halls of the UFO thinking at what could he possibly do to have fun . He then remembered the game room , but he didn't want to play games yet . He wanted to have other kinds of fun . Edo then found a door with a TV sign on it and pressed a red button on the wall . The door opened and he entered into a room filled with TV screens .

" Wow ! " Edo said and then saw a piece of paper on the wall on which was written 'All the TV channels in the universe can be found here' . " CHACHING ! I'M IN PARADISE , WOHOOO !!! "

Edo ran to a box filled with remote controls and took as many as he could find . Each remote had the number of its TV written on it . The brown haired boy then ran to a microwave which was on a table in a corner of the room and made lots of popcorn . In fifteen minutes the boy was ready to watch TV , and not just any kind of TV but universal TV .

" At last the unlimited possibilities of television are now opened for me ! " Edo said and picked out a special remote which opened all the TVs with just one click . " MAGIC LAND OF TV , EDO KANDA IS ALL YOURS ! "

Meanwhile at Subaru , the boy was working hard thinking of a new strategy for his deck . Suddenly the door of the room opened and Kokujo entered the room .

" Kokujo-kun , is there a problem ? " Subaru asked .

" Doctor Root said that it's getting late , so he deicded to stop the UFO here so we could get some sleep . I don't know about you , but I don't wanna close my eyes yet ! " Kokujo spoke and took out his deck . " Lets get down to some deck building ! "

" Got it ! "

Outside night had fallen once again . The mountains were covered with snow like a chocolate cake was covered with whip cream . Evreything seemed peasful , but it was just the calm before the storm .

A few meters away from the UFO a dark figure was standing all alone watching the mysterious flying object . It was Ichiro . The long haired young boy had an evil grin on his face as he was holding in his right hand the Reaper deck which Rezo had given to him . He was imaginning himself using all those fantastic new creatures in duels while mixing them with creatures such as Ballom , Master of Death or Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord . Deadly strategies were flowing through his mind and all were mixed with his rage against Kokujo , doctor Root and the five chosen duelsits .

" Thinking at the best way to make them suffer , huh ? " a voice woke Ichiro up from his thoughts .

Ichiro turned his head and saw the vassal which Rezo had sent to help him . The vassal was a tall boy about Kokujo's age with blue eyes , long blonde hair and a beauty mark on his face under his left eye . He was one of the few good looking servants from Rezo's castle and one of the most respected because of his strength in duels .

" Tsh , none of your buisness ! " Ichiro replied to him with a cold voice . " Don't forget that you're just a mere vassal while I am second in charge of Lord Rezo's castle ! "

" Don't worry , Ichiro-sama , I'll never forget my position ! " the vassal replied and bowed , his obeyance annoying Ichiro a bit .

" Tsh , speak of why did Lord Rezo send you here , vassal ! "

" The great Lord Rezo sent me to announce you that we will get an ally in this little battle . He will most likely help us stop the UFO and those four guys ! " the vassal said and took out a golden helmet . " This helmet belonged to a legendary duelist which was at the point to destroy the world when he was alive , but Zakira killed him before that could happen . His name was The Knight ! "

" The Knight , huh ? " Ichiro asked . " Please tell me more about this character ! "

" The Knight's deck was based on King Alcadeias , Holy Gaia and the Dorballom , Lord of Demons silver card . Dorballom is now in the chosen darkness duelist , Subaru Hanzou's posession , while King Alcadeias was found by Lord Rezo and was put in this deck . " the vassal said and took out a forty card deck from his pockets . " This deck is a grave evolution deck with King Alcadeias support , so it might work in the use of our new ally . "

" What do you mean , vassal ? Be more explicit ! "

" I mean , Ichiro-sama , that Lord Rezo has casted a spell on this helmet which will bring The Knight back to life if a human wears it . The Knight's spirit will start posessing the body and in this way we got a new ally ! "

" Hm... sounds interesting . Did Lord Rezo mention on who should we put this helmet ? "

" Yes , he wishes for this helmet to be on the head of Edo Kanda , the chosen water duelist ! "

" Ooo , and why so , vassal ? "

" Because , Ichiro-sama , Lord Rezo has studied closely the chosen duelsits and has discovered that Edo Kanda and Subaru Hanzou are great friends ! If Subaru sees that his friend is in trouble , then he'll most likely surrender and give us his Dorballom card . The Knight will take it for himself and we'll have two chosen duelists dead ! If so , then it will be easy to take care of the rest ! "

" I must say , Lord Rezo's plans really rock ! " Ichiro said . " Okay , now here's what you must do ! Give me the helmet and go in the UFO to take Edo Kanda ! I'll wait here for you to bring him ! Watch out ! If he tries to oppose , you know what to do , right ? "

" Challenge him to a duel ? " the vassal asked .

" No , you idiot ! You'll wake up the others and they'll most likely stop you ! " Ichiro spoke with anger in his voice . " If he tries to oppose , hit him unconcious and tie him up . Then escape the UFO in the biggest silence , understood ? "

" Yes , Ichiro-sama ! " the vassal spoke while bowing .

" Good , now go ! "

The vassal walked to the UFO normally , as if he wasn't even on a mission . This thing made Ichiro's anger towards him even bigger . How did a servant of Rezo's dare not to take his mission seriously and be so indifferent ? Ichiro wondered how the heck did that guy become one of the strongest vassals from Rezo's castle .

The vassal stopped in front of Kokujo's UFO . He then politely pressed the doorbell which was at the main door of the giant spaceship . The doorbell had the tune of Lordi's Blood Red Sandman , thing which made the vassal sweat and Ichiro fall on the ground thinking that Kokujo couldn't choose a more idiotic song for his doorbell . Doctor Root was the one which answered by an interphone . The doctor was so tired because of his work , that he didn't even seem to realise if it was a trap or not .

" Who's there ? " Root asked .

" Pizza delivery for Kokujo Kyoshiro ! " the vassal spoke .

" But I remember that cake is Kokujo's favorite food ! "

" Okay , then pizza cake delivery for Kokujo Kyoshiro ! "

" Fine then , come in ! " Root said and pressed a button which opened the UFO's doors .

" Hehe , idiot ... " the vassal spoke in his mind and infiltrated inside the UFO .

The vassal walked through the corridors of the UFO silently , so that he wouldn't be noticed . He passed easily by Root's lab where the doctor was so absorbed in his work that he didn't even notice him . He also passed with ease by the room where Subaru and Kokujo were working on the deck , because the door was closed and they couldn't see him . And so in a few minutes the vassal found himself at the TV room where he saw Edo sleeping with all the TVs opened . The brown haired boy was laying stretched on the couch with drool coming out of his mouth and snooring worser than a pig .

" I so don't wanna see how this guy acts when he's also awake ... " the vassal thought while sweating .

Outside , Ichiro was waiting anxiously for the vassal to come with Edo . He was looking at the clock and thought that it was getting too late . Suddenly , he saw the vassal running to him with Edo sleeping on his back .

" You've been there for ten minutes , what took you so long ? " Ichiro asked .

" They could've been less than five , but that UFO is almost like a labyrinth ! Also , this Edo guy is very hard , believe me ! " the vassal spoke while laying Edo on the snow .

" Be careful you idiot , we might wake him up ! " Ichiro whispered and then took out the golden helmet .

" Sugar ! " Edo suddenly yelled .

Ichiro and the vassal shruck because of the yell . Ichiro dropped the helmet on the vassal's foot , making him yell . The situation was so humiliating , that even turkeys would laugh at those three .

Ichiro then turned his horrified face to Edo and saw that the brown haired boy was only sleep talking . The vassal sighed and grabbed the golden helmet once again while Ichiro kept staring at Edo .

The two decided that there was no holding back . They had to put the helmet on his head before it was too late . But before the vassal could do it , the brown haired boy opened his tired eyes . Shocked facial expressions and lots of sweatdrops appeared on Ichiro and the vassal which knew that they had failed their mission .

" H-hey , w-what time is it ? " Edo asked with a tired voice .

" About 2 AM ? " the vassal answered .

" Oh , I still have five hours of sleep ! " Edo continued and closed his eyes again .

" Yeah , go back to sleep ! You're in your room in the UFO and we're certainly NOT minions of Rezo sent to put a helmet on your head which will make a ghost possess your body forever ! It's all just a dream ! " Ichiro said .

" Good to know.... " Edo said and started snooring once again .

As they were sure that Edo was back to sleep , Ichiro and the vassal sighed with big relief . Afterwards the vassal reached the helmet to the brown haired boy's head and in the next second it was on him . Suddenly Edo opened his eyes once again , but this time they were red eyes . The helmet shined with a powerful light and created a golden armor arround the boy's body .

The vassal hid behind Ichiro trembling while Ichiro stared towards Edo amazed of what was going on . The powerful light then disappeared and the helmet 'completed' itself by covering Edo's face with a golden tiger mask . The Knight had come back to life !

" Ah , I feel like I've awaken after a ninety year sleep ! " The Knight spoke while stretching his arms .

" Actually , mister Knight , you did sleep ninety years ! " Ichiro spoke to the mighty Knight which was standing in front of him .

" And who are you ? "

" Oh , it's a long story ! "

Ichiro and the vassal explained the whole situation to The Knight . It took almost an hour for the two to give The Knight all the important details about the mission . The Knight almost couldn't believe what was going on , but he then remembered the moment when Zakira defeated him in the duel with Death Dragerion .

" Is Fua Zakira still alive ? " The Knight asked .

" Nope , he was defeated by Kokujo Kyoshiro ninety years ago ! " the vassal answered . " So , will you help us , mister Knight ? "

" Tsh , tell your 'Lord' Rezo that I'll NEVER serve him ! Most likely we'll be allies , but I doubt that this will happen ! I'll help you two lackeys in killing Kokujo , doctor Root and Subaru just so that I can get Dorballom back and rebuild my initial deck , afterwards I'll have my own way ! "

" As you wish , mister Knight ! " Ichiro spoke and gave The Knight a deck . " This is a grave evolution deck with King Alcadeias , Holy Gaia support ! You'll have to get used to this deck until you get Dorballom back ! "

" Tsh , fine ! " The Knight replied and turned towards the UFO . " When do we start the attack ? "

" Right now ! " Ichiro said with an evil grin on his face .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle .The Red Priest was plotting his revenge upon the five duelists when the doors of his throne chamber opened . Xanagazu appeared in front of him and bowed politely . Rezo turned his head to her and then got up from his chair .

" What's your wish , Lord Rezo ? " she asked .

" Xanagazu , I think it is time for you to get your rematch against the chosen light duelist , Tsugumi ! " the Red Priest spoke grinning . " Here's what you must do ! "

Rezo quickly explained the plan and then both laughed evily . Then Xanagazu packed up her deck and created her blue energy ball on which she stepped . Rezo opened a hole in the ceiling and the ball started flying .

" Do not worry , Lord Rezo , I will make sure that Tsugumi will suffer the worst death ever , hahahahaha !! " Xanagazu laughed while flying away .

" And so it's the beginning of the end ! " Rezo thought .

Back at the UFO , Kokujo and Subaru got out of the card room with their decks strongly updated . Even though they had their eyes tired , they seemed to have enough energy for a couple of duels .

" Great deck you've made there , Kokujo-kun ! " Subaru exclaimed .

" Heh , your deck is also pretty nice ! " Kokujo replied . " Rezo and his minions won't know what hit them ! "

Suddenly a card got out of Kokujo's deck and stood in the air . It was Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper and the card was sorrounded by a dark purple aura . Kokujo and Subaru stared shocked at it , but the card flew away fast .

" My Bell Hell De Gaul ! " Kokujo exclaimed .

" After it ! " Subaru said and both ran .

The running of the two woke up Root from his hard work . The doctor got out of his lab and saw them rushing after the flying card .

" Either I've drank too much beer , either those two need medical attention ! " doctor Root said sweating . " Hey guys , wait for me ! "

The doors of the UFO suddenly opened and the card went outside followed by Kokujo , Subaru and doctor Root . Outside it was winter cold and none of them were wearing warm clothes . Subaru was trembling while Kokujo was trying to hide that fact . Doctor Root on the other hand endured the cold like a real man .

The three saw Ichiro and the vassal on a cliff . The two were staring at them with evil grins as Bell Hell De Gaul flew to Ichiro's hand .

" Hey , that's my Bell Hell De Gaul ! Give it back , Ichiro , your father orders you ! " Kokujo yelled .

" Dream on , daddy , this great Reaper is all mine now ! " Ichiro replied while adding the card in his deck . " Last time you guys got away with it , but this time after defeating you , I'll also make sure you won't get out of this alive ! "

" Tsh , bring it on , Ichiro ! " Kokujo said and took out his glowing deck .

Suddenly the vassal jumped from the cliff in front of Kokujo . The long haired blonde boy smiled to him and showed his deck saying :

" I'm afraid that your son dosen't want to face you , mister Kyoshiro ! "

" What ? " Kokujo asked .

Ichiro also jumped towards doctor Root which got ready for battle as well .

" Nice to see you again , doctor Root ! " Ichiro spoke while showing his deck . " This time I'll defeat you and send you where you belong , old geezer ! "

" Bring it on , kid ! " Root replied .

Four dueling tables appeared out of the ground and the duelists put their decks on them and shouted 'SHIELDS UP!' . Twenty green shields appeared , five for each duelist . And so the two duels started . It was Kokujo VS the vassal and doctor Root VS Ichiro . Subaru was standing aside and watching them duel .

" I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards ! " Kokujo said .

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain a mana ! " the vassal said and a green horse weilding a giant fork appeared behind him and roared .

" Heh , I summon Aquan ! Aquan will reveal the top five cards from my deck and I'll take the darkness ones to my hand , the rest going to my graveyard ! "

The cards from Kokujo's deck were Cyber Brain , Aqua Surfer , Eureka Charger , Energy Stream and Bloody Squito . Bloody Squito was the only darkness card , the rest being water . Obviously , Bloody Squito went to Kokujo's hand , the rest going to the graveyard . The vassal laughed because Kokujo trashed some useful cards and only got a card in his hand .

" Hahahaha , what a waste ! I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain one mana and shield ! Bronze-Arm Tribe break his shield ! " the vassal ordered and Bronze-Arm Tribe roared and smashed one of Kokujo's shields with its big fork .

Meanwhile at doctor Root's and Ichiro's duel .

" I summon Qurian and draw a card and then I also summon Marine Flower ! " doctor Root said .

" I summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper ! " Ichiro said . " With Deathraios's effect I'll destroy my Fuuma Ravaal , the Reaper ! Now you must also destroy one of your creatures ! "

" I destroy Qurian ! " doctor Root said . " My turn , I evolve Marine Flower into Astral Reef and draw three cards ! Afterwards I summon Bat Doctor , Shadow of Undeath ! Astral Reef break his shield ! "

Ichiro took cover as a giant wave creature appeared out of nowhere and broke one of his shields . The boy grinned and took the card to his hands .

" Heh , nice job there , Rooty ! I cast Hand of the Reaper and destroy Astral Reef ! Also since I have a Reaper in the battlezone , you'll have to discard a card from your hand ! "

Root threw a Tsunami Catastrophe card from his hand to the graveyard and gave Ichiro an angry stare from his glasses .

Subaru was more than excited of how the duels were going on . Suddenly the boy heared something and turned his back . He was shocked of seeing a man all dressed up in a golden armor .

" Who...who are you ? " he asked .

" Come with me ! " the strange man said while covering Subaru's mouth and teleporting themselves away .

The two got teleported on two mountain tops , a little above than the UFO where the two duels were going on . Subaru stared all scarred down . There was a long distance , and if he would've falled , there was no telling if someone would be able to save him .

" Who are you ? What do you want ? " Subaru asked .

" I am known as The Knight ! Once I was a brave duelist with the purpose of destroying the world ! I have been brought back to life to get back what is mine ! "

" A-and what do you want to get back ? "

" Your Dorballom card ! " The Knight siad and pointed towards Subaru's deck .

" W-what ? Y-you mean that my silver Dorballom card.... "

" Was mine at first ! But then I got killed by Zakira and lord Dorballom decided that the card should be in your hands . Now it is time to proove him the opposite ! " The Knight said and showed his glowing deck . " Subaru Hanzou , I challenge you to a duel ! "

" And why should I accept your challenge ? "

" Because I have something dear to you ! " The Knight said and took off his golden mask

Subaru stared shocked towards the golden armored knight . The black haired boy couldn't believe it . The Knight was none other than his friend , Edo !

Meanwhile at the two duels from the UFO . At Kokujo VS the vassal , it was Kokujo's turn . The long haired boy charged mana and with an evil grin on his face showed a shining card .

" I cast Grudge Gathering ! " Kokujo said . " Grudge Gathering will destroy a creature of yours which has the same cost or less with the number of cards from my graveyard ! And since my graveyard has five cards in it , I'll destroy your Skysword ! "

" Tsh.... " the vassal said with an angry look on his face .

" Aquan destroy his Bronze-Arm Tribe ! Your turn , fancy girl ! "

" Oh , you'll so regret saying those words ! " the vassal said grinning . " My turn , I cast Heaven's Gate and bring two Milzam , Spirit of Miracles to the battlezone ! Ultra Shield Plus ! I'll add five more cards to two of my shields and all the card stacks count as a shield ! "

Meanwhile at doctor Root's and Ichiro's duel , it was Root's turn .

" I generate Water Weapon – Shark Bunker and Saving Sword – Memory Accela ! Now I cross Bat Doctor with both these cross gears ! Ike , Bat Doctor , break his shield ! Also , Memory Accela will let me draw a card ! "

" Shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit to destroy Bat Doctor ! " Ichiro said .

" Heh , and now that Bat Doctor is destroyed , I'll take Astral Reef back to my hand ! Your turn , kiddo ! "

" I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade ! " Ichiro said grinning . " I choose the race Cyber Virus ! "

Root sweated as he showed his whole hand to Ichiro . The boy chose to discard Astral Reef . Also , Root lost a shield which was Aqua Surfer .

" Deathraios , take down one of his shields , ike ! " Ichiro ordered and Root got a shield broken .

Kokujo and doctor Root made a few steps back sweating . Their opponents were more powerful than before . Ichiro and the vassal laughed loudly . They were winning and besides that , Kokujo and doctor Root didn't notice that The Knight had disappeared with Subaru . Evreything was going exactly as they planned .

Back at Subaru and The Knight . Subaru was still shocked of what he had seen . The boy slowly spoke towards The Knight :

" A-are you , E-Edo-kun ? "

" Heh , no , I'm not that filthy chosen water duelist ! " The Knight replied . " I am just possessing his body . Those two losers which are dueling your friends brought me back to life with the purpose of killing you and taking your Dorballom . And they had chosen Edo to be the one possessed by me , because they knew that you wouldn't dare to fight a friend ! Now what do you say ? Do you surrender Dorballom , or do you want to risk your life in a duel ? "

" You bastard ! " Subaru said with an angry voice while showing his deck . " I'll make you pay for stealing Edo-kun's body ! Knight , I accept your challenge ! "

" That's what I wanted to hear ! "

The Knight snapped his fingers and two dueling tables appeared out of the ground . The two raised their shields and the duel began .


	16. Tsugumi's suffering

Rad's rocket arrived at midnight in a city from eastern China named Shanghai . Their luck was that most of the people were sleeping by that time and they could park the rocket in a parking place without being seen . Rad , Sora and Tsugumi got out of the rocket with tourist bags in which they had food , money , tourist maps and their cards . The trio started wandering in the city trying to find the source of power which Rezo was after .

" So , do you guys have any idea of what kind of source of power Rezo might be after ? " Tsugumi asked .

" In my opinion , he might be after a giant lazor cannon ! " Rad said .

" Why must you take evreything so technological ? He's a wizard ! Most likely he's after some kind of mystic source which will help him manipulate the nature or maybe time and space ! " Sora said while lifting up a finger .

Rad and Tsugumi stared at the green haired girl with big sweatdrops falling from their heads .

" What ? Anything is possible nowadays ! " Sora added .

" Yeah , sadly , having complete lunatics as our team mates is also possible... " Rad whispered to himself .

The three wandered through the city the whole night . Tsugumi and Sora were more interested in shopping souvenirs and sightseeing while Rad was getting bored of them and was trying to concentrate on the mission .

" Man , I love this town ! " Tsugumi said while carrying bags filled with souvenirs .

" Hell yeah ! No matter how much money you spend , you still wanna buy more ! " Sora added .

" And how will we have food money , girls ? " Rad asked , but got ignored . " God , why can't I be in a happy place right now ?"

Suddenly Tsugumi stopped in front of a strange building . Sora and Rad turned their heads and saw the blonde girl staring at the building's commercial advertising : "Future predictions" . Somehow she felt like pulled towards that building to find out about her future .

" Tsugumi-chan , what's wrong ? " Sora asked , but Tsugumi entered the building instead of answering . " Hey , Tsugumi-chan , come back here ! "

" Gosh , these girls are a real pain in the neck.... " Rad spoke bored .

Rad and Sora followed Tsugumi inside the strange building . The three walked through a dark corridor and ended up in front of a door . Tsugumi pushed it open and they all entered a red room filled with pillows , jewelry and mystic objects . Inside it was an old woman near a crystal ball . The three chosen duelists stared at her with curious sights while she turned her head to them and spoke :

" Welcome , my children ! I've been expecting you ! "

" You were ? " Rad asked .

" Why of course ! This crystal ball shows me the future ! I knew you were coming and I also know that you want to find out more about your future ! "

" Wow , how can you do that ? " Tsugumi asked amazed .

" Professional secrets , my dear ... " the old lady said while polishing her nails . " So , I bet that the first who wants to find out of his future is Rad ! "

" Hey , how did you know my name ? Or wait... why do I even bother to ask ... "

" Sit down , my boy ! " the old lady demanded .

Rad sat on a red rug near the old lady and the blue crystal ball . The old lady took out a small bag filled with enchanted blue sand . She threw the sand on the crystal ball and made an incantation in an unknown language . Sora and Tsugumi stared at the scene amazed while Rad was feeling colder and colder . It was like his whole life was going to be spoiled in front of him .

" I see ! I see ! " the old woman exclaimed .

" What ? What do you see ? " Rad asked excited .

" I see you ! You're a great rocket racer ! And ... and... you have lots of trophies ! "

" R-really ? "

" Look for yourself , Rad ! " the old woman pointed towards the crystal ball .

On the blue crystal ball an image with Rad dressed in fancy racer clothes appeared . He was inside his rocket which was filled with golden trophies , meaning that he had won lots of races . Besides trophies , he also had two hot girls with him in the rocket . The image from the crystal disappeared as Rad jumped in the air yelling :

" HELL YEAH ! I'LL BECOME A SUPERSTAR ! I'LL BE THE BEST ! WOHOO ! "

Sora then pushed Rad aside and sat on his place near the crystal ball and the old lady .

" Tell me , mam , what does my future look like ? "

" Just a minute , my dear ! " the old lady said and poured the enchanted blue sand once again .

As she was making the incantation once again , Sora was trying to figure out on what language was she enchanting the words . Since she was a shaman girl , Sora knew lots of ancient languages , so she should've been able to find out what was the old lady saying . But sadly , none of the words she heared could fit in any of the languages she knew . Sora thought that this was strange , but she got swipped out of her thoughts as the elderly lady started speaking about her future :

" I see ! I see ! "

" What can you see , mam ? " Sora asked .

" I see you , my dear Sora ! You're....you're... "

An image of an adult Sora appeared on the screen . She was wearing office clothes and she was the director of yaoi animes . In the crystal ball she was sitting in her office after a hard day of work . Suddenly she pressed a button and Subaru and Edo appeared in front of her only in underwear . She ordered them to 'entertain' her and the two started doing sexual stuff in front of her . The image disappeared from the crystal as the old lady asked the girl :

" Well ? What do you think of your future ? "

" I'm in heaven.... " Sora said and fainted while nosebleeding .

Rad pulled Sora from the crystal ball as it was Tsugumi's turn to get her future prediction . The blonde girl sat down and looked towards the old lady with excitement .

" Are you ready to find out what the future is preserving you , dear Tsugumi ? "

" To be honest , mam , I don't know ! " Tsugumi said with a scarred voice . " A half of me is more than excited to find out , while the other half is afraid and thinks that this thing might ruin my life forever ! "

" Foolishness ! Your friends have happy futures , why shouldn't you have a happy future as well ? " the old lady asked and got the blue sand ready .

" Oh well I guess you're right.... " Tsugumi sighed . " So , lets do this ! "

" That's the spirit ! " the old lady said and threw the blue sand on the crystal .

Like before she made the incantation , but this time her hands were trembling . She then got a worried expression on her face .

" What's going on ? " Tsugumi asked .

" If my hands are trembling , this means that an awful future awaits you , my dear ! " the old lady said scarred .

" W-what ? "

" It's true ! I can only see fog in the crystal ball ! "

" What does that mean ? "

" It means , my dear Tsugumi , that your future is a dark one or you may not even have a future at all ! And this is because of something which is going on in the present ! "

" In the present ? " Tsugumi asked scarred .

" Yes , I'll check what's so important that it will influence your life in a bad way ! " the old lady said and waved her hands arround the crystal ball . " I see ! I see ! I can see the boy you love , named Subaru ! "

" Subaru ! What's with him ? " Tsugumi asked looking despered .

" I can see Subaru ! And... oh my...this can't be ! "

Suddenly on the blue crystal an image of Subaru on the bed making love to a blue haired girl appeared . Evreyone stared shocked at the crystal ball . Sour tears appeared in Tsugumi's eyes and were falling on her cheeks .

" What kind of trick is this , lady ?! " Sora asked and stepped in front of the old lady .

" Yeah , are you planning to hurt our Tsugumi intentionally ? " Rad asked while hugging Tsugumi which started crying .

" Me ? Not at all , my dear children ! It's not my fault at all ! " the old lady defended herself . " That's the future and there are low chances that something could be changed ! If you want someone to blame , blame yourselves for coming here ! "

" Tsh , for this don't even expect payment , old hag ! " Sora spoke with a cold voice and all of them left the room .

The three chosen duelists got out of the strange building . There were only two hours left till sunrise and they were all exhausted . Tsugumi was still crying . She couldn't believe that her Subaru was actually loving someone else . Rad was trying to convince her that the old lady's prediction didn't make any sense , but to her it was more than clear .

Suddenly they heared a 'halt' ordered . The three looked in front of them and saw a blue haired girl wearing an italian uniform .

" Who are you ? " Sora asked .

" Oh , I am one of Lord Rezo's servants . My name is Hanna ! " she said and gave them an evil glare . " I was sent here to make sure you won't stand in our way ! "

" Gosh , couldn't you wait till lunch time ? I'm seriously tired and I wanna rest this morning if you wouldn't mind ... " Rad spoke while yawning .

" Like you're giving any orders here , cute boy ! Now come on , chosen duelists , tell me who will face me ? " Hanna demanded while showing her glowing deck .

Tsugumi then whiped the tears off her face and made a step forward to the blue haired girl . She took out her deck and accepted her challenge .

" Tsugumi-chan , you shouldn't duel now ! You're pretty tired and ... "

" Don't worry , Sora-chan , I can handle this situation ! SHIELDS UP ! "

" Heh , as you wish , girly ! SHIELDS UP ! " Hanna replied and the duel started .

After a few turns , both Tsugumi and Hanna had El Kaiou Spirit Mecha King , Mil Armor Mecha King Vizier , Ultimus Spirit of Divine Law and Lord Reis Spirit of Wisdom in their battlezones . Rad and Sora were bored of the duel , because both were copying each other's moves .

" I cast Heaven's Gate and bring two Milzam , Spirit of Miracles into the battlezone ! " Tsugumi said . " Ultra Shield Plus ! I'll add five more cards on two of my shields ! Also Lord Reis will let me draw two cards since I summoned two blockers ! "

" I also cast Heaven's Gate ! " Hanna said .

" Gosh , will they stop copying eachother ? " Rad asked Sora with sweat falling from his head .

" I bring two Aldora , White Knight Spirit to the battlezone ! " Hanna continued .

" Oh , now that's something new... " Rad said .

" Maybe this duel will get more interesting . " Sora added .

" I cast Terror Pit and destroy one of your Aldoras ! " Tsugumi said and lots of demonic hands grabbed one of Hanna's Aldoras destroying it . " Your turn ! "

" Tsh , showoff ! " Hanna said angry . " I evolve Ultimus into White Knight Ulphas , Lord of Spirits ! Lord Reis will let me draw a card ! And now Aldora , triple break her shields ! "

" Gaaah ! " Tsugumi yelled while her shields got broken . " Sh-shield trigger activate ! I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards ! "

" Ulphas break her final shields ! "

" Block the attack , El Kaiou ! " Tsugumi said . " My turn , I evolve Mil Armor into King Alcadeias , Holy Gaia ! "

Suddenly a giant dark golden angel wearing a green armor and with a purple cape appeared behind Tsugumi and roared loudly . Hanna made a few steps back scarred .

" King Alcadeias ! " Sora exclaimed .

" As long as King Alcadeias is in the battlezone , all the non-rainbow creatures Hanna summons will go directly to the graveyard ! " Rad said with a superior voice . " WAY TO GO , TSUGUMI !!! "

" That bitch ! " Hanna exclaimed and looked at the card from her hand which was White Knight HEAVEN , Lord of Spirits . " Because of her King Alcadeias , I can't summon HEAVEN anymore . I'll make her pay ! "

" Your turn ! " Tsugumi said .

" Heh , did you just go to the future predicting old lady , Tsugumi ? "

" Yes , what's wrong with that ? "

" I was wondering , did she expose me in front of you ? " Hanna asked .

" E-expose you ? Wait ! Do you mean ... " Tsugumi said shocked as she remembered that in the crystal ball Subaru was sleeping with a blue haired girl . " A-are you that girl ? "

" Hehehehehahahahaha ! " Hanna laughed with an arrogant voice . " Took you some time to find out ! I must say , my dear , it was pretty easy ! Lord Rezo's seducing spells worked excellent and in a few minutes your Subaru was all mine ! I must say , he's pretty good in bed... for a virgin ! "

" WHAT ?! " Sora and Rad yelled . " Tsugumi-chan , in these ninety years , you and Subaru had never done THAT thing ? "

" We...we weren't ready ! " Tsugumi replied blushing . " But that's not the point . Why did you do this to my dear Subaru ? No , you didn't make love to him ! YOU FORCED HIM TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU ! YOU RAPED HIM !!!! "

" Heh , like I care about how you take it . Why did I do it ? To ruin your life ! To take what's more precious to you ! And this way to destroy you ! " Hanna laughed . " And now time to finish you off ! I summon El Kaiou , Spirit Mecha King and cast White Knight Spark to tap all your creatures ! Also , my White Knights will get untapped at the end of this turn ! Aldora , break her final shields ! "

The giant Angel Command broke Tsugumi's last two shields which had six cards each . The shields got broken into lots of sharp blue shards . Slowly , the shards united into twelve cards which went into Tsugumi's hand . A shadow was covering her eyes as some of the cards shined .

" Shield trigger activate ! " Tsugumi said with a frightening voice .

" What the ... " Hanna said shocked .

" I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures ! " Tsugumi continued and an extremely bright light fell from the sky stopping all of Hanna's creatures from attacking . " Also I summon two Aqua Surfers and send Ulphas and Aldora back to your hand ! And if that's not enough , I also cast Heaven's Gate and bring Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight and Mil Armor , Mecha King Vizier to the battlezone ! "

" Impossible ! She has great creature spam ! I can't believe it , she might defeat me ! " Hanna said shocked . " At least some shield triggers might save me ... "

" Think again , boyfriend stealer ! " Tsugumi said angry . " I evolve Bloody Shadow into Queen Alcadeias , Holy Gaia ! "

A golden female angel with black wings and golden crown on her head appeared behind Tsugumi . Sora and Rad were more than amazed . Both King and Queen Alcadeias were now in the battlezone .

" Holy Gaia Queen Alcadeias and King Alcadeias ... " Rad said .

" As long as Queen Alcadeias is in the battlezone , Hanna can't cast any spells non-multicolored spells ! Also King Alcadeias will destroy the non-multicolored creatures she summons , so in other words it's check mate for her ! "

" That little ... " Hanna said in her mind angry .

" Milzam , double break her shields ! Then my other Milzam , double break her shields ! King Alcadeias , break her final shield ! "

Hanna took cover as the creatures broke all of her shields . She took the cards to her hand looking disappointed and waited for her defeat . But she was enjoying seeing Tsugumi suffer . She was more than angry because of what she had found out that night .

" You...will...pay ! " Tsugumi said . " Any final words ? "

" Heh , dosen't matter what you do , you won't be able to turn back time ! Your Subaru has lost his virginity to me , which means that he's all mine ! Even if I won't be anymore , you two will never be the same , ever again ! " Hanna said with lots of arrogance in her voice .

" SHUT UP , THAT'S NOT TRUE ! MY SUBARU IS NOT YOURS , FILTHY BITCH ! QUEEN ALCADEIAS , FINISH HER FOR GOOD , TOTOMEDAAA !!!! " Tsugumi yelled with all her powers .

Queen Alcadeias created a blue lazor ball with her hands and casted it on Hanna . The girl flew in the air all hurt and soon disappeared . They didn't know if she died or if Rezo teleported her back to his hideout .

This was a sour victory . Tsugumi had more tears falling from her eyes . She still couldn't believe it , the boy of her dreams had betrayed her with another girl ! The pure love she was sharing with him couldn't exist anymore .

Sora approached Tsugumi which was standing like a statue staring into nothing .

" Tsugumi-chan , are you alright ? " she asked .

Tsugumi then bursted into tears and hugged Sora . She cried on her shoulder . Rad packed Tsugumi's cards and the three headed back to the rocket .

The old lady had watched evreything from the building . With an evil grin on her face , she made a strange white aura sorround her body . In a few seconds the aura disappeared and the old lady revealed her true identity . She was none other than Xanagazu !

" Evreything worked as planned ! " a voice from the darkness said .

" Indeed , Hanna . " Xanagazu replied and turned to the girl which entered the room filled with burns . " Tsugumi believed evrey single word we said . "

" Foolish girl . I wonder how would she react and when she'll find out that evreything was a lie ! "

" Hehe , she would have other things to worry about , hehehehehe !!! "


	17. The fight for Dorballom

The duel between Subaru and The Knight began . This duel was going to decide who shall be the owner of the silver Dorballom card . Subaru was sweating , for Kokujo had told him about The Knight's reputation as both duelist and destroyer . He was facing a powerful opponent .

" I summon Black Feather , Shadow of Rage ! I shall destroy Black Feather and end my turn ! " The Knight said .

" Why would he do such a thing ? " Subaru asked in his mind and then he started talking . " I summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! "

" Heh , time to take you out ! Grave Evolution ! I take the destroyed Black Feather from my graveyard and evolve him into Worm Gorwaski , Masked Insect ! Ike , Worm Gorwaski , break his shield ! "

Subaru took cover as one of his shields got broken . He took fast the card into his hand and started his turn .

" I summon Deep Lump Machiner Ganistar ! Now all my darkness and light creatures cost one mana less ! Melnia , suicide with Gorwaski ! "

" Heh , if Gorwaski is destroyed , you'll discard a card from your hand ! " The Knight laughed as Subaru discarded Aquan . " And now my turn , I summon Propeller Mutant and Lone Tear , Shadow of Solitude ! "

" I summon Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias and make your Lone Tear lose 3000 power and die ! " Subaru said . " And now Ganistar break his shield ! "

The Knight didn't even move a muscle and stood still as one of his shields got broken . The shield shards slowly sorrounded him and he waited for them to unite into a card which he took in his hand . The Knight then started his turn .

" I cast Dark Soul Creation and sacrifice my Propeller Mutant to draw three cards ! Sincle Propeller Mutant was destroyed , I'll discard a card from your hand ! " The Knight discarded Magical Dragon Babelginus from Subaru's hand . " Also Gravity Zero activate ! I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! "

" I summon Gajirabute , Vile Centurion and throw one of your shields to the graveyard ! " Subaru said and The Knight lost a Super Spark shield . " And now Biragias , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Ganistar ! " The Knight said . " And now my turn ! I summon Fuuma Trinomancer and also Grave Evolution , I summon Death March , Reaper of Death ! With Trinomancer's effect I'll take Propeller Mutant back to my hand ! And now Death March attack Biragias and make him lose 4000 power and die ! Hehehehe , your turn , kiddo ! "

Subaru slowly drew his next card and he was hoping to be a good one . Otherwise he wouldn't stand a chance against The Knight . As he looked as what card he drew , he smiled and started speaking :

" I summon Demonic Holy Spirit , Auzesu ! "

A robotic mixture between an angel and a demon with a lazor eye in the chest and weilding a sword came down from the sky and flew behind Subaru .

" Oh , Auzesu , I remember when I was using you too in my deck ! Good old times ... " The Knight said and started remembering the times when he was destroying the grand cities of the world . " That's it ! I shall get Dorballom back with all price ! You don't deserve it , foolish brat ! "

" Heh , I attack your shields with Gajirabute and activate Auzesu's effect ! " Subaru said smiling . " Auzesu's effect will destroy one of your tapped creatures , so say good bye to your Death March ! Gajirabute , break his shield ! "

" Block it , Bloody Shadow ! " The Knight said . " And now my turn , I summon Bega , Decaying Vizier to gain a shield and you'll discard a card ! "

Subaru discarded Hanzou , Menacing Phantom and stared angry towards his graveyard . He really needed that creature's effect to get rid of more of The Knight's creatures . But he had to get over it . Subaru drew his next card and started his turn saying :

" I summon Chemical , God of Sublimity and draw two cards then discard Bega , Decaying Vizier ! "

A creature made of dark blue crystal appeared behind Subaru and roared . The Knight didn't even care of his pathetic moves anymore .

" Auzesu , breack his final shields ! " Subaru ordered .

" Fuuma Trinomancer block it ! " The Knight said with a superior voice . " You're finished , kid ! "

" What ? " Subaru asked scarred .

The Knight got sorrounded by a dark purple aura and laughed with a maniacal laugh which made Subaru's spine shiver . The golden knight showed a shiny card and spoke with an evil voice :

" I evolve Bega into King Alcadeias , Holy Gaia ! "

A giant dark golden angel with green armor and purple cape materialised himself behind The Knight and roared . As long as King Alcadeias was in the battlezone , the non-multicolored creatures Subaru summoned were going to the graveyard , making half of his deck useless . The might of both King Alcadeias and The Knight was amazing Subaru to the bones . It was clear to him , he wasn't powerful enough to defeat The Knight .

" Forgive me ,Edo-kun , I've failed you... " Subaru said and layed his head down ashamed .

" Your time has come , chosen darkness duelist ! " The Knight said with his superior voice . " Your Dorballom will be all mine and I will posess the body of your friend forever ! King Alcadeias , destroy his Auzesu now ! "

King Alcadeias created a powerful lazor ball with his hands and casted it on Demonic Holy Spirit , Auzesu destroying him . Subaru stared into nothing for a few minutes until The Knight woke him up telling that it was his turn . The boy drew his next card and looked at it with a lost sight .

" I charge mana and end . " he said .

" Hehehe , nothing can stop me now ! " The Knight spoke victorious . " I summon Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil and Propeller Mutant ! King Alcadeias , double break his shields ! "

Subaru took cover as King Alcadeias destroyed two of his shields . He took the cards to his hand and to his shock , they weren't any shield triggers . To him all was lost now ! He even wondered why should he continue dueling when the outcome of the duel was clear . But then he felt something inside him . It was as if a strange entity was asking him to continue . Suddenly his hand glew with a purple aura and he felt a powerful force rising inside him . Subaru then drew his next card and said :

" Thank you , Tsugumi , my love . I summon Protege , the Finest God ! "

A golden creature appeared behind Subaru and roared .

" Heh , and what's so special about this guy ? " The Knight laughed .

" I'll show you ! Knight , I have something more powerful than your King Alcadeias ! "

" And what would that be ? "

" I have the power of love ! " Subaru said and united his Chemical and Protege cards . " Godlink ! Chemical Protege , the Finest Sublimity God ! Chemical Protege has 10000 power , is a double breacker and while it stays in the battlezone , all my blockers go to my hand when they're destroyed ! Also , at the end of my turn , all my blockers get untapped ! Lets see you defeat this , Knight ! Chemical Protege destroy King Alcadeias ! "

The Knight stared at Subaru scarred as Chemical and Protege united creating a giant creature made of dark blue crystal and gold . Chemical Protege roared and in the next moment fired a powerful lazor towards King Alcadeias destroying the mighty angel .

" Heh , I untap Chemical Protege and end my turn ! " Subaru said smiling .

" Grrr... I think I've wasted my time with you long enough , boy ! " The Knight said angry . " Grave evolution ! I summon two Death March and one worm Gorwaski ! "

" Oh no ! "

" I told you , there's no way you can defeat me , kiddo ! It's time to make you pay ! Worm Gorwaski , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Inferno Sign and bring Hanzou , Menacing Phantom to the battlezone ! " Subaru said . " Hanzou will make one of your Death March's lose 6000 power and die ! "

" Tsh , like that would make any difference ! Propeller Mutant break his final shield ! " The Knight ordered and a purple plane flew towards Subaru and shot his last shield into pieces . That was it , The Knight was going to win ! Subaru closed his eyes awaiting defeat , feeling sorry for disappointing evreyone . Suddenly he felt a powerful light warm his cheeks . He thought that it was a light from heaven and that evreything was over , but when he opened his eyes , he saw a shining card which was from his last shield . Subaru stared at it amazed and then spoke to himself :

" Deepest thanks for all the help you gave me , my love Tsugumi ! "

The boy then took the shiny card to his hand and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate ! "

" Impossible ! " The Knight exclaimed .

" I cast ... SUPER SPARK !!! " Subaru yelled and a powerful light fell from the heaven and stopped all of The Knight's creatures from attacking .

The Knight stared scarred at Subaru whose hand glew again with a shiny purple light . The black haired boy drew his next card and started speaking once again , his words bringing fear inside The Knight .

" I evolve Hanzou , Menacing Phantom into DORBALLOM , LORD OF DEMONS !!!! "

A giant gate opened and the ruler of all darkness , a red winged goat demon with six golden tentacles ending in goat heads and six hands appeared behind Subaru . The Knight made a few steps back trembling and then fell on his kness saying :

" Lord Dorballom , is it really you ? "

" Yes , my loyal Knight ! I've seen evreything you've done and I must say that I'm proud that whatever you do , you're still loyal to me and want me back ! " Dorballom answered

" Dorballom-sama..."

" But using dirty tactics such as possessing your opponent's friend is making me ashamed of ever creating you ! " Dorballom said .

" I'm sorry , Dorballom-sama ! " The Knight said while laying down his head .

" Subaru , finish him off ! " Dorballom said and turned his head to the black haired boy .

" Yes , Dorballom ! " Subaru nodded . " Chemical Protege , break his final shields ! "

The giant creature made of dark blue crystal and gold fired a powerful lazor towards The Knight breacking his last shields . The Knight took the two cards to his hand and saw that they weren't any shield triggers . He then got up and lifted his hands in the air saying :

" I have accepted my fate ! I've been prooven that I am weak , now I shall await my punishment ! "

" Dorballom , Lord of Demons finish him off , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered .

Dorballom created a giant lazor ball and casted it towards The Knight . In the next moment the mountain on which The Knight was dueling got destroyed and the duelist in golden armor fell from it . Subaru packed up his cards fast and then jumped off the mountain on which he was dueling . The boy was falling towards The Knight trying to rescue him .

" EDO-KUUUUUN !!! " Subaru yelled while falling . " EDO-KUN , IF YOU HEAR ME , PLEASE GRAB MY HAND !!! "

The Knight's armor got lots of cracks and parts of it started falling . After a few seconds , Subaru could see Edo's head . The brown haired boy was still asleep and couldn't hear his desperate yells .

The two were falling fast and the nearest mountain was still at a big distance . It seemed as if it was the end of the two . Subaru then closed his eyes awaiting the cold and releiving death when he heared a voice . The black haired boy turned his head back and saw Dorballom flying towards him and Edo to rescue them .

" SUBARU , I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU !!! " Dorballom yelled while flying .

" DORBALLOM , WE'RE HERE !!! " Subaru yelled back . " HURRY UP , WE'LL SOON REACH THE GROUND !!! "

Edo then opened his eyes and saw the whole situation . He would've wanted to scream as well , but he couldn't . He was too shocked . The brown haired boy then saw a powerful light in his eyes and evreything disappeared .

The next thing Edo felt was the sound of someone yelling his name . He slowly opened his eyes and saw a Subaru with tears in his eyes near him .

" Wh-what happened ? " Edo asked .

" God , for a moment I thought you were gone , Edo-kun ! " Subaru exclaimed .

Edo looked arround and saw that he was back in the UFO , in one of Root's hospital rooms . He was dressed in white pijamas and was lying on a bed with bandages on his head . Kokujo and doctor Root entered the room and walked to Edo's bed .

" Oh , Edo , I see that you're awake ! " doctor Root said .

" Doctor , what happened ? " Edo asked .

" Ichiro and the vassal sneeked in and put on you a golden helmet which made the ghost of one of my old enemies , The Knight , come back and control your body ! " Kokujo said . " Apparently he was after Subaru's silver Dorballom card . "

" Wait , I remember seeing myself and Subaru falling in the air and Dorballom flying towards us . " Edo said .

" Yep , The Knight and Subaru dueled on two high mountains and after The Knight lost , he fell off the mountain and Subaru jumped to save you . "

" But , Kokujo-kun , what happened to the vassal and Ichiro ? " Subaru asked .

" They were having the upper hand in the duel , but once Dorballom gave the final blow to The Knight , we all heared an explosion . The two explained what was going on and we stopped the duels . We went to the UFO to find a way to save you while they left back to Rezo's castle . "

Doctor Root took Edo's pulse and checked his temperature . Then the doctor wrote some stuff on his personal notebook and spoke to the rest :

" I'm surprised of how much Subaru has evolved as a doctor ! "

" W-what do you mean , doc ? " Edo asked .

" After Dorballom brought you and Subaru to the UFO , Subaru took out the medical suitcase which I've given to him and healed you all by himself ! " Doctor Root said . " I must say , I've never expected him to know so meany healing methods ! He'll make a nice doctor when he grows up ! "

" Come on , doc , I wasn't that good ! " Subaru spoke modestly while blushing .

Kokujo then got out of the room and walked away . Root , Subaru and Edo were wondering where was the long haired boy going . As always , Kokujo needed some time to be alone all by himself . He walked on a corridor of the UFO which had windows instead of walls . The long haired boy could see the mountains outside and their whild beauty , something very rare in this world .

" Rezo , we're approaching you and now you're bringing up the heavy artilery . Heh , fool , no matter how many minions you send against me , I'll still bring them all down ! " Kokujo said while staring at the moon which was fading in the dark of the night .

The moon reminded Kokujo of the romantic nights he had spent with Malice ninety years ago and the love he felt for her . Her lovely memory was still haunting him , but this time he was able to stand the pain of not having her near him . He was young again , Dorballom was all his and he had a whole new future in front of him . Kokujo then spoke , his voice trying to somehow reach Malice's spirit :

" Malice , I promise that I'll defeat Ichiro and bring him to the right side ! Soon , very soon , evreything will be back to normal ! "

But what did 'normal' mean to Kokujo ? If by 'normal' he meant an ordinary life , then he would've never wanted to fight against evil . But his 'normal' life was consisting in duels , fighting new enemies and doing evil stuff . That was when Kokujo had to take a very important decision in his life .

" Once Rezo is defeated , I will do what I was supposed to do ever since I was born ! " Kokujo said and looked at his Dorballom card . " Even if the Red Priest will die , we'll still have our own fun , Dorballom ! Hahahahahahahaha !!! "

The UFO kept wandering thourgh the tibetan mountains as the sun slowly appeared on the sky announcing the appearence of a new day .


	18. Undying love

Rezo's castle was soon approaching its destination . It was sunrise , and after Rezo's calculations , they should've reached the source of power from the mountains by midnight . Outside the throne room , his minions : Xanagazu , Hanna , Ichiro and the vassal were waiting for him to greet them in . None of them asked the other how did their mission go . They were just chatting about normal things .

" And then by casting Earth Eternity Gate you can bring Zen , Transcedent God into the battlezone from your mana zone and link him with Aku , Ultimate God . " Xanagazu said

" And then the opponent is toast ! " Ichiro replied . " Must say , you really know how to make up strong strategies ! "

" Why thank you , my dear ! You'd be SHOCKED if you knew what else I can do ! "

" I bet . "

" Gosh , why can't I go back and boss arround with the other vassals ? This whole mission thingy is ruining my beautiful hair ! " the vassal cried .

" Come on , you're a strong man , you'll get through it . " Hanna tried to make him feel better . " Oh , and by the way , nothing can ruin your cuteness , hihi . "

The doors of the throne room suddenly opened . They all heared Rezo's voice calling for them . His voice made them all shiver and feel like they were going to the judgement , not to give a report to their master .

" Xanagazu , Hanna , enter the throne room ! " Rezo called .

" Yes , Lord Rezo ! " both girls replied and stepped forth .

Rezo was anxiously waiting for good news from both missions . He was now working on some spells which might protect himself and his minions from the strange source of power in case it was dangerous and other useful spells . Xanagazu and Hanna found him sitting at his table filled with ingredients and books .

" Lord Rezo , we have come to bring you the report of our mission ! " Xanagazu said while bowing along with Hanna .

" I see , speak up , Xanagazu ! " Rezo replied while getting off from his seat and walking to his throne .

" My Lord , me and Hanna went to Shanghai , as you commanded . There I disguised myself as an old lady which could predict the future and lured the three chosen duelists , Rad , Sora and Tsugumi into my lair where I gave them fake illusions about their futures . I told them that Rad was going to become a champion racer , that Sora was going to become a director of yaoi animes and that Tsugumi will not have any future because her beloved Subaru had made love by Hanna which had seduced him with the power of your spells . "

" Obviously they believed evreything we said ! " Hanna continued . " Then I came to them and challenged them to a duel . Tsugumi was the one which accepted my challenge and we had a duel . I lost , but she was suffering because of her so called loss . "

" And now she's miles away from the boy she loves and also she thinks that he had betrayed her . Hehe , she won't resist to this emotional torture ! " Rezo laughed . " I must say , girls , you've done a great job ! "

" Thank you , Lord Rezo ! " Xanagazu said while bowing .

" We are deeply flattered for your compliments ! " Hanna added while bowing as well .

" Here's what you must do on your next mission , girls ! " Rezo said and got up from his throne . " You must go and duel Tsugumi . I don't care what it takes , just defeat her and bring her to my castle ! I have a little revenge to fulfill , hehehe ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " the girls answered and left the room .

Rezo stood a couple of minutes on his throne with his hands covering a part of his face . The Red Priest was laughing inside himself for being so evil and for ruining the lives of those which dared to stand against him . He then remembered that Ichiro and the vassal had also come back with news from their mission . Rezo called the two and they entered shyly in the room and bowed in front of their master .

" Ichiro , vassal , what news do you bring me from your mission ? " Rezo asked .

" M-my lord.... " Ichiro spoke while trembling . " We...we failed... "

" What ?! " Rezo's sharp voice struck them like a bullet .

" The Knight had been defeated by Subaru and his golden helmet got destroyed . Also , the UFO is approaching our castle as we speak ! "

" HOW DID YOU DARE TO FAIL AND STILL STAND IN FRONT OF ME , WORTHLESS SCUMS !! " Rezo yelled . " I SHOULD MOP THE FLOOR WITH YOU FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP THEM ! "

Ichiro and the vassal layed their heads down awaiting for their punishment . Rezo calmed down and started thinking of a way to stop Kokujo's UFO once and for all .

" If my calculations are right , then we'll reach the source of power until midnight ! With what speed is that UFO moving ? "

" About 1000 kilometers per hour , Lord . " the vassal answered .

" Tsh , in this rythm they'll reach our castle by nightfall ! If you want me to forgive you and forget evreything , listen at what you must do ! "

" Yes , Lord Rezo ? " both asked and got up .

" Vassal , you go back at training the other vassals for battle , they may be needed soon ! "

" Yes , Lord Rezo ! " the vassal replied and left the room .

" As for you , Ichiro , once your father's UFO reaches us , you'll go outside and challenge him to a duel ! We all know that this Reaper deck I've made for you will surely bring you victory ! "

" Me against my father ? And in front of you , your servants and his friends ? Why , thank you for this honor , Lord Rezo ! " Ichiro said smiling and showed his Reaper deck which was glowing harder than ever . " I will not let you down ! "

" Good , now go and rest , Ichiro ! You'll need all the sleep you can get for this great battle ! " Rezo said .

Ichiro left the throne room and Rezo went back to his work on spells . Now he was waiting for his vengeful plan to start , and once it was fulfilled , his victory would be closer than ever .

Meanwhile in Shanghai . It was about afternoon when Rad , Sora and Tsugumi woke up from their sleep . After washing themselves and eating , they went back on their hunt for the source of power . This time Sora decided to use her shaman sences in order to find that source of power .

As they were walking on the street , Sora was walking in front of Rad and Tsugumi and she had her eyes closed and both her hands in the front like a sleepwalker . People were giving weird looks to the three kids . Tsugumi and Rad felt embarrased and for a moment they both wanted to run away and leave Sora alone to humiliate herself . But they had a mission to accomplish , so they had to keep following Sora , no matter how embarrasing it was .

" God , all those creepy chinese people are looking at us , it's disturbing ! " Rad whispered to Tsugumi .

" I know , but what else can we do ? Sora-chan is the only one which can help us locate the thing Rezo is after ! " the blonde girl replied .

" Guys , I can sence it ! " Sora exclaimed . " It's close , very close ! "

" R-really ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Awsome , we'll have the job done and go back tot he rest to get our laurels ! " Rad said with stars in his eyes . " I can see it now ... Rad , the International Hero ! "

" Hold on tight ! " Sora said and Tsugumi and Rad hugged her as tight as they could .

Suddenly , the green haired girl made a powerful jump and in the next second they were all in the air . Rad couldn't believe it , even if he had seen the sky lots of times , he had never seen it out of his precious rocket , and he felt hopeless . Tsugumi on the other hand was amazed . She felt as free as a bird in the sky . But all this was ruined by Sora which moved fast in the air towards a building .

Inside the building there was a shiny blue orb . Xanagazu and Hanna were standing in front of it with evil smiles on their faces .

" At last , the source of power Lord Rezo was looking for has been found ! " Xanagazu said .

" Once Lord Rezo will have it , the world will be all his ! " Hanna added .

Suddenly , a window got broken into pieces , because Sora flew through it along with Rad and Tsugumi . The three landed exactly between the two girls and the blue orb .

" Ouch , my butt hurts ! " Rad cried .

" Quit whining , would you prefer to climb a bilion stairs till this last floor ? " Sora asked

" Xanagazu , Hanna , we've arrived just in time to stop you ! " Tsugumi said and got up .

Sora and Rad looked at the blue orb amazed . That was the source of power Rezo seeked . As Sora was wondering what was that thing and what powers it had , Rad tried to take the orb , but got electrocuted and fell on the floor filled with burns .

" Idiot... " Sora said while looking at the burnt Rad . " It has been prooven , this is the thing Rezo is after ! Tsugumi-chan , please take care of those two ! I'll have to study this orb thingy ! "

" W-what about me ? Who's gonna take care of me ? " Rad asked with a weak voice .

Evreyone ignored Rad , thing which made him cry a bit . Sora sat down and started meditating , concentrating her energy towards the blue orb . Tsugumi on the other hand took out her glowing deck and stared at Xanagazu and Hanna .

" Which one of you has the guts to face me ? " she asked .

" I will ! " Xanagazu replied and showed her deck .

" Watch out , Xana , she's extremely violent when you remind her of how she lost her beloved Subaru ! " Hanna spoke with an arrogant voice , to annoy Tsugumi and weaken her .

" Shut up , or you'll regret the moment you were born , bitch ! " Tsugumi said while giving Hanna a cold stare .

" SHIELDS UP !!! " both Tsugumi and Xanagazu shouted starting the duel .

Five blue shields appeared on both Tsugumi's and Xanagazu's side . Both drew five cards . Tsugumi decided to start the duel .

" I charge mana and end ! "

" I charge mana and end ! "

" I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! " Tsugumi said .

" I cast Faerie Life and gain a mana ! " Xanagazu said .

" I summon Mil Armor , Mecha King Vizier ! "

" I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards ! "

" I summon Aquan ! " Tsugumi said and reveal the top five cards from her deck which were : Lord Reis Spirit of Wisdom , Aqua Surfer , Energy Stream , Ultimus Spirit of Divine Law and Bega Decaying Vizier . " Aqua Surfer and Energy Stream go to the graveyard , the rest go to my hand ! Mil Armor break her shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit ! " Xanagazu said smiling . " Destroy her Mil Armor ! And now my turn , I cast Xanatic X and make your El Kaiou and Aquan battle ! Obviously Aquan dies . Your turn ! "

" I summon Lord Reis , Spirit of Wisdom and draw a card ! " Tsugumi said . " As long as Lord Reis is in the battlezone , whenever I summon a blocker , I'll draw a card ! "

" Heh , like that would matter ... I summon Amaterasu , Founder of the Blue Wolves ! When summoned , Amaterasu will let me take a spell with the cost four or less from my deck and cast it for no cost ! Hm... I shall cast Miraculous Snare and send Lord Reis to your shields ! "

" Oh no ... " Tsugumi said scarred .

" Hehehe , you got SHOCKED , right , girly ? Your turn ! "

" I'll show you ! I summon Bega , Decaying Vizier and gain one more shield ! Also you'll discard a card from your hand ! "

Xanagazu discarded Spell Samonion , Blue Divine Dragon , but she didn't really care about that . Now it was her turn . The X lady drew a card , charged mana and said :

" I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier which will give me one more mana and shield ! Also , I cast Transmogrify ! I shall destroy my Skysword and replace it with the next creature from my deck ! "

Xanagazu's Skysword blew up and now wvreyone , except for Sora , was staring towards her deck . The next card she revealed would decide forever the fate of the duel . Xanagazu put her hand on her deck and slowly revealed the next card which was Aku , Ultimate God !

" Heh , SHOCK , I summon Aku , Ultimate God ! "

A statue like black creature with some blue crystals on its body appeared behind Xanagazu . Tsugumi made a few steps back scarred .

" W-what is that thing ? "

" Aku , Ultimate God ! It's a 9000 powered double breaker and as long as it stays in the battlezone , whenever one of Xanagazu's Gods is destroyed , she'll take it back to her hand ! " Hanna explained . " Lets see you defeat this big guy , girly ! "

" Amaterasu , break her shield ! " Xanagazu ordered .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy... Amaterasu ! " Tsugumi said . " Also since I've casted a spell , I'll activate Gravity Zero and summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight for free ! "

" Heh , I end my turn ! Lets see what you've got , girly ! " Xanagazu said .

Tsugumi drew her next card and sighed with relief . The girl charged mana and showed the card she drew which started glowing .

" I evolve Bega into King Alcadeias , Holy Gaia ! " Tsugumi said .

A giant dark golden angel with green armor and purple cape materialised himself behind Tsugumi and roared . Xanagazu looked at the two bored .

" As long as King Alcadeias is in the battlezone , when you summon non-multicolored creatures , they'll go to the graveyard ! " Tsugumi said . " King Alcadeias , double break her shields ! "

Xanagazu took cover as King Alcadeias fired a powerful lazor and broke two of her shields . The X lady took the cards to her hand and showed one of them saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Transmogrify ! I shall destroy your King Alcadeias and replace him with the next creature from your deck ! "

" Impossible ! " Tsugumi said scarred .

King Alcadeias blew up and Tsugumi revealed the next card from her deck which to her unluck was Queen Alcadeias , Holy Gaia which was an evolution creature , so she had to put it to the graveyard . The next card she revealed was Protege , the Finest God which was a normal creature , so she summoned it .

" And now my turn ! " Xanagazu said . " I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain a mana and then I cast Faerie Life and gain another mana ! Aku , Ultimate God , take down two of her shields ! "

Aku roared and fired two tentacles from his black statue like body breacking two of Tsugumi's shields . The blonde girl took the cards to her hand and was disappointed to find that there were no shield triggers . That was it , she was going to lose to Xanagazu . Hanna saw that she was down , so she decided to make her situation worser .

" Heh , you're so weak , Tsugumi ! I knew from the start that Subaru dosen't deserve a girl like you ! No wonder he accepted easily to make love with me and didn't fight the spells , hehehehehe !!! "

" You're wrong ... " Tsugumi said with tears falling from her eyes . " Subaru would never do this to me ! Even if he had done his mistake , he'd never want a slutty girl such as yourself , mark my words ! "

Suddenly , Tsugumi's hand glew with a powerful yellow light which made Xanagazu make a few steps back scarred . The blonde girl drew her next card and then spoke with a happy voice :

" Thank you , Subaru ! "

" Wh-what are you babbling about ? " Xanagazu asked .

" This ! I summon Chemical , God of Sublimity and draw two cards , then discard Urth , Purifying elemental ! And afterwards I summon Mil Armor , Mecha King Vizier ! Now time for the real surprise , Xanagazu ! Fear the power of the love I share with Subaru ! GODLINK ! Chemical and Protege unite and create CHEMICAL PROTEGE , THE FINEST SUBLIMITY GOD !!!! "

Chemical and Protege united creating a giant creature made of dark blue crystal and gold which roared and scarred both Xanagazu and Hanna .

" Chemical Protege , destroy Aku ! " Tsugumi ordered and Chemical Protege fired a powerful lazor towards Aku , destroying it .

" When Aku is destroyed , he goes to my hand ! " Xanagazu said . " And now my turn , I summon Heracles , Birther of Gods ! With his effect , I'll take Zen , Transcendent God from my mana zone to my hand ! And also , my Gods cost three mana less now ! Now surprise , surprise , I summon Aku , Ultimate God once again ! Hehe , lets see you deal with this , girly ! "

" I summon Bega , Decaying Vizier and gain one more shield and you'll discard a card ! Also , I summon El Kaiou , Spirit Mecha King ! Now Chemical Protege , break her final shields ! "

Xanagazu took cover as Chemical Protege fired another lazor destroying her final shields . Tsugumi smiled victoriously and put her hand on the Mil Armor card saying :

" Mil Armor , Mecha King Vizier totome.... "

" Shield trigger activate ! " Xanagazu's strict voice stopped her . " I summon Aqua Surfer ! Send Mil Armor back to her hand ! "

" Chemical Protege untaps and I end my turn ! " Tsugumi said .

" Hehe , my turn ! " Xanagazu said grinning . " I cast Transmogrify and destroy your El Kaiou and replace him with the next creature from your deck ! "

Before the next creature , Tsugumi first lost a Heaven's Gate which was a spell and an Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits which was an evolution creature . Then the next creature came which was Urth , Purifying Elemental .

" And now time for the real fun ! " Xanagazu said . " I summon Zen , Transcendent God ! Godlink ! I unite Aku with Zen creating Aku Zen , Ultimate Transcendent God ! "

Zen , a statue like creature with long arms and made of white stone appeared behind Xanagazu and united with Aku , the two statue Gods becoming much more fearsome .

" Aku Zen has a power of 17000 , is a quadrple breaker , it's a blocker which untaps at the end of my turn , as long as it is in the battlezone the Gods which are destroyed go to my hand AND besides all this , when Aku Zen attacks , I may destroy one of your creatures ! "

" Oh no ... " Tsugumi said scarred and stared at the giant God made of two statues .

" Say your prayers , girly ! Aku Zen attack ! His effect will destroy your Chemical Protege ! "

" I-I sacrifice Chemical and keep Protege in the battlezone ! " Tsugumi said and tears fell from her eyes . " The godlink of my love with Subaru had been destroyed ... I'm sorry , Subaru ! "

" Aku Zen , break her final shields ! "

" Block it , Protege ! "

" Now go out there , Bronze-Arm Tribe and Aqua Surfer ! Break her final shields ! " Xanagazu ordered and the two creatures ran through Tsugumi's last shields .

Tsugumi stood still with a shadow covering her eyes while the shield shards sorrounded her . She took the cards into her hand and to her shock , there weren't any shield triggers . That was it , she had lost !

" Tsugumi... " Rad said and tried to get up and go to her , but couldn't .

" Tsugumi-chan , try to resist ! " Sora spoke in her mind , because she couldn't get out of the meditation . " Gosh , why can't I find any information about this blue orb ? "

" That's it , you'll get the biggest SHOCK in your life ! " Xanagazu said with a superior voice . " Aku Zen , finish her off , totomeda ! "

Aku Zen reached both their hands and attacked Tsugumi with them . The blonde girl fell on the floor hurt . Just then Sora opened her eyes and yelled :

" THIS ORB IS NOT A POWER SOURCE ! IT'S A TRAP !!! "

" Too late ! " Xanagazu said smiling and snapped her fingers .

The blue orb electrocuted Sora and the girl fell on the floor near Rad . Xanagazu created another blue energy orb and stepped on it . Hanna grabbed Tsugumi and stepped on Xanagazu's orb which started flying away . When Rad and Sora woke up , it was too late . Tsugumi was gone with Xanagazu and Hanna .


	19. Father VS Son

Kokujo's UFO was moving faster and faster through the tibetan mountains . A few hours ago , doctor Root had managed to find out the coordinates of Rezo's castle and they decided that it was time to pay the Red Priest a visit . Now doctor Root was piloting the UFO while Edo and Subaru were admiring the tibetan mountains from the window and Kokujo was watching T.V while drinking from his always useful 'good looking evil genious drink' .

" Woah ! Amazing ! I've never seen such beauty in my entire life ! " Subaru exclaimed .

" Evreything seems amazing from the board of an UFO , but what if you were out there in the cold ? Would you still feel the same ? " Edo asked .

" I don't really care , Edo-kun , these mountains are the most beautiful sight I've seen in my whole life ! "

For a few minutes it was silence once again . They admired the mountains a bit more and then Subaru spoke with a serious voice :

" Edo-kun , do you think that we're ready to face Rezo ? "

" To be honest , I really don't know . Rezo is a tough opponent , I've seen that myself . He might beat the crap outta us before we even realize that the duel started ! But still , we can't just stand back and watch how he takes over the world , it's just wrong ! "

" I know . I wonder if Kokujo-kun is ready for battle . "

" Don't worry , Subaru , if it's Kokujo the one we're talking about , he's always ready for a duel ! " Edo laughed .

" Hehehe , I guess you're right ! " Subaru laughed as well .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . The Red Priest had finished preparing the necessary spells . Now he was checking the clock and saw that in about fifteen minutes Kokujo's UFO should reach his castle . Rezo got out on the balcony and looked outside where he saw that the sun was setting . He felt that the source of power which he was looking for was getting closer and closer .

" Kokujo Kyoshiro , once Ichiro will take you out , no one will be able to stand in my way , and then I will get the power I need to take over the world ! Hahahahahaha !!! "

Back at the UFO , Kokujo was trying to relax as much as possible . He knew that a tough challenge was awaiting him . The long haired boy took out his deck and stared at it for a few minutes and then he said :

" Dorballom , Daidalos , Olzekia , Belbel De Dios , Gal Volf , don't let me down , guys ! Now I need you more than ever ! The world is counting on us ! "

Suddenly doctor Root gave a message through all the speakers of the UFO .

" Attention all passengers , in a few minutes we will reach Rezo's castle from behind ! Get ready for battle and expect the worse ! May God help us all ! "

Kokujo got up from his seat and got out of the living room . The long haired boy walked through the corridor and met up with Subaru and Edo which were watching evreything from the window .

They saw the UFO moving faster and faster through the tibetan mountains and after a few minutes it slowed down until it stopped in front of a flying dark castle . Floating in the air waiting for them was none other than Ichiro . The boy looked at the UFO with his evil red eyes as he was holding his Reaper deck in his right hand .

" It's Ichiro ! " Edo exclaimed .

As he saw him , Kokujo ran to the nearest exit door he could find .

" Kokujo-kun , what are you doing ? " Subaru asked , but didn't get any answer .

Kokujo opened the door and jumped out of the UFO . Evreyone expected him to fall in the air and die , but he was floating . That was because Rezo had made a spell on the air so that any living being could float in it . This was because he had no place for the two to duel .

" I have come as you've expected ! " Kokujo said .

" I've been waiting for you , Kokujo ! " a voice from the balcony spoke . It was Rezo . " Lets see how the Black Death faces his own son in a duel ! I'm so dying to know who is more powerful between you two ! "

" You should start to cry , Rezo ! Kokujo will beat the crap outta Ichiro and we'll defeat you for sure ! " Edo said .

" Heh , we'll see about that ! Go forth , Ichiro ! "

" Yes , my Lord ! " Ichiro replied and walked towards Kokujo .

Two dueling tables appeared out of nowhere and floated in the air as well . Kokujo and Ichiro put their decks on the dueling tables and both shouted :

" SHIELDS UP ! "

The great duel between the Black Death and his son had begun .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Kokujo said .

" I summon Fuuma Ravaal , the Reaper ! " Ichiro said .

" I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards ! "

" I summon Bloody Squito and now I attack with Fuuma Ravaal , break his shield ! "

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! Both die and now it's my turn ! I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards ! "

" Tsh , I fortify one of my shields with XENOM , the Reaper Fortress ! " Ichiro said smiling . " Now you'll discard a card from your hand ! "

Kokujo discarded Miraculous Plague and gave Ichiro and angry look .

" Hehe , XENOM , the Reaper Fortress makes all my Reapers cost one mana less and also it gives them 2000 more power ! Lets see you defeat this , daddy ! "

" Heh , don't worry , son ! It will be easy to smash your winy fortress ! I summon Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil ! "

A red train with spikes , hands and feet on the locomotive appeared behind Kokujo . Ichiro didn't seem to care about his father's move . He just drew his next card and said :

" My turn , I summon Bell Hell De Jackson , Monstrous Reaper ! "

A giant bug like demon made of bones and with a long scythe in its mouth appeared behind Ichiro . Kokujo had never seen that creature before and he was amazed .

" Meet my Bell Hell De Jackson ! " Ichiro said . " He's a 6000 powered double breacker and when he attacks , I may destroy one of my creatures and take an evolution Demon Command from my deck to my hand ! "

" Tsh , your Bell Hell De Jackson is nothing compared to my Belbel De Dios ! " Kokujo replied and showed the next card he was going to use . " I summon Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord ! "

Then a giant lion made of bones and with a big blue mane appeared behind Kokujo and roared loudly . Subaru then took his head out of the UFO and yelled :

" MY DEATHLIGER CAN ROAR BETTER THAN YOUR KITTY , KOKUJO !! "

" Heh , we'll see about that later , Subaru ! " Kokujo replied and turned back to the duel . " Your turn , Ichiro ! "

" Tsh , I'll teach you a lesson ! I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Demon Command ! "

Kokujo showed the cards from his hand . They were Olzekia , General of Decapitation and Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil . The only Demon Command was Olzekia and Ichiro discraded it . Also , Kokujo lost a shield which was Terror Pit .

" HAHAHAHAHA ! You don't like that , right , father ? Now it's time to make you feel what I felt in that day when you've abandoned me and let me die ! "

Kokujo would've tried to explain to Ichiro that he tried to find him so hard and didn't have any success , but he knew that he wouldn't listen , so he just kept his mouth shut and endured the accusations his son was throwing on him .

" Bell Hell De Jackson attack ! I shall destroy my Gal Volf and take XENOM , the Reaper King from my deck to my hand ! Ike , Bell Hell De Jackson , double break his shields ! "

Kokujo took cover as the giant bug like demon slashed two of his shields with its scythe . The long haired boy took the cards to his hand and started speaking :

" Shield trigger activate ! I summon Aqua Surfer ! Send Bell Hell De Jackson back to his hand ! "

Ichiro got angry as he took the Bell Hell De Jackson card back to his hand . His plan was beginning to clash . Kokujo then started his turn and showed another glowing card saying :

" I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye ! "

" What ?! You're using Romanoff ?! " Ichiro asked shocked .

A giant knight wearing a dark lord armor with red cape and weilding two lazor guns appeared behind Kokujo and roared . The long haired boy took his deck and searched for a card . He chose one and took it to his hand . Afterwards he said :

" When Romanoff is summoned , I'll put a darkness card into my graveyard ! "

Kokujo showed the card he chose , and that was Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike . After that , the long haired boy put his hand on the Belbel De Dios card and tapped it saying :

" And now I attack with Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord ! I'll use his effect and destroy my Aqua Surfer to draw two cards ! Trash Train will also let me draw a card ! And now Belbel De Dios , double break his shields and take down his fortress ! "

Ichiro took cover as Belbel De Dios broke two of his shields . His XENOM , the Reaper Fortress went to the graveyard . The boy waited for the shield shards to unite into cards and then took the cards into his hand . He smiled evily and spoke to his father :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit to destroy Trash Train ! "

Some demonic hands came out of nowhere and grabbed the red train smashing it into bits . Ichiro made a short evil laugh and started his turn .

" I summon Fuuma Ravaal , the Reaper and Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper ! Deathraios's effect will make me destroy one of my Reapers and you one of your creatures ! I shall destroy Fuuma Ravaal ! "

" And I shall destroy Belbel De Dios ! " Kokujo said .

" Also , Grave Evolution ! " Ichiro continued smiling . " I'll take Fuuma Ravaal from my graveyard and evolve him into Death March , Reaper of Death ! Ike , Death March , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Inferno Sign ! I'll revive Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! When Olzekia is summoned , I'll destroy one of my creatures and you two ! I'll destroy my Olzekia and you'll be forced to destroy your Deathraios and Death March ! "

" Tsh , tricky as always , dad ! " Ichiro said with an arrogant voice .

" Why thank you , son ! " Kokujo replied and started his turn . " I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and since I have six spells in my graveyard , I'll summon Fernando the 7th , Emperor of Mystic Light for only four mana , Maxval and those spells contributing for reducing his mana cost ! "

" Grrr... "

" Romanoff the 1st attack and I'll activate Inferno Sign from my graveyard which will bring Belbel De Dios back to the battlezone ! Romanoff , take out his final shields ! "

Ichiro took cover as Romanoff fired a powerful lazor and broke his final shields into pieces . Blue shield shards sorrounded him and he waited for the shield shards to unite into cards . As he got the two cards into his hand , Ichiro stared at one of them . The boy made a powerful evil laugh and said :

" HAHAHAHAHAHA !! TIME TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REAL DARKNESS DUELIST ! MANA GALAXY VORTEX ! I SUMMON SUPERNOVA DEATH DRAGERION !!!!! "

A giant dragon like creature with lots of hands and dark blue wings and a long head appeared behind Ichiro and roared . It was the fearsome Death Dragerion ! Kokujo stood calm as Ichiro ordered the creature to attack .

" IKE , DEATH DRAGERION , ATTACK ! I'll activate Death Dragerion's meteorburn and make all your creature lose 9000 power ! "

Kokujo's Maxval , Romanoff and Belbel De Dios got destroyed by Death Dragerion's lazor wave .

" DEATH DRAGERION , BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELD !!!! " Ichiro yelled .

The giant creature created a lazor in its mouth and spitted it towards Kokujo breacking his last shield . Kokujo took cover to not get burnt and as the attack was over he got up and looked at his son which was standing victorious in front of evreyone . The servants from Rezo's castle were all cheering him and Rezo was smiling towards him . It was his glory moment !

Suddenly , Kokujo spoke to Ichiro intrerrupting his great moment :

" I ain't dead yet , you know ? "

" Heh , yeah yeah , whatever . Finish your last turn faster , because glory awaits me ! "

" Heh , something else awaits you , my dear son , not glory ! " Kokujo smiled and his hand glew with a powerful purple light as he grabbed a card from his hand and yelled . " EVOLUTION ! "

" What the ? What can you possibly evolve ? " Ichiro said shocked . " I've destroyed all your creatures ! "

" WRONG ! You've forgotten that Fernando has 11000 power and that Death Dragerion makes all creatures lose only 9000 power ! So , my Fernando survived ! And now I evolve him into BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH !!! "

A giant bird winged goat demon with blue skin and bone armor appeared behind Kokujo and roared . Ichiro made a few steps back scarred . He had lost against his father once again ! And he was going to get it .

" Impossible ! This Reaper deck was supposed to bring you down ! "

" Yes , but you've forgotten an important detail , Ichiro ! Good looking evil geniouses have extremely rare losses ! " Kokujo said grinning . " AHAHAHAHAHAHA ! Time to bring you down once and for all , Ichiro ! BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH , FINISH HIM OFF , TOTOMEDAAAAAAAAAA !!!! "

Ballom created a darkness orb with his hands and in the next moment he casted it on Ichiro which flew in the air hurt . The boy landed inside Rezo's castle and was picked up by some servants and taken into his room .

Outside , Kokujo was cheered by Subaru and Edo from the UFO . But the long haired boy didn't want to rest on his laurels yet . He walked towards Rezo's castle and spoke to the Red Priest which was watching him from the balcony :

" Rezo , I have defeated Ichiro as you have requested ! Now I want you to tell me what is this source of power you're looking for ! What do you intend to do once you've found it ? "

" Tsh , a victory is a victory , so I guess that you at least deserve to know what is this source of power . " Rezo said . " The source of power is some powerful energy which is located in a certain place in the tibetan mountains , somewhere near us . Once I find it , I intend to use it to recreate the Proof of Duelmaster ! With the power of the Proof , the world will be mine ! "

" Tsh , you'll never get your hands on the Proof , Rezo , I swear it ! "

" Heh , lets see who will arrive at that source of power first , Kokujo ! So long ! "

Rezo's castle got sorrounded by a strange red aura and disappeared . Kokujo walked back in the UFO as doctor Root changed the coordinates , for he knew where the powerful energy was located . And so in a few minutes the UFO was back on the road .

By midnight Rezo's castle arrived above a cave from the mountains . Inside the cave was the energy which Rezo seeked . The castle landed on the cave and Rezo ordered the servants to send pipes inside the cave which could canalyse all the energy from the cave into a room of the castle . In a few minutes the order was executed .

Rezo was now sitting in his throne room . The Red Priest was laughing and enjoying his moment of victory . Even if Ichiro had lost the duel , he had got his hands on the energy he needed to remake the Proof of Duelmaster . He opened all his spell books and notebooks and awaited for his servants to bring him a sample of that misteryous energy in a bottle .

" I did it ! I actually did it ! The energy is all mine and soon , very soon , so will the Proof of Duelmaster ! Oh , I can't wait ! "

Suddenly , an alarm woke him up from his fantasies . Rezo looked in a mirror and saw Xanagazu and Hanna coming back to the castle with Tsugumi as their prisoner . Rezo grinned and spoke with an evil voice :

" Ah , my little guest has come ! I think it's time to involve myself into Subaru's and Tsugumi's personal life ! Hahahahaha , how sweet is vengance ! "


	20. Tsugumi captured

Xanagazu and Hanna were greeted as heroes when they came back to Rezo's castle . Rezo immediately wanted to see them and to congratulate them for their victory . As the two girls were walking through the corridors , Hanna holding an unconcious Tsugumi in her arms , they were greeted and cheered by lots of servants and vassals .

" Congratulations , girls ! " a maid said .

" Well done , girls ! " a vassal said .

" You're the best ! " a cook chered .

" Xanagazu , can I touch your boobies ? " another vassal asked .

" WHAT ?! " Xanagazu yelled and punched that vassal in the head . " Freacking perv ! "

" Come on , Xanagazu , Lord Rezo is waiting for us ! " Hanna said sweating .

After a few minutes , the two girls managed to get out of the crowd and reach Rezo's throne chamber . Xanagazu politely knocked waiting for a response . The doors opened and Rezo's voice called them in . The two girls stepped forward and entered the grand throne chamber . There they saw Rezo's work table filled with books and ingredients . Their master must've worked alot that night , they thought . Now Rezo was sitting on his throne admiring the two girls which were bringing him the prize for his vengance , Tsugumi . As they reached the throne , Hanna layed Tsugumi down in front of Rezo and then bowed along with Xanagazu .

" We've brought you the girl you desired , oh great Lord Rezo ! " Hanna said .

" Is she dead ? " Rezo asked .

" No , she's just unconcious . " Xanagazu replied .

" Good ! Take her to a cell in the eastern tower and lock her there ! I'll have a little discussion with her later ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " Hanna replied and left with Tsugumi in her arms .

And so , the bloody revenge was about to begin ! Tsugumi was thrown in a cell from the eastern tower . When her body hit the floor , she woke up and realized the situation she was in . The blonde girl ran towards Hanna , but the blue haired girl closed the cell and locked it with a key and left .

" Hey , you ! Come back here ! Why are you doing this to me ? " Tsugumi yelled .

" Why ? Because you dared to stand in Lord Rezo's way , that's why ! " Hanna replied with a cold voice and disappeared from the tower .

Tsugumi's eyes got filled with tears again . The girl fell on her knees and cried all alone in her prison cell . She was filled with dirt , had several wounds because of the duel and was really tired . Now Tsugumi's only hopes were that either Rezo will have mercy on her , thing which she highly doubted , either that Subaru would come and save her .

" Why ? From all the girls in the world , why did Rezo choose me ? " she asked herself . " I just wanted to be an ordinary girl having an ordinary life with my dear Subaru ! Why can't we be happy ? "

Meanwhile at Kokujo's UFO . The spaceship was moving faster and faster towards Rezo's castle . Kokujo , Subaru and Edo were getting ready for facing Rezo by having a couple of duels . Obviously Kokujo won all his duels against Subaru and Edo , while both Subaru and Edo were equal , so they both won and lost against eachother . Now Kokujo was standing in a corner and watching Subaru and Edo duel . Edo had three shields left , while Subaru one . Edo had in his battlezone two Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and Sealed Devil Josjaks while Subaru had in his battlezone only Gajirabute , Vilce Centurion and Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias . It was now Edo's turn .

" I summon Aqua Hulcus and draw a card and then I summon two Sealed Devil Erigol ! Now Sealed Devil Josjaks break his final shield ! "

" Not so fast , Edo-kun ! Shield trigger activate , I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards ! Also Gravity Zero activate , I summon two Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! " Subaru said smiling . " Now my turn , I evolve Biragias into BALLOM EMPEROR , LORD OF DEMONS !!! "

A giant gray goat demon with two heads and lots of hands appeared behind Subaru and roared . Edo made a few steps back scarred .

" Destroy his non-darkness creatures , Ballom Emperor ! " Subaru ordered and Ballom Emperor fired a lazor wave killing Edo's Sealed Devil Erigols and Aqua Hulcus . " Ballom Emperor , double break his shields ! Gajirabute , break his final shield ! "

Edo took cover as Subaru's creatures broke all of his shields . The brown haired boy was sorrounded by shield shards and he waited until they turned into cards . He took the cards in his hand and spoke :

" And now my turn ! Galaxy Vortex ! I evolve my two Maxvals and Josjaks into Supernova Neptune Shutrom ! "

An enormous blue angel made of crystal with long red purple wings and weilding a crystal staff appeared behind Edo . Subaru made a few steps back . That was the creature on which he and Edo had built a deck arround , and now Edo was using it against him .

" Supernova Neptune Shutrom... " Subaru spoke amazed .

" Yep , now time to show you the power of this fantastic creature , Suby ! " Edo said smiling . " Meteorburn ! I'll send a Maxval which I evolved into Shutrom to the graveyard and now Shutrom will send ALL your creatures on the top of your deck ! "

Shutrom fired a blue wave from its staff and in the next moment all of Subaru's creatures vanished . The boy turned his head to Edo which with a victorious smile on his face said :

" Supernova Neptune Shutrom totomeda ! "

Subaru got blown away a few meters and landed on the ground filled with some small burns . Edo grabbed his hand and helped him get up .

" Nice duel , Edo-kun ! It seems that I did good when I decided to let you use this deck ! " Subaru said smiling .

" Thanks for the deck , Suby , it really rocks to use Supernova Neptune Shutrom ! " Edo replied with the same smile on his face .

" Meh , pathetic... " Kokujo said to himself and was about to leave the room .

Suddenly , doctor Root bumped in with a worried look on his face which scarred the three duelists .

" What's wrong , doctor ? " Kokujo asked .

" Something terrible has happened ! " Root exclaimed . " Come quick ! "

Doctor Root took the three into the hospital room where they found Rad and Sora resting on two beds , filled with burns and with several bandages on their bodies .

" W-what happened to them ? " Edo asked .

" They've been tricked and electrocuted by Xanagazu ! Rad barely made it to his rocket and managed to teleport himself back here with Sora ! " Root answered .

" W-what about Tsugumi ? " Subaru asked worried .

Root's face got covered by a dark shadow . The doctor layed his head down and spoke to Subaru with a serious voice :

" Subaru , Tsugumi has been captured by Rezo ! "

" WHAT ?! " Subaru yelled shocked .

" She's been held captive at his castle ! " Root continued .

" Impossible ! My dear Tsugumi is in that bastard's hands ! "

" Doctor , we've got to hurry up ! In how much time can we reach Rezo's castle ? " Kokujo asked .

" In about a day's time . "

" Make it twelve hours ! We cannot let Rezo harm Tsugumi , or else we'll lose one of the five chosen duelists ! And besides , a warm hearted girl like her dosen't deserve such a cruel fate ! "

" Got it , Kokujo ! " Root replied and ran back to the control room .

The UFO started moving faster and faster . The passengers inside were starting to feel the spaceship's speed . Now in evreyone's mind there was only one thing : what would happen to Tsugumi .

Back at Rezo's castle . A few hours had passed since Tsugumi had been captured . Now the sun was rising , its warm golden rays going through Tsugumi's cell bars and warming her cold face which was wet by tears . The girl was standing in the cell all alone , doing nothing but dreaming at Subaru which would come and save her .

Suddenly she heared a door open . The blnode girl got up and ran to the bars . She heared some footsteps climbing the stairs of the tower and soon she saw a figure walking in the hall and approaching her cell . The figure was none other than Rezo , the Red Priest !

" Tsugumi , the chosen light duelist , at last we meet ! " Rezo said smiling .

" Rezo ... " Tsugumi replied and stared into his cold yellow and blue eyes . " What do you want from me ? "

" From you ? Oh , nothing more than revenge ! "

" What's this 'revenge' all about , Rezo ? What did I do to you ? "

" You and the other chosen duelists dared to stand against me and try to prevent me from recreating the Proof of Duelmaster ! I cannot allow this to happen ! Nothing personal , but you'll be a part of my grand revenge ! "

" And how do you want to get your revenge , Rezo ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Oh , that's easy , my dear ! I will have you killed just before your dear Subaru comes and saves you ! I will let him see your dead body filled with blood and this image will bring his moral down and make him regret he ever dared to rise up against me , same for the other chosen duelists ! " Rezo said with an evil grin on his face .

" You're so despicable , Rezo ! " Tsugumi spoke with a discusted voice . " If I wouldn't be locked in this cell I would kill you , but not by a duel , no , I would kill you with my bare hands and stain them with your own blood , to get this world rid of you ! "

" Hehehe , keep dreaming , my dear girl ... while you still can ! " Rezo said and left the tower leaving a terrifying evil laugh behind .

Tsugumi stood a few moments on the floor scarred . ( Her cell didn't have a bed . ) Suddenly , she got up and ran to the bars from the window . She grabbed them tightly and screamed outside :

" Subaru come ! Cause I can't resist here in this castle , I will die without your love ! I'm too scarred , my love , I beg you , now come here ! "

Back at the UFO , the spaceship was approaching Rezo's castle . It was almost nightfall when they saw the giant dark castle from a long distance . Root prepared the engines of the UFO to work at max speed while Kokujo got ready for the duel . Subaru and Edo were watching the castle through the window . They were both hoping that it was not too late for Tsugumi .

" Tsugumi , try to hold on , I'm coming ! " Subaru said .

" She's a strong girl , she'll be able to handle the situation ! " Edo motivated Subaru .

Suddenly the UFO shook powerfully and stopped . It was as if it had hit something hard . Kokujo , Subaru and Edo ran to doctor Root which was working on reparing the motors .

" Doctor , what's going on ? " Kokujo asked .

" It seems that Rezo has made an invisible barrier which prevents flying vehicles from reaching his castle ! I'm sorry , guys , but you'll have to go towards the castle by your own ! "

" Oh great , lets get going , fast ! " Kokujo said and along with Subaru and Edo ran away

" Good luck , guys ! I just hope it's not too late... " Root said .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . Tsugumi's detention was starting to make her crazy . Fear was consuming her soul . She even began to ask herself if the situation was real . The blonde girl turned her head towards the window and spoke to it , trying to reach Subaru's mind :

" Believe me , Subaru , I still love you and I will for all my life , although my final hour is getting near ! "

Then the sun had set . A cold and menacing night had fallen upon the mountains . Tsugumi was now staring at the moon still dreaming at her lover when suddenly she heared some noises in the corridor . Rezo's servants were coming ! The girl ran once again to the window and yelled :

" Help me , dear , they will kill me ! "

Tsugumi had to be strong and hold back her fear . She knew that she didn't have to appear weak in front of them , or else she would lose her life immediately . But in the end she couldn't stand it anymore , so she bursted into tears and fell on her knees looking towards the window and crying :

" I DON'T WANNA DIE , I WANNA SEE YOU FOR A LAST TIME ! COME AND SAVE MY LIFE , CAUSE IN THIS CELL I CAN'T SURVIVE ! EVREYDAY I CRY , BECAUSE YOUR MEMORY'S TOO DEAR TO ME ! I'M DESPARING FOR YOU ! I BEG YOU , COME SAVE ME !!! "

Suddenly Ichiro's and the vassal's figures appeared in front of her cell . Evil expressions were on their faces and they were scarring the girl even more . Ichiro then spoke to Tsugumi :

" Your time's out , Tsugumi , we're here to kill you ! And say your prayers , female , all that you fear's true ! You think that Subaru's rage will punish us ... hah ! There's no way to beat the Red Priest ! Your weeping is unuseful , now accept your fate ! "

Tsugumi and Ichiro exchanged glances for a few minutes . The boy loved to see the girl's terrified face . It was the most priceless moment in his entire life . He felt almost like a god for having to decide the fate of a poor and weak soul .

" Vassal , open this cell ! " Ichiro ordered .

The vassal walked to the cell's lock with a key and in a few seconds he unlocked the cell . The barred door opened and the two boys entered the room . Tsugumi crawled in a corner of the room trembling . She was about to faint because of the fear . Terror was stopping the blood in her veins . Ichiro then reached his head to her and he spoke to her saying :

" LET US DO OUR MASTER'S WILL !!!!!!!!! "

Her hope then faded . She tried to oppose , but the vassal and Ichiro forced her out of the cell and held her tight . In a few minutes they dragged her on the roof and layed her down like a pile of garbadge . Ichiro locked all the doors which were leading back in the castle so that she wouldn't escape . The vassal then took off his clothes and raped Tsugumi in front of Ichiro which was laughing hard and histerically . Evreyone in the castle was hearing Tsugumi's screams , but none dared to go and see what was going on , because Rezo ordered them not to .

After an hour of torture , the vassal left Tsugumi alone and Ichiro opened a door .The Red Priest then entered and walked to Tsugumi . The girl looked up scarred and saw the Red Priest with a knife in his right hand .

" Let this be a lesson to all those which dare to stand in my way ! " Rezo said .

In the next moment Rezo's knife was in Tsugumi's heart . The girl's eyes lost color and she fell on the floor dead . Rezo's revenge was finally accomplished ! The Red Priest's laugh was heared in the whole castle . He then ordered the vassal to take Tsugumi's body and bring it to his balcony . He was going to give it to Subaru when he would come .


	21. The tears

A few miles away from Rezo's castle you could see three boys running in the cold winter night . They were none other than Kokujo , Subaru and Edo . They had crossed the mountains , they had crossed the river of tears . Now they had to find Rezo . They were going to fight without fear . The boys were now entering a small forest and were reaching the cursed castle .

For his love Subaru was running in the dark . With his powerful deck he was going to fight against the Red Priest . But he felt a strange pain inside his heart almost as an icy blade and he wondered why . In his eyes there was a fire that would burn Rezo's empty soul . Running in the night , he , Kokujo and Edo had the power to destroy the dirty worm

At last , after hours of running , they had reached Rezo's castle . Kokujo walked towards the entrance of the castle which was locked and shouted :

" SO , WE ARE HERE , ARE YOU READY FOR WAR ?! "

Suddenly Rezo appeared at the balcony with an evil smile of satisfaction on his face . He made an evil laugh and spoke to them :

" HAHAHA ! IT'S PAYBACK TIME !!! "

The Red Priest then brought a body and threw it from the balcony . The dead body landed on the ground and Subaru was shocked . He recognised it immediately . The blonde hair , the white clothes , the red skirt , the blue eyes... it was Tsugumi ! Unholy visions , images of death so cruel were rowing in his mind , in a way that he couldn't rule . Blood on Rezo's hands and regret in his black heart . He was going to cry , because he had seen his princess die into the abyss of the hell – lost in his rage , far from her life .

Kokujo and Edo were as shocked as Subaru . Edo had never seen such a bloody massacre in his entire life and Kokujo was shocked because of the death of the girl , but not as shocked as Subaru .

Frozen tears were falling from Subaru's eyes while his soul was desiring to burn Rezo's castle to ashes . His creatures were going to help him fulfill his revenge . The black haired boy took out his glowing deck and spoke :

" The bastard's glory time will end ! "

" S-Subaru , are you sure ? " Kokujo asked .

" Listen , I know it's hard for you , but we can't just challenge Rezo and his minions to some duels ! " Edo said . " We need a plan and... "

" SHUT UP ! HE KILLED THE GIRL I LOVE ! " Subaru yelled . " Now all I want is to see him suffer the way I am ! "

The castle's entrance door opened and three dark figures appeared . The figures got out of the castle and they saw that they were Xanagazu , Ichiro and Hanna . They walked towards the three heroes and Xanagazu spoke to them :

" You wanted to face us ! Here we are ! "

Evreyone took out their glowing decks and six dueling tables appeared out of the ground . They all raised their shields and the duels have started . It was Edo VS Hanna , Kokujo VS Xanagazu and Subaru VS Ichiro . Lots of turns have passed and now we go to Subaru's duel against Ichiro .

" Hehehe , I summon Dark Zekia , Reaper of Death ! I will show you the evolution creatures from my hand and for each of them one of your creatures will lose 2000 power ! " Ichiro said and showed two cards from his hand which were Death March , Reaper of Death and Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons . " Your Gajirabute will lose 4000 power and die ! Also Grave Evolution , I summon Death March , Reaper of Death ! I attack with Bell Hell De Jackson , Monstrous Reaper and destroy Dark Zekia ! Now I'll take XENOM , the Reaper King from my deck to my hand ! Ike , Bell Hell De Jackson , double break his shields ! Also , Death March , break his shield ! "

Subaru didn't move when the creatures broke three of his shields and stood still even when the shield shards sorrounded him . The shield shards slowly united into cards and one of them shined . Subaru took it to his hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Inferno Sign and bring Gajirabute , Vile Centurion from my graveyard to the battlezone ! "

A blue demon with angel wings appeared behind Subaru and destroyed one of Ichiro's shield with its lightning sword .

" When summoned , Gajirabute will throw one of your shields to the graveyard ! "

The shield was a Supernova Death Dragerion , but Ichiro didn't care that much this time . He had his own new strategy ready . Subaru's eyes shined with the powerful fire as the black haired boy showed the next cards he was going to use .

" I summon Hard Demon of Inferno Biragias and make your Death March lose 3000 power and die ! Afterwards I summon Demonic Holy Spirit Auzesu for only three mana due to its Demon Command sympathy and Deep Lump's effect ! "

" What the ... " Ichiro spoke scarred and made a few steps back as a robotic mixture between a demon and an angel with a lazor eye in its chest and weilding a sword in its right hand appeared behind Subaru from the heavens .

Ichiro was now going to suffer Subaru's rage . A rage which would bring the total destruction of him and his master , Rezo and would avenge the cruel and unjust death of Tsugumi . Subaru tapped his Gajirabute , Vile Centurion card and said :

" I attack with Gajirabute ! Now Auzesu's effect will destroy Bell Hell De Jackson ! "

Auzesu's eyes glew red as he slashed Bell Hell De Jackson with its powerful sword . Ichiro stared scarred at Subaru which was now turning into a killing machine .

" Gajirabute , break his shield ! Also , Deep Lump Machiner Ganistar , break his final shield ! "

Ichiro took cover as his shields got broken . The boy then took the cards created from the shield shards to his hand and smiled . He showed them both and said :

" Shield trigger activate ! I cast two Terror Pits and destroy Auzesu and Gajirabute ! "

Lots of demonic hands appeared behind Ichiro and grabbed Subaru's Auzesu and Gajirabute smashing the mighty demons . Ichiro made an evil laugh and started his turn :

" HAHAHAHAHAHA ! Time to finish you off , cry baby ! Grave Evolution , I summon not one , but two Death March , Reaper of Death ! I also summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy one of my Death Marchs ! "

" I'll destroy Ganistar ! "

" Heh , you have no chance of winning , Subaru ! "

" Why so , Ichiro ? I will bring you and your bastard master down , even if it's the last thing I do ! " Subaru said with anger in his voice .

" Oh really ? Look arround you , foolish loser ! " Ichiro replied .

Subaru turned arround and to his shock he saw that Kokujo and Edo were both losing badly against their opponents . Edo had Aqua Hulcus , Sealed Devil Erigol , Sealed Devil Balzoo and Sealed Devil Garmagias into the battlezone and one shield left , while Hanna had Alcadeias Lord of Spirits , White Knight Ulphas Lord of Spirits and Leonidas White Knight Spirit and three shields left . It was Hanna's turn . She drew a card and spoke to Edo :

" You're finished ! "

" W-what ? " Edo asked sweating .

" I evolve Leonidas into White Knight HEAVEN , Lord of Spirits ! "

A giant blue robot angel appeared behind Hanna as the girl made an evil laugh . Edo's creatures disappeared and the boy got four more shields .

" What happened ? " Edo asked .

" When HEAVEN is summoned , all non-light creatures go to their owner's shields ! " Hanna replied with an evil smile on her face . " White Knight HEAVEN , triple break his shields ! White Knight Ulphas , break his final shields ! "

Edo took cover as the two robot angels fired powerful lazors breack all of his shields . To his unluck , none of the shields were shield triggers .

" And now Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits , totomeda ! " Hanna ordered .

A golden robotic angel fired two powerful beams towards Edo and the boy flew in the air defeated and had a hard landing . Kokujo's duel against Xanagazu wasn't better at all . Kokujo had no more shields left and Maxval Electro-Fuuma , Bloody Squito , Belbel De Dios Death Castle Beast Lord and Gal Volf Dark Wolfblade . Xanagazu on the other hand had Bronze-Arm Tribe , Skysword the Savage Vizier , Chief De Baula Machine King of Mystic Light and Aku Ultimate God into the battlezone and she also had three shields left . It was Kokujo's turn . The long haired boy drew his next card and laughed :

" HAHA ! I evolve Belbel De Dios into Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons ! "

A giant gray goat demon with two heads and lots of hands appeared behind Kokujo and roared . Ballom Emperor destroyed all of Xanagazu's non-darkness creatures AKA Bronze-Arm Tribe , Skysword and Chief De Baula .

" Gal Volf , double break her shields ! " Kokujo ordered and a wolf demon weilding four swords jumped towards Xanagazu and slashed two of her shields . " BREAK HER FINAL SHIELD , BALLOM EMPEROOOOOOOOOR !!! " Kokujo yelled and Ballom Emperor fired a powerful lazor breacking Xanagazu's last shield to pieces . " And I also have two blockers AKA Bloody Squito and Maxval , while you have only Aku , Ultimate God ! You're as finished , Xanagazu ! "

" Heh , think again , Kokujo Kyoshiro ! " Xanagazu replied and showed a shining card . " Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bloody Squito ! "

" What the ... " Kokujo said shocked as his Bloody Squito blew up .

" And now I summon Zen , Transcendent God ! Godlink ! Aku Zen , Ultimate Transcendent God ! " Xanagazu said grinning as the two statue Gods united themselves into one . " Aku Zen attack and his effect will destroy Maxval ! SHOCK , you have no more blockers , Black Death ! "

" Tsh... " Kokujo murmed and stared angry towards the X lady .

" Aku Zen totomeda ! "

The two Gods hit Kokujo with their hands powerfully and the long haired boy flew in the air and landed near Edo hurt . All this was witnessed by a shocked Subaru . Ichiro laughed evily and then spoke to the black haired boy :

" Hahahaha ! Give up , Subaru , you guys don't stand a chance against us ! "

" Never ! I will never give up to the likes of you and especially not after what you have done ! " Subaru replied and put a shining card on his Biragias card yelling ." I EVOLVE BIRAGIAS INTO BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH !!! "

A blue goat demon with big bird wings and wearing a bone armor spread its feathers in the air and made its appearence behind Subaru roaring . The boy was full of hate and anger and almost lost the control of himself .

" BALLOM , KILL THAT BASTARD ! RIP HIS INSIGHTS AND MAKE EVREY BIT OF HIS BODY FEEL PAIN ! TOTOMEDAAAAAAAA !!! " Subaru yelled and Ballom reached his hand to catch Ichiro .

" Death March , block the attack ! " Ichiro said scarred and his Death March stopped Ballom's attack and got destroyed .

Subaru then breathed hard and stared at Ichiro with the same fire burning in his eyes . Ichiro got bored of the boy's behavious and spoke to him :

" Tsh , I've had enough of you ! I evolve Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper into XENOM , the Reaper King ! "

A giant dark blue demon similar to Ballom appeared . The only differences between Ballom and XENOM was that XENOM didn't have a face and had giant bat wings and was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head .

" W-what's that ? " Subaru asked scarred .

" Meet XENOM , the Reaper King ! " Ichiro replied . " He's a 13000 powered triple breacker ! Ike , XENOM , destroy his Ballom now ! "

Ballom had 12000 power while XENOM had 13000 power , so obviously XENOM won the battle . XENOM created two orbs of darkness in both his hands and then he casted them towards Ballom which got sorrounded by darkness and slowly got destroyed . Subaru watched horrified the whole scene . He got awakened from his thoughts by Ichiro's voice which said :

" It's your turn ! "

" My turn... right ! " Subaru replied and drew his next card . " I summon Bega , Decaying Vizier and gain one more shield while you'll discard a card from your hand ! "

Ichiro discarded Hand of the Reaper , but didn't really seem to care . The boy spoke to Subaru with a voice which made his whole body tremble :

" You lost ! "

" What ? " the black haired boy asked scarred .

" Mana Galaxy Vortex ! I summon Supernova Death Dragerion ! And now XENOM , the Reaper King , break his final shields ! "

XENOM roared and made a hole in his body with the Ballom staff . Out of that hole a powerful lazor came out and broke Subaru's last three shields . Subaru took the cards to his hand fast , but then the cards flew from his hand to the graveyard .

" W-what ? But why ? " he asked .

" XENOM has Break Bonus ! " Ichiro said . " Break Bonus is an effect which happens after I breack your shields and XENOM's Break Bonus makes you discard a card for each shield he broke this turn ! And since you had no cards in your hand , you had to discard your shields , hahahaha ! "

Subaru layed his head down with a dark shadow covering his eyes . He had lost the duel against Ichiro and wasn't able to avenge the girl he loved .

" Say your prayers , lover boy ! Death Dragerion totomeda !!!!! " Ichiro yelled .

Death Dragerion fired a powerful lazor and Subaru flew in the air and landed hurt and filled with burns near Edo and Kokujo . Ichiro made an evil laugh and then he entered the castle victoriously along with Xanagazu and Hanna . The caste's doors closed and the only things left outside were Tsugumi's dead body and the three duelists .

Beaten , defeated , the battle was lost . Their lives would never be free . They were there alone , in that useless world , they had nothing to see . While the Red Priest was laughing , rain was falling on them .

Subaru was staring into Tsugumi's wide open eyes and he thought that a flash of a blade would end evreything . The boy took a knife out of his pockets and pointed it towards his heart . Death wishes and hatred were running inside his veins . But he couldn't kill himself , he didn't have the power to do it . Subaru dropped the knife , fell on his knees and started praying to God , not to lose the faith . But he knew the evil would never end , so he had to keep his pride . The boy swore he would fight again against Rezo's reign . In his heart that fire survived .

Subaru slowly crawled to Edo and whispered to his ear :

" Edo-kun , wake up ! "

" What happened ? " Edo asked while opening his eyes .

" We lost ! Hurry , wake Kokujo-kun up and lets get going ! " Subaru said and walked to Tsugumi's body .

Edo crawled to Kokujo and did what Subaru did to him . Kokujo got up and spoke with a serious voice :

" I knew that Subaru's blind rage wouldn't do us any good ! "

" That's it , we lost ! " Edo replied and got up as well . " We can't turn back time , sadly , now we have to endure this defeat ! "

Subaru came to the two with Tsugumi's body in his hands . The three then ran away from Rezo's castle and went back on the same way they came to it . The storm clouds from the sky were vanishing and they could see the silver moon shining above them .

After a few hours , they had all reached the UFO . Kokujo and Edo entered it while Subaru stood at the edge of the cliff with Tsugumi's body in his arms . Skies were falling on him . Life was too cruel to live , but death was so far from him .

" I'll live again , but never will I forget the scene where I've seen my princess dying ! " Subaru said and looked towards Rezo's castle . " I'LL KILL THE BEAST !!! "

Subaru then entered the UFO with Tsugumi's body . Sora and Rad got healed fast and when they got out of their room , they saw the horrible image of Tsugumi's dead body . It was a big shock for evreyone . Subaru , depressed , was still not able to believe that Tsugumi was really dead . Reality is hard to be believed .

Later that night , they were all gathered in doctor Root's laboratory . On a table was Tsugumi's body and she was mourned by Rad , Sora , Edo and even the good ol'doctor . Kokujo as always stood in a corner , looking dark and motionless . Subaru on the other hand didn't even get a tear to fall from his eyes . He just stood on a chair and watched the others cry instead of him .

Suddenly , Rad got up and walked to Subaru . He grabbed the lack haired boy by his uniform and spoke to him with both anger and sorrow in his voice :

" AND YOU , WHY AREN'T YOU CRYING AS WELL ?! SHE WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND ! IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO SAVE HER , YOU COULD AT LEAST SHOW HER YOUR FINAL FEELINGS , WHILE YOU STILL CAN !!! "

Subaru didn't answer him . He just looked somwhere else with his eyes . This made Rad even more angry . He shook Subaru and yelled :

" WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU ? IS IT THAT HARD FOR YOU TO EVEN CRY ?! "

" I've cried once for her in my life . " Subaru's calm voice spoke . " Now if I have to cry again , I'll do it when the right moment comes . "

Subaru freed himself from Rad's grip in a gentle way and got out of the room . The black haired boy got out of the UFO and walked towards the edge of the cliff in the cold night . He then felt that his sorrow was finally getting the best of him , so the only way he could unleash himself was by singing . The boy's voice filled with sadness broke the silence of the night .

" I will fight my sorrow , closed inside a melody . Memories of your smile live in my heeeaaaaart ! " Subaru sang . " Waiting for tomorrow , there's no light inside my dreams . I can change my life , but not the paaaaaaaaaaaast ! "

He then looked in the sky and saw the stars shaping Tsugumi's face . The boy's heart was burning with need for the girl . Subaru reached his right hand towards the sky and kept singing :

" In the starry sky I see your loooooovely face ! Rage still grows inside day after daaaaaaaaaaaaay ! "

Subaru then couldn't stand it anymore . Without anymore hesitations , he let the tears fall from his eyes . He felt them wet his burning cheeks and so , the crying began .

" Why ? Why my life has been so unfaaaaaair ? I would have loved to die , rather than stay here without yooooooooooou ! Whyyyyy , death has found you along the way ? Waiting for the end of time , I will never stop loving yoooooooooooooooooooou !!! "

Subaru sobbed a bit and then he whiped off the tears from his eyes . He looked back to the UFO and heared his friend's crying as well . He then continued singing :

" In this land of duelists , we're all crying for your death . He will pay with life , this is an oaaaaaaaaaaaath ! I'll defeat the Red Priest and his dynasty will end ! This will bring some peace back to your sooooooooooouls ! "

Subaru then reached his hand towards the sky once again and sang with even more sorrow in his voice :

" In the starry sky I see your loooooovely face ! Rage still grows inside day after daaaaaaaaaaaaay ! "

Subaru's sorrow was now combined with rage . He couldn't stand it anymore . The boy fell on his knees and started hitting the ground with his fists while singing louder and louder :

" WHY ?! WHY MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO UNFAAAAAAAAIR ?! I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO DIE , RATHER THAN STAY HERE WITHOUT YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU ! WHYYYYYY , DEATH HAS FOUND YOU ALONG THE WAY ?! WAITING FOR THE END OF TIME , I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU !!!! "

Subaru got up filled with dirt and turned his sights back to the UFO . His eyes met the eyes filled of tears of Edo's . The brown haired boy was watching Subaru from the UFO's entrance and inside him he was crying for both his friend's suffering and for Tsugumi's death . Subaru then turned his sights to Rezo's castle where he saw Rezo and Ichiro at the balcony watching him suffer . Arrogant and pleased expressions were on their faces , while Subaru had a both sad and angry expression on his face .

" Why don't we kill them now when they're harmless and weak ? " Ichiro asked .

" Patience , Ichiro ! Let them suffer emotional pain first ! " Rezo said . " After their souls are tortured and weakened by sorrow , we can crush their bones ! "

" Hehehe , keep weeping , Subaru , while you still can ! " Ichiro said to Subaru and entered the castle along with Rezo .

Subaru knew that that night was his last chance to express his feelings , for the next day they had to fight once again against the Red Priest .

" WHY ?! WHY MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO UNFAAAAAAAAIR ?! " Subaru sang loud and for a moment calmed down and said . " I would have loved... TO DIE !! " he yelled and kept singing louder and louder . " RATHER THAN STAY HERE WITHOUT YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU ! WHYYYY , DEATH HAS FOUND YOU ALONG THE WAY ?! WAITING FOR THE END OF TIME , I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU !!!! "

Subaru then felt that all this singing while crying was actually making him feel good , in a strange way . It was like the only way he could stop feeling bad . The boy continued singing adding more and more feeling to the song :

" WHY ?! WHY MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO UNFAAAAAAAAIR ?! I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO DIE , RATHER THAN STAY HERE WITHOUT YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU ! WHYYYYYY , DEATH HAS FOUND YOU ALONG THE WAY ?! WAITING FOR THE END OF TIME , I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU !!!! "

And so , Subaru sang while crying the whole night having Edo watch him . Evreyone else in the UFO was resting , yet , the brown haired boy just didn't feel like sleeping . He had to be by his friend's side in those tough moments . Sometimes it is better to have a shoulder on which you can cry...


	22. The Crystal Lake and the new journey

After a whole night of crying , Subaru finally returned to the UFO . Edo was waiting for him at the entrance and both exchanged sights . Subaru's eyes were red and dry . He had cried with all the tears he had that night . Edo's eyes were still wet because of the tears and they were also tired .

" Edo-kun , thanks for staying with me this night . " Subaru whispered .

" It was the least I could do after what happened . " Edo whispered as well .

The two entered the UFO and walked towards the control room . They knew that Root must be there already , thinking of a new plan to use against Rezo . When they entered the control room , as they expected , Root was there , and also with Kokujo . As he saw them enter , Kokujo spoke to them :

" Subaru , Edo , you're back ! "

" Kokujo-kun , I ... " Subaru said , but he got intrerrupted .

" You're tired and weak , in one word useless ! " Kokujo said with a serious voice . " We cannot continue this fight with you in this bad shape , this is why me and doctor Root had discussed of a plan ! "

" Plan ? What plan ? " Edo asked .

" Edo , you will take Subaru and go with him to the Crystal Lake ! " doctor Root said . " The Crystal Lake is a lake with magic powers , it is believed that God created it and it was meant only for brave men which needed to recharge their powers . "

" Once you enter the Crystal Lake , Subaru , you will have to pass a test . " Kokujo continued . " If you're worthy , you'll get your powers recharged , if not , then you'll die ! "

The word 'die' shruck Edo which made him fear the Crystal Lake . To Subaru the only thing that mattered was Rezo's death . He didn't care anymore if he would lose his life . Death now seemed as a big relief for him .

" Also , I'm warning you , Subaru , once you get out of the Crystal Lake , you'll be a changed person ! " Kokujo spoke with a serious voice . " You'll be on the way in becoming a real man ! "

And after those were said , Subaru and Edo packed what they needed AKA some drinks , food and cards . The two boys then entered a special teleportation room built by Root and the doctor typed the exact coordinates of the Crystal Lake .

" Good luck , guys , may we triumph this time ! " Doctor Root said and pressed a red button which made Subaru and Edo disappear .

When Subaru opened his eyes , he saw himself and Edo in the middle of a dark forest . In front of them was a blue cold lake which seemed pretty holstile to them . Subaru stepped forth towards the lake , but Edo tried to stop him .

" Subaru , maybe you shouldn't go in that lake ! Lets just forget the whole thing and go back to the UFO ! "

" I can't , Edo-kun ! Something or someone is calling me . I must enter this lake for evreyone's sake ! "

" Okay , but promise me that you'll return alive ! " Edo said with tears falling from his eyes .

" I promise , Edo-kun ! I'll be okay , don't worry ! " Subaru replied smiling and then entered the Crystal Lake .

" Good luck , Subaru ! "

Subaru's body sank inside the lake . The water was ice cold and all he could see were crystal formations such as spikes , strange shaped statues , etc .

" So this is the great Crystal Lake . " he thought and swam further .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . The Red Priest was standing victorious on his throne , enjoying all the pain and suffering he had caused . Suddenly two vassals entered his room and bowed in front of him .

" My Lord , we bring you some bad news ! " one of them said .

" What is it , vassal ? " Rezo asked .

" The chosen darkness duelist left for the Crystal Lake along with the chosen water duelist , my Lord ! " the other replied .

" WHAT ?! " Rezo yelled and hit the floor with his staff . " If Subaru enters the Crystal Lake , there's no telling what supernatural powers he might get ! I won't let this happen ! You two go there and take him out ! Do not dare to return here without his head ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " they both replied and got out of the room .

Rezo got up from his throne and walked to the balcony . He looked towards the direction which headed to the Crystal Lake . The Red Priest laughed a bit and said :

" Hahaha , nice try , Subaru , but my vassals will stop you from entering the Crystal Lake and then you'll suffer the worst death possible ! Your fate is sealed ! "

Back to the Crystal Lake . Edo was waiting for Subaru to come out safe from the lake . The brown haired boy was trembling , because the atmosphere near the lake was a pretty cold one , especially in winter days like this .

Inside the Crystal Lake Subaru had found a blue light . The boy swam towards it and he fount himself sorrounded by cold ice . All his body stopped , it wasn't a game . His limbs were burning and he was feeling hate . Suddenly he felt like a strange force was talking to him .

" Who are you ? What do you want ? " the boy trapped inside the ice asked .

" Subaru , you know me very well . " he heared a voice .

" Actually , I don't think I know you , whoever you are ... "

" Oh , but you know me , you have prayed so many times to me . "

" Oh my ... you're actually the creator ! " Subaru said shocked . " Great Lord , why didn't you talk to me if you're evreywhere ? "

" I want to talk to evreyone , my dear Subaru , but sadly nowadays not evreyone is praying that much . Only by the power of prayer you can speak to me and I can speak to you ! "

" But that's only spiritual talking , Great Lord ! What we are doing now is talking with our own voices ! " Subaru said .

" Those who enter the Crystal Lake and survive its ice will be able to hear my voice , my son ! You have come here to avenge the bloodshed of your loved one , Tsugumi and to bring down the evil priest , Rezo ! "

" Yes , Great Lord , it is true ! "

" If you wish for that to happen , Subaru , you'll need to close your eyes and concentrate ! This ice will fill your body with the power you need ! Once you wake up , you'll feel anger filling your whole body ! That's the demon inside you , and the only way you can release it is by killing the evil which is coming right now ! Be wise , my son , and while you kill now , do it with all your anger , because afterwards you are not allowed to be angry when you fight ! "

" I understand , oh Great Lord ! " Subaru said and closed his eyes .

The black haired boy's body got sorrounded by a blue aura as he fell asleep . His soul got out of his body and flew out of the Crystal Lake . There he saw Edo waiting for him and trembling .

" Gosh , what's taking him so long ? Or does he want me to become an ice man ? " Edo asked himself .

" Hahaha , don't worry , Edo-kun , you'd look fine with a long ice nose like Pinocchio ! " Subaru laughed .

Suddenly the two vassals of Rezo appeared out of nowhere . Edo looked shocked at the two which with an evil smile approached him .

" Where is the chosen darkness duelist ? " one of them demanded .

" I don't know . " Edo lied .

" Tsh , he must be inside the Crystal Lake ! " the other replied . " Lets see how will he react when he finds his friend freezed to death ! "

The two vassals approached Edo intending to throw him in the Crystal Lake , where he would most likely freeze to death . Subaru's spirit couldn't let that to happen . The spirit flew back in the Crystal Lake and entered its body . Then the words of the Great Lord appeared in his mind : "Be wise , my son , and while you kill now , do it with all your anger , because afterwards you are not allowed to be angry when you fight ! " . Subaru opened his eyes and said :

" Don't worry , Lord , I will consume all my anger on these two ! "

The ice cracked and Subaru freed himself . The black haired boy swam back to where Edo was , hoping that it wasn't too late . Outside the Crystal Lake , the two vassals almost got their hands on Edo .

" G-guys , please leave me alone , I have nothing to deal with you ! " Edo said scarred .

" Don't take it personal , chosen water duelist , but we're just executing orders ! " one of the vassals said . " The chosen light duelist is dead , once you'll also die , the chosen darkness duelist will have no more reason to live and he'll be out of the way as well , hahahahahaha !!! "

Suddenly Subaru got out of the Crystal Lake . He was sorrounded by a powerful blue aura and he had a scarry expression on his face . The black haired boy then spoke with anger towards the two vassals :

" Tsugumi killed ! You should pay with your lives for reminding me this , worms ! "

Subaru still couldn't believe that his beloved Tsugumi was dead . But he saw that Edo's eyes were still wet with tears and realised that it was true .

The two vassals made a few steps back scarred . Subaru walked towards them , his anger growing bigger and bigger . He had his right hand in his pocket , ready to take out his deck and challenge the two vassals to a duel . The two servants almost fell on their knees , when three dueling tables appeared , two for them and one for Subaru which was going to duel both in the same time . Subaru took out his deck and a strange blue aura sorrounded it , creating a copy . Now he was ready for a double duel .

" SHIELDS UP !! " Subaru yelled .

" SHIELDS UP ! " the other two yelled as well .

The duel was fast , and the one having the upper hand was obviously Subaru .

" I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Spinslicer ! " one of the vassals said . " Ike , Tick Tick , Swift Viral Swordfighter , Crystal Spinslicer , Brawler Zyler and Deadly Fighter Braid Claw , break all of his shields ! "

Subaru stood still as all his four shields got broken into pieces . He took the shield shards which turned into cards to his hand and then spoke to the first vassal :

" You're finished ! Shield trigger activate , I cast Inferno Sign and revive Gajirabute , Vile Centurion which will throw one of your shields to the graveyard ! And now my turn , I evolve Deathliger into Ballom , Master of Death ! Ike , Gajirabute , break his final shield ! "

The first vassal took cover looking scarred as his last shield got broken . The second vassal on the other hand seemed to have more luck . He had a two shields left and an army of creatures , while Subaru only had Hanzou , Menacing Phantom and Chemical , God of Sublimity in the battlezone , and no shields . Then it was Subaru's turn . The black haired boy drew his next card and spoke :

" I summon Protege , the Finest God ! Godlink ! Chemical Protege ! Ike , Chemical Protege , break his final shields ! "

Now the second vassal was on the ground as well . Both were standing on their knees begging Subaru for mercy . The black haired boy was giving them stares of anger . Suddenly he spoke to them with the voice of a monster :

" MY CREATURES KILLING YOU BASTARDS ! I WANNA SEE RIGHT NOW ! HOW SHOULD I DO IT , A SLOW MOTION SCENE OR FASTER ? YOUR HEADS ARE FALLING DOWN IN THIS PICTURE IN MY MIND ! I THINK THIS HOMICIDE WILL BE A WAY TO CALM MY HATE !!! "

" P-please don't ! Have mercy ! " they both begged .

" AAAAAAH !!! BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH AND HANZOU , MENACING PHANTOM TOTOMEDAAAAAAA !!! " Subaru yelled .

The creatures fired powerful lazors upon the two vassals , the attacks being fatal . The two dead bodies fell on the ground . Subaru was enjoying the sight and he felt as all his hate was now flowing away . The blue aura which was sorrounding his body and his scarry facial expression both disappeared . Subaru was now the same nice guy he had been before Tsugumi's death . Feeling that it was safe , Edo approached Subaru and said :

" Nice duels you put up there , Suby ! "

" Thanks , Edo-kun ! " Subaru replied smiling . " This Crystal Lake did change me , in a good way ! I'm now ready for the journey , for the long way and to destroy Rezo once and for all ! "

" That's the spirit ! " Edo replied and tapped his shoulder . " Lets go ! "

Back at Rezo's castle . The Red Priest was sitting on his throne awaiting for news from the two vassals . Xanagazu and Hanna then entered the room and walked to the throne .

" Lord Rezo , we bring some bad news ! " Xanagazu said .

" What is it now ? " Rezo asked .

" The two vassals you sent at the Crystal Lake , sir ! Subaru had entered the lake long before they arrived and when he got out , he challenged them to a duel and murdered them easily ! " Hanna said .

" Grrr , I see now that if I want a job to be done , I must do it myself ! " Rezo spoke with anger and got up from his throne . " Xanagazu , I'm leaving to a fortress near our castle ! Most likely they'll try to stop there and rest on their way here and then I'll personally take care of them once and for all ! While I'm gone , you'll be in charge of the castle ! "

" Understood , Lord Rezo ! " Xanagazu said and thought that this was her chance to finally boss arround .

Meanwhile at Subaru and Edo . They were running through deep forests in the mountains trying to reach Rezo's castle as fast as possible . In Subaru's mind there was only the image of Rezo . He was going to find a way to close the Red Priest's eyes for good . He was going to sign Rezo's destiny forever and his name would shine into the sky .

Suddenly , a giant fortress appeared in their sight . The mighty towers were becoming bigger and bigger as the two were approaching them .

Then they saw Rezo on the roof of the fortress looking towards them with his evil yellow and blue eyes . He was smiling because they had fallen in his trap . Subaru and Edo saw an army of clones approaching them .

" Edo-kun , lets do as we planned ! " Subaru whispered .

" Are you sure it will work , Suby ? " Edo asked .

" We have to give it a try ! "

Subaru then made a few steps foward to the army of clones . The black haired boy made a 'halt' sign with his right hand and spoke :

" Rezo , stop your army now ! "

" Let me see your fortress ! " Edo which was behind Subaru demanded .

" You will bite the ground ! " Subaru continued .

" Let me taste your pain ! " Edo added and got out from his 'hideout' .

The clone army wasn't that scarred , but they challenged them to some duels . Since the army wasn't that big , in about an hour Subaru and Edo were done with all of them . As they were done with them , Subaru and Edo saw that Rezo was closing the fortress's gates . The boys rushed towards the giant building , but it was too late , they couldn't get in . Subaru then spoke to the Red Priest which was still watching them from the roof :

" Oh , I will become your worst obsession , and your fate will be sealed today ! "

" Heh , we'll see about that ! " Rezo replied and snapped his fingers .

The fortress's doors opened and an even bigger clone army got out of it . Subaru and Edo sweated hard . Edo then whispered to Subaru while trembling :

" So what should we do now ? "

" Try our initial plan once again ? Maybe it will work this time ! "

Subaru again made a step forth to the giant clone army . He again made the 'halt' sign with his right hand and spoke :

" Rezo , stop your army now ! "

" OR ELSE I'LL DESTROY YOUR FORTRESS ! " Edo yelled and showed his left first

" You will bite the ground ! " Subaru continued .

" TIME TO KILL THE RED PRIEST !!! " Edo yelled even louder .

This time the army wasn't scarred at all . The boys got sorrounded by all the clones which all challenged them to some duels .

" So , any plan B to save our asses , Subaru ? " Edo asked .

" Oh yeah , plan B is : if plan A dosen't work , then we're screwed... " Subaru said sweating .

And so the two started to duel the big army of clones once again . The battle was long and exhausting , but they managed to win all the duels .

" Deathliger , Lion of Chaos , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered and a giant lion demon made of bones and with blue mane roared and jumped towards a clone killing it .

" Aqua Sniper , totomeda ! " Edo ordered and a creature made of dark blue water with red eyes , shark like head and blades instead of arms jumped towards the last clone and slashed it with its blades .

Rezo stared angry at the two chosen duelists . They even managed to defeat two whole armies of clones ! Now they were becoming really annoying . Rezo didn't want to battle them now , because his deck wasn't ready yet , so he just teleported away .

" For the time we can wait till tomorrow , when we'll sign the end of this pain ! When we'll sign the end of the sorrow and evreything will come back to normal ! " Subaru said

" If evreything could be normal again... " Edo sighed .

Subaru and Edo entered the fortress and there they ate and drank , for they needed energy and some rest . The next day they were going to fight once again , but the end was now closer than ever . Subaru made some calculations and said that if tomorrow he and Edo leave the fortress by dawn , they should reach Rezo's castle by nightfall .

After eating , the two entered a room with two beds and both sat on each of them . As the lights went out , Subaru said :

" Rest while you still can , Edo-kun , tomorrow the most important battle awaits us ! "

" Don't worry about me , Suby , you should concentrate on defeating Rezo ! "

" I will , the Red Priest should start praying for his life , because soon he'll face me and my mighty ... "

" Donut ? " Edo asked .

" I was going to say rage " Subaru replied sweating . " Anyway , good night , Edo-kun ! "

" Good night , Suby ! "


	23. The Hunter

The sun rose on the tibetan mountains announcing a new morning . The fresh mountain air was making Subaru and Edo wake up more powerful than ever . They were refreshened and felt like they could even fly in the sky . That victory from yersteday and that good sleep made them feel like new . Subaru and Edo dressed up , washed themselves and ate breakfast fast . Afterwards with their decks ready , the two started running towards Rezo's castle .

Meanwhile at Kokujo's UFO . Rad and Sora got completely healed by doctor Root and were now ready for some action . They followed Kokujo's advice and were now updating their decks . Doctor Root was now working on something strange in his lab and seemed more absorbed in his work than ever . Suddenly the door opened and Kokujo entered the room and approached the doctor .

" Doctor , what are you doing ? " the long haired boy asked .

" I'm working on something very important , Kokujo ! " Root replied . " Don't ask me what it is , because I don't have time to explain right now ! To give you a detail , it will help us in an emergency situation ! "

" I understand ... " Kokujo replied and stared at Rezo's castle through the window . " You know , he's planning to attack us tonight . I've looked at the windows of his castle an hour ago and I've seen duelists getting ready for battle . We've got to be at our best tonight , for it might be the final battle ! "

" You're right , I just hope that Subaru and Edo will return fast , because we need their help in this battle ! "

" Don't worry , doctor , they may be clumsy and foolish , but when they're serious , you'll get the best out of them ! In my opinion , they'll reach us before the war even starts and together we'll bring Rezo down once and for all ! "

" Wow , Kokujo , I think it's the first time you don't underestimate Subaru and Edo ! " Root said smiling . " Have they finally earned your respect ? "

" Subaru earned my respect a long time ago , as for Edo and the rest of the chosen duelists... I must say , they've grown up alot during this battle ! I've never expected them to be so serious duelists , not even Edo ! " Kokujo said and whiped a tear off his right eye . " I must say , they made me become proud of them ! "

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . Evreyone was mobilizing for the final battle . Ichiro , Xanagazu , Hanna and the vassal were all updating their decks knowing that it was all or nothing and they had to be at their best . Rezo had also finished updating his deck and was standing all alone in his throne room . He had analysed the strange energy and to his unluck he didn't find any special information about it , besides the fact that it had supernatural causes . The Red Priest had to wait until the whole war was over and then he could study the energy more and maybe find a way to bring back the Proof of Duelmaster . Now Rezo was wondering what was going on with Subaru and Edo . The Red Priest waved his hand in front of one of his windows and the image of the two boys appeared . They were running in the forests of the mountains and were approaching the castle .

While they were running , Edo wanted to create some mood , so he sang the 'Living and fighting forever' song which was in Rezo's videoclip , but changed its lyrics a bit .

" Living and Fighting together , Living and Fighting forever , Living and Fighting wherever , we will seal into your soul ! " Edo sang with a heroic soldier voice and then he comicly added . ".... right now ! "

Despair and pain inside Subaru's heart were turning into a fearful hate . Death was picturing in his mind the start for him to seal Rezo's fate . The black haired boy then spoke :

" There is just one thing I'm thinking of ... "

" What do you think , Subaru ? Speak now through your heart ! " Edo said and put his hand on Subaru's shoulder in a friendly way .

" Dissolution of this power , dust and ash I want ! " Subaru said with fire burning in his eyes . Knowing that Rezo was watching them , he said " The time has come to raise my head and revolt against you , Rezo ! I'm heading to the place you hide , this journey ain't too long ! Only a few hours run , just wait and see ! "

" It's time to get that Priest ! First prize for our hate ! " Edo added .

" And I'll bring with me the force of love that you destroyed ! " Subaru said put his hand on his heart remembering his dear Tsugumi .

Rezo was watching them with discust . How dared those two brats which were already defeated by him once dare to rise up and challenge him again ? The Red Priest decided to wait and see where was this whole thing going .

Subaru and Edo had crossed some mountains and rivers . They passed different obstacles and still had enough energy to run . Rezo was amazed of their power and will . He hadn't seen such strong willed boys in centuries ! And maybe they may be able to stand against him , he thought .

Subaru and Edo both knew that Rezo was watching and they were wondering why didn't he attack them with some magic spell or send some minions to duel them yet . Then the man inside Subaru spoke and threatened Rezo saying :

" I am your hunter , I'll capture you for all the disaster and pain you brought to this world ! Hate rising up , my heart is burning for ! These wounds that will not heal , take my word this time's for real ! I am your punisher and my revenge will strike you firece and quick ! "

" Tsh , is that so ? " Rezo asked sarcasticly . " We'll see how much of a hunter you are ! "

Rezo then zapped the mirror and suddenly two clone duelists appeared out of nowhere in front of Subaru and Edo . The two boys took out their decks and accepted the challenges .

And so , the epic duels began .

" I summon Sealed Devil Erigol ! " Edo said .

" I summon God Lupia ! " the clone said .

" I summon Medical Anil ! "

" I summon Fuuma Bajir , Soul Weapon ! "

" I summon Snipe Alferas ! "

" Heh , I summon Bloody Dragoon ! Now I tap God Lupia and destroy Fuuma Bajir , Bloody Dragoon and God Lupia itself to bring Death , Destruction God from my deck to my battlezone ! " the clone said and a giant dragon God appeared behind him and roared . " Ike , Death , Destruction God , double break his shields ! "

Edo took cover as Death broke two of his shields . Since his shields got broken , his Sealed Devil Erigol got destroyed and went to his hand due to Medical Anil's effect and also he discarded Sealed Devil Garmagias due to Sniper Alferas's effect . The shield shards united into cards and Edo took them into his hand . The brown haired boy smiled and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! Send Death , Destruction God back to your hand ! And now my turn ! I summon Fuuma Harisenmon and draw a card thanks to Sniper Alferas ! Also , I summon Sealed Devil Erigol and draw another card ! Now Medical Anil and Snipe Alferas , break his shields ! "

The clone took cover as Edo's creatures broke his shields . He stared angry at the boy which was now getting advantage .

Meanwhile at Subaru's and the other clone's duel . Subaru had Deep Lump Machiner Ganistar and Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias in the battlezone and four shields left while the clone had only Gonta , the Warrior Savage into the battlezone and all its five shields unscratched . Now it was the clone's turn .

" I summon Kirino Giant ! " the clone said . " Gonta , break another shield now ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Kirino Giant ! " Subaru said . " And now my turn , I summon Demonic Holy Spirit , Auzesu ! I attack with Biragias and Auzesu's effect will destroy Gonta ! Break his shield , Biragias ! Also , Ganistar , break a shield as well ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send Auzesu to your mana zone ! " the clone said and Subaru's Auzesu got sorrounded by a green aura and disappeared . " And now I summon Lion-kid , Spirit Beast and evolve him into Edgar King Lion , Amazing Artise ! Hahaha , lets see who is the better lion between the two of us ! Edgar King Lion destroy his Biragias ! Also , meteorburn , I send Lion-kid to my graveyard and gain a mana ! Hah , lets see you beat this ! "

Rezo was enjoying to watch these duels . Subaru and Edo were now facing tough opponents and they didn't seem to handle the situation at all .

" Hahahahahahaha ! Fools ! They thought they could outstand me when they can't even defeat my servants ! This war is as good as won ! " Rezo laughed .

Back at the two duels . Edo now had Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and Sealed Devil Balzoo into his battlezone and he also had one shield left while the clone had Heavy , Dragon God and Bloody Dragoon in the battlezone and no more shields . It was the clone's turn .

" I summon Garzack , God Destroying Dragon ! " the clone said and a giant robotic dragon appeared behind him and roared . " I also summon another Bloody Dragoon , and now , Heavy , Dragon God , break his shield ! Hah , you have no more shields while I have two attackers and two blockers ! "

" I think it's time to bring you down once and for all ! " Edo said smiling .

" What ? " the clone asked scarred .

" I summon Fuuma Ravaal , the Reaper and now Galaxy Vortex , I evolve Maxval , Balzoo and Ravaal into SUPERNOVA NEPTUNE SHUTROM !!! "

An enormous blue angel made of crystal with long red purple wings and weilding a crystal staff appeared behind Edo . The brown haired boy smiled victoriously and said :

" Meteorburn ! I send Sealed Devil Balzoo which I evolved into Shutrom to my graveyard and now I'll send all your creatures at the top of your deck ! "

" Oh no ! " the clone said scarred .

" Supernova Neptune Shutrom , totomeda ! " Edo ordered and the creature fired a powerful lazor with its staff killing the clone .

Meanwhile at Subaru's duel . Subaru had only Biragias in the battlezone and two shields left and nine mana . The reason he had all that mana was because of the clone's Kishima Giant which sent his creatures and cards from hand into the mana zone . This way , the boy lost both his Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons and Ballom , Master of Death before he could even summon them . The clone on the other hand had no more shields and Saigou Giant along with Kishima Giant in the battlezone .

" Heh , you're finished ! " the clone laughed . " I attack with Saigou Giant , break his final shields ! "

Subaru took cover as the giant slashed his last shields with an enormous sword . The boy took the cards to his hand and saw that they were no shield triggers . He just stood calm , thing which made the clone a bit confuse . Why would he stay calm when he was losing ?

" Time to finish this for good ! Kishima Giant totomeda ! "

" Got'cha ! " Subaru said smiling . " Ninja Strike 7 ! I summon Hanzou , Menacing Phantom for no cost ! Hanzou's effect will make Kishima Giant lose 6000 power and die ! "

" Grrr...so that's why you were so calm ! " the clone spoke angry .

" Yes , and now it's time to finish this duel ! "

Subaru's hand glew with a bright purple light . The boy drew his next card and then spoke to the clone victorious :

" My turn , I evolve Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias into DORBALLOM , LORD OF DEMONS !!! "

A purple beam struck the heavens and the ruler of all darkness , the red winged goat demon with six golden tentacles which ended in goat heads and six hands climbed down and spread it's red rose petal like feathers . The clone made a few steps back trembling .

" Impossible ! I've got rid of two of your Ballom cards ! The chances of you drawing your last Ballom card were low ! "

" I've drawn Dorballom because it is my destiny to defeat Rezo and get the glory which I deserve ! " Subaru said and put his hand on the silver Dorballom card . " Dorballom , Lord of Demons , TOTOMEDA !!! "

Dorballom roared and created a powerful lazor ball . In a few seconds the powerful demon casted it all over the clone killing it . And so Edo and Subaru continued their journey . Subaru ran to the edge of a cliff and there the boy shouted with all his powers :

" I'M A MAN , BUT I WILL BECOME A GOD ! CAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES TO BATTLE WITH YOU ! "

" I'm so proud of you , Subaru ! " Edo said with manly tears falling from his eyes .

" EQUAL STRENGTH WILL MAKE YOU EXPERIENCE FEAR AGAIN ! THIS WORLD NEEDS A BALANCE RESTORED ! "

Suddenly Dorballom appeared in front of them . The two were amazed because the demon was paying them a visit in that time when they were busy .

" Subaru , the time has come ! " Dorballom said .

" I am ready ! " the boy replied .

Dorballom then casted darkness energy on Subaru's body , making his body resistent to Rezo's evil spells and also giving him some powers to counter attack . Edo then realized that Subaru was right ... he had to become a god in order to defeat Rezo .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . Evreyone was mobilizing because the sun was setting and the great war was about to begin . Vassals were running to maids to give them to eat and drink for battle . Rezo was creating more and more clones for his army . Xanagazu was testing her flying energy orb , because she knew how she could plan attacks against the enemy . Hanna was still updating her deck for the great battle . Ichiro was standing alone all by himself meditating , thinking at Kokujo's final defeat and death .

At Kokujo's UFO there was the same tension . Doctor Root was checking all the weapons from his UFO , for he needed to help Kokujo , Rad and Sora with evreything he had . Rad was testing the engines of his rocket and was giving them as much fuel as they needed . Sora was practicing her shaman attacks and her spiritual powers . Kokujo was standing all alone in his room thinking at Rezo and the great duel they were about to have

The clock then showed that the time was 6 o'clock . The sun was setting . Kokujo and Sora got up and walked outside the UFO . Rad also got out of the UFO , but with his rocket , which was ready for war . They went to the cliff and stared towards Rezo's castle . The Red Priest's numerous army of duelists was standing in front of the castle ready for the attack . In front of the army were Ichiro and Hanna . Xanagazu was floating with her flying orb in the air , ready for attacks from above . Rezo was standing at the balcony of his castle watching evreything . The war was about to begin !


	24. Subaru's war

It was the calm before the storm in the battlefield between Rezo's castle and Kokujo's UFO . The two enemies were staring at eachother with rage in their eyes . Then after thirty seconds , they all heared Kokujo's yell :

" ATTACK !! "

Kokujo and Sora ran towards the battlefield while Rad flew in the air with his rocket . They could also hear Rezo's yell which said :

" KILL THEM ALL ! I DON'T WANT ANY SURVIVORS OR PRISONERS ! BY DAWN I WANT THEM ALL DEAD !!! "

Pretty soon the army of Rezo and Kokujo and Sora collided . Kokujo challenged them to duels while Sora used her kung fu moves to beat the crap outta clones and vassals . Rad flew above them and was shooting missles and lazors towards Xanagazu which defended herself with blue energy barriers and was counter attacking with electric shocks . The war had begun .

Not far away from the battlefield , you could see Subaru and Edo running like hell . The noises of shield breaking and the lights in the sky caused by both Rad and Xanagazu were exciting them . Tonight evreything was going to be decided once and for all . Still , Subaru felt a little sad that now evreything was going to end . The boy spoke to his friend Edo saying :

" Day by day I killed my fragile life trying to be so strong and glorious . My eyes shined like the starlight , but my heart now is too far from home ! "

" Don't worry , Suby , it will all end soon ! " Edo replied .

" Edo-kun , I'll lose my mind , I have lost my own soul ! I cried for my love , now I'm fighting alone ! "

" Don't say that , I'll always stand by your side ! "

" Thank you , Edo-kun , it's great to know that you'll always be a loyal friend ! " Subaru replied and turned his sight towards the castle . " Into this black night I'm searching for you , Rezo ! OH , GOD , WON'T YOU SAVE MY SOUL ?! "

At last , they had crossed the final forest and when they reached the edge of the cliff , they saw the war and how it was going on . Its pure art in dueling and fighting was fascinating for Subaru . It seemed as if some people just couldn't live without this cursed thing called 'war' . Now he was hearing the call of the war and he spoke :

" You bastard will die into the storm ! I'll be giving my soul and I'll sufer no more ! IT'S THE WAR OF THE GODS !! "

" HELL YEAH , THE WAR OF THE GODS !! " Edo yelled as excited as Subaru .

The two boys took out their glowing decks and both jumped from the cliff directly into the battle field . Subaru and Edo landed by Kokujo's side which was having four duels in the same time . Kokujo noticed the two and turned his head to them saying :

" Took you some time to come ! "

" Forgive us , Kokujo , we were a bit busy ! " Edo replied sweating .

" So , what are you doing , Kokujo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" Knitting socks , what does it look like ? " Kokujo said with a sarcastic voice and turned to the duels he had saying . " I evolve Gal Volf into Ballom , Master of Death ! Destroy all his creatures ! And now Ballom , totomeda ! Then I evolve Belbel De Dios into Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons ! Ballom Emperor , totomeda ! Also , I attack with Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye and activate Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike which will make all your creatures lose 5000 power and die ! Romanoff , totomeda ! And finally , I attack with Gal Volf , Dark wolfblade , totomeda ! "

The four clones and vassals fell on the ground dead . Subaru and Edo cheered Kokujo , but as always , the Black Death didn't have time to rest on his laurels .

" Subaru , Edo , I could use a little help here ! " Kokujo said .

" Of course , Kokujo-kun ! " Subaru said and took out his deck .

" Just a minute , please ! " Edo replied and changed his Shutrom deck with another deck . " I have updated my own water deck ! "

" Just when did you have time to do that , Edo-kun ? " Subaru asked a bit shocked .

" Don't ask ! "

And so , they continued dueling clones . Sora on the other hand was beating up the clones with ease . Their powers were so mediocre and her shaman powers and kung fu attacks were incredible . With just one hit she put down twenty clones and vassals , but more were coming .

" Gosh , they just don't know the words 'give up' ! " she thought and kept attacking .

Rad's mission to defeat Xanagazu in the sky was hard . The creepy X lady was firing her heavy artilery towards him , and he could hardly dodge and counter attack .

" Hehehe , you'll soon be SHOCKED for good ! " Xanagazu laughed .

" Grrr... I'll show you who's the better racer , CRAZY LADY !!! " Rad yelled and pressed a button .

His rocket flashed in the air and disappeared for a moment . Xanagazu looked arround to see where he was and when she turned arround , she saw Rad's rocket firing lots of missles towards her .

Rezo was standing at the balcony and watching how the war was going on . The Red Priest was thinking that his army was in advantage and that soon Kokujo and the chosen duelists would be history . But he didn't know that they had a secret weapon .

" IT'S TIME !!!! " doctor Root yelled from the UFO .

The doctor pressed a red button and the UFO casted all the projectiles it had : lazors , missles , bombs , etc . They all went in the battlezone and they all landed on Rezo's army killing most of the clones and vassals . When the explosions and smokes faded away , Kokujo , Subaru and Edo saw that there was about a half of Rezo's army left . They had nothing to do but continue their duels . Sora as well had to keep on kicking ass , but she was tired and her powers were starting to fade away . She had to start dueling as well . Rad's rocket also couldn't take it much longer , so he soon had to land and start dueling like the rest .

At Kokujo , Edo and Subaru , they had defeated more and more clones and soon they were making their way towards the castle . After a few hours of dueling .

" Man , this is actually fun , Edo-kun ! " Subaru laughed . " Hanzou , Menacing Phantom , totomeda ! Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons , totomeda ! Deathliger , Lion of Chaos , totomeda ! "

The clones and vassals got killed by Subaru's creatures and fell on the ground dead .

" You can say that again , Suby , this is certainly fun ! " Edo laughed as well . " Cuty Heart , totomeda ! Crystal Paladin , totomeda ! Aqua Sniper , totomeda ! "

Edo's creatures killed the clones and vassals as well and this time they way towards the castle was free . As they saw that , Subaru and Edo ran towards it . Kokujo noticed that and tried to stop them , but he still had duels to finish .

" Subaru , Edo , wait ! " he shouted . " Grr.. Daidalos , General of Fury , totomeda ! Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil , totomeda ! Olzekia , General of Decapitation , totomeda ! And finally , Fernando the 7th , Emperor of Mystic Light , totomeda ! "

The clones and vassals fell on the ground dead as well . Kokujo ran to Subaru and Edo , but Ichiro , Hanna and the vassal jumped in front of him blocking the way .

" You're not going anywhere , daddy ! " Ichiro said .

" Not without facing us in a duel ! " Hanna replied and showed her glowing deck along with Ichiro .

" Come on , take your deck out and duel us ! " the vassal demanded .

" Grr... " Kokujo murmed .

Meanwhile , Subaru and Edo managed to enter the castle all by themselves . The two ran through the dark corridors faster and faster . Subaru was now more tensioned than ever . He was actually going to face Rezo ! Evreything that happened since the beginning of their quest against the Red Priest until now seemed to have lasted a lifetime for him . As he and Edo were climbing the stairs of the castle , because they knew that the throne room is at the last level , Subaru was wondering if he could even beat the Red Priest .

Subaru and Edo reached the final level and saw that the throne room was at the end of the corridor . The two boys ran as fast as they could , but then something happened . An earthquake shook the castle and the floor under them cracked open and Subaru fell in the pit .

" That's it ! This must be the end for me ! "

Suddenly , he heared a voice yelling :

" Subaru , hold on tight ! "

When he opened his eyes , Subaru saw Edo holding his right arm with both his hands . The brown haired boy pulled Subaru hard and in the end he managed to save him from death .

" Edo-kun , you saved me... " Subaru said .

" Yeah , one more second and you would've been dead ! " Edo replied .

" Edo-kun , I don't know how to thank you ! All this time you've been more than a friend to me ! You've almost been like the brother I've never had ! Always standing by my side when I was in tough moments , always helping me when I needed help , always giving me a friendly advice and always giving me a smile in my saddest times ! Your kindness is something unique among people ! Now no matter what happens , I'll always be happy knowing that I had you as both friend and comrade ! "

" Gee , it was nothing , really ! " Edo replied blushing .

" You know , Edo-kun... during this whole war I felt Tsugumi's presence in evrey single move that I've done ! It's like her spirit is within us , protecting us and helping us succeed where it's hard ! "

" Who knows , even if she's dead , she'll always be in your heart ! " Edo said smiling .

Their discussion was then intrerrupted by two voices which shouted at them :

" Halt , intruders ! No one is allowed to enter the Red Priest's throne chamber ! "

Subaru and Edo turned their heads and saw two guards coming . The boys took out their glowing decks and challenged them to duels . The duels were hard for both sides , but in the end the guards managed to break all of Subaru's and Edo's shields and they still had a great army of blockers .

" Heh , your turn , worms ! " both guards said .

Subaru's hand glew with a powerful purple light as the boy drew his next card and shouted :

" THIS ONE'S FOR TSUGUMI ! I EVOLVE DEMONIC HOLY SPIRIT , AUZESU INTO BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH !!! "

" And I also evolve Aqua Strummer into Crystal Lancer ! " Edo said .

A giant blue skinned goat demon with bird wings and bone armor appeared behind Subaru and a giant green centaur knight with a spiral sword and a shield appeared behind Edo . The two boys then shouted powerfully :

" TOTOMEDAAAAAAAAA !!! "

The creatures roared and attacked the two guards killing them . The attacks were so powerful that they destroyed the doors of Rezo's throne room . Rezo entered the room from his balcony to see what was going in . Subaru then walked towards the Red Priest and spoke :

" Rezo , the time has come for you to pay for evreything you've done ! Tonight you'll burn in hell and I'll be the one sending you there ! "

Subaru took out his glowing deck whose light was radiating with immense power . Rezo walked towards Subaru and spoke :

" Tsh , I'll take you down and get rid of a problem once and for all ! "

Two dueling tables appeared out of the floor . Subaru and Rezo put their decks on them and deploying their shields starting the duel .

Lots of turns had passed . Subaru had four shields left and Gajirabute , Vile Centurion in the battlezone . Rezo had three shields left and Inaba Geeze , the Explosive and Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God in the battlezone . It was the Red Priest's turn .

" I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye ! " Rezo said and a giant knight wearing a dark lord armor with red cape and weilding two guns appeared behind him and roared . " With Romanoff's effect I'll put Dark Division , Demonic Eye Beast from my deck into the graveyard ! Inaba Geeze makes all my Knights speed attackers , so Romanoff the 1st , Mad Romanoff and Inaba Geeze , break all of his shields ! "

Subaru took cover as Rezo's creatures fired their lazors and broke all of his shields . The boy then took the shield shards to his hand which united into four cards .

" Oh no , Rezo managed to break all of Subaru's shields ! " Edo exclaimed .

" Tsh , shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Romanoff the 1st ! " Subaru said and lots of demonic hands grabbed Rezo's Romanoff and smashed him to bits .

" Heh , is that all you got , Subaru ? " Rezo laughed .

" Keh , just because I don't have anymore shields , this dosen't mean I can't win ! "

Subaru drew his next card and stared at it . It was none other than Dorballom , Lord of Demons . The boy smiled and charged mana . Afterwards he lifted the hand with the card in the air and fastly put the card on his Gajirabute card saying :

" I evolve Gajirabute into Dorballom , Lord of Demons ! "

Dorballom materialised himself in front of Rezo and roared . The Red Priest looked bored towards both Subaru and Dorballom .

" Destroy all his non-dark creatures and mana , Dorballom ! " Subaru ordered .

Dorballom made another roar and created a powerful lazor ball which he casted towards Rezo making him lose three mana and also destroying his Inaba Geeze and Mad Romanoff .

" YES , THAT'S IT ! SUBARU'S GONNA WIN , WOHOO !!! " Edo cheered .

" BREAK ALL OF HIS SHIELDS , DORBALLOOOOOOOOOM !!! " Subaru yelled .

Dorballom created yet another powerful lazor ball and this time he casted it towards Rezo . The lazor broke Rezo's last three shields and it also burned the Red Priest .

" AAAAAAA !!! " Rezo yelled because of the pain .

As Dorballom's attack was finished , Subaru and Edo saw Rezo filled with some tiny burns . The Red Priest gave them an angry look and spoke :

" I've had enough of you bastards ! It's time to finish you for good ! "

Subaru and Edo looked scarred towards Rezo which showed the next card he was going to use . The card shined powerfully as the Red Priest spoke :

" Grave Galaxy Vortex ! I summon Beginning Romanoff , Lord of the Demonic Eye ! "

A monstrous horned dragon weilding lots of guns appeared behind Rezo and gave Subaru and Edo a terrifying roar . Subaru looked at the giant creature scarred and asked Rezo :

" W-what's that ? "

" Beginning Romanoff is an evolution creature and you have no more shields nor blockers ! You're finished ! "

Subaru wasn't that scarred , because the creature's power was 12000 and he had two Hanzou , Menacing Phantom in his hand . When Beginning Romanoff would attack , he would use Ninja Strike and destroy it , then he would finish Rezo off .

" Meteorburn ! " Rezo said . " I'll send Bloody Squito , Dark Division and Romanoff the 1st which I evolved into Beginning Romanoff to the graveyard ! Now I'll send all the cards from your hand at the bottom of your deck ! "

" Oh no ! " Subaru exclaimed as he lost the Hanzous from his hand .

" Beginning Romanoff , TOTOMEDA !!! " Rezo yelled .

The giant horned dragon fired all his guns towards Subaru and the boy flew in the air burning . When Beginning Romanoff finished his attack , Subaru landed on the floor extremely hurt .

Edo ran to Subaru and woke him up . The black haired boy barely opened his tired eyes and looked into his friend's eyes .

" What happened , Edo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" You lost ! " Edo answered .

Rezo then walked to the two boys . The Red Priest had a victorious smile as he spoke to the two :

" And now you lost , Subaru ! You told me that your strength was enough to defeat my own power ! Heh , traitor ... "

Subaru looked scarred towards Edo and desperately asked his friend :

" Edo-kun , what would a real man do in this situation ? "

The question shocked Edo . He would've wanted to say something to calm down Subaru , but he couldn't lie to his friend after all they had been through .

" A real man... would suffer an honorable death ! " Edo said with tears falling from his eyes .

" Edo-kun , I don't wanna die ! I'm scarred ! " Subaru replied with tears falling from his eyes as well .

The black haired boy grabbed Edo's right hand with his right hand and held it tight . The two boys stared at eachother like they were saying 'farewell' . They knew that they would never meet again . Rezo then yelled towards them :

" SUBARU , WHERE'S YOUR COURAGE NOW ? YOUR SOUL IS MINE ... FOREVER !!! "

Rezo fired a red beam with his right hand towards Subaru . The boy kept looking into Edo's eyes while his body suddenly flew in the air . Afterwards he turned his head and looked at the ceiling while floating in the air . In just a moment his whole life flashed in his mind : how he was born , how he spent his childhood at his family's mansion , how he had discovered the darkness cards and loved them , how he lost his duel against his cousin Lili and got kicked out of the family , how he met Tsugumi and spent the wonderful years of his life , how Zakira had taken the girl he loved away from him , how he allied with Kokujo and the rest in order to defeat Zakira , how he got Tsugumi back to him , how he had met Edo , Rad and Sora and befriended them and how they had fought against Rezo and all the suffering he went through . And now the picture of his dear Tsugumi appeared in front of his eyes . Subaru was relieved that at least he would meet her in the afterlife and accepted his fate . The black haired boy closed his eyes and a white ball came out of his body and went into Rezo's hands . It was his soul ! Subaru's body fell on the ground lifeless and Edo ran to it . The brown haired boy tried to wake him up , hoping that he would still be alive .

" Subaru , wake up ! Please , Subaru , wake up ! Don't leave me alone here , please ! Subaru ! SUBARUUUUU !!! "

Edo's cry echoed through the castle's halls and was only covered by Rezo's evil laugh . That was it , Subaru was dead now as well and Rezo had his soul in his hands . It was a dark night for evreyone . It seemed that evil had won !


	25. Confrontation! Kokujo VS Rezo!

Edo stood on his knees staring shocked towards Subaru's lifeless body and at the Red Priest which was holding the soul of his friend in his hands . Evreything seemed so unreal for him , yet it was true .

" Hahahahahaha ! At last , the chosen darkness duelist's soul is in my hands ! Now there are only three chosen duelists left ! The prophecy shall never be accomplished ! "

Edo didn't know what to do . The Red Priest was in front of him and he had murdered both his friends Subaru and Tsugumi . Rezo seemed invincible , yet Edo couldn't run away without a fight ! The brown haired boy got up and took out his glowing deck . Rezo looked at him surprised and spoke :

" Huh ? You dare challenge me to a duel , oh , filthy one ? "

" If I must die , then I'll die knowing that I tried to avenge Tsugumi and Suby ! " Edo said with tears falling from his eyes . " Rezo , I challenge you to ... "

Edo's challenge was then intrerrupted by a yell which told him to stop . Edo turned his back and saw Kokujo coming out of the dark halls and entering the throne room .

" Rezo , we meet again ! " Kokujo said .

The Red Priest turned to Kokujo and smiled . The long haired boy approached Rezo and said :

" I've waited long enough to face you bastard ! Now I'll show you what a real hell in the duel is ! "

After a few seconds of walking , Kokujo was exactly in front of Rezo . The long haired boy and the Red Priest were now face to face .

" Indeed . It's a pleasure to be in front of the Black Death after all this struggle ! " Rezo replied smiling . " Fine , I accept your challenge ! "

" Wait , Kokujo ! " Edo intrerrupted the two . " How did you get in the castle ? "

" How ? Easy ! " Kokujo replied and started narrating them how it happened as he got a flashback in his mind .

_Kokujo ran to Subaru and Edo , but Ichiro , Hanna and the vassal jumped in front of him blocking the way ._

" _You're not going anywhere , daddy ! " Ichiro said ._

" _Not without facing us in a duel ! " Hanna replied and showed her glowing deck along with Ichiro ._

" _Come on , take your deck out and duel us ! " the vassal demanded ._

" _Grr... " Kokujo murmed ._

_Suddenly Rad's rocket fell on the ground . Rad got out of it and looked angry towards Xanagazu which landed as well with her energy orb . Sora also was done with beating the crap outta the clones and had come to Rad and Kokujo . And now we have Kokujo , Rad and Sora against Ichiro , Hanna , the vassal and Xanagazu . _

" _Tsh , so this is the final fight , huh ? " Kokujo said and showed his deck ._

_Rad and Sora went in front of Kokujo and showed their decks . Sora used her power and created two copies of hers and Rad's deck ._

" _W-what ? Rad , Sora ? " Kokujo asked surprised ._

" _You go inside the castle and find Subaru and Edo ! We'll take care of these guys ! " Rad said ._

" _Tsh , fine ! " Kokujo said and ran inside the castle ._

_Rad and Sora deployed their shields and so did Rezo's minions . And so it was Rad VS Ichiro and the vassal and Sora VS Xanagazu and Hanna ._

The flashback ended along with Kokujo's narrating . Edo couldn't believe it , Kokujo , Rad and Sora were able to bring down Rezo's entire army and were now facing his last duelists .

" And when I thought that all hope was lost , you guys have defeated Rezo's army ! " Edo said with proud manly tears falling from his eyes .

" Heh , it was a piece of cake ! " Kokujo replied laughing . " Soon Rezo will be history and then evreything will be back to normal ! "

" Hah , this if you're strong enough to defeat me , thing which I doubt ! " Rezo laughed and took out his glowing deck .

" Lets duel ! " Kokujo said and took out his deck as well .

Two dueling tables came out of the floor . Kokujo went at a dueling table and Rezo at the other . Both raised their shields and started the duel .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Kokujo said .

" I also summon Bloody Squito ! " Rezo said .

" I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! Maxval makes all my darkness creatures cost one mana less ! "

" I summon Dark Division , Demonic Eye Beast ! Dark Division makes all my Romanoff creatures cost one mana less and also instead of attacking I may tap him and destroy three of my Knights , then summon Rock Romanoff , the Wicked God from my graveyard for no cost ! "

" Tsh , you have a pretty crazy creature there , Rezo , but I'll still bring you down ! I summon Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil ! "

A long red train with hands , feet and spikes on the locomotive appeared behind Kokujo .

" Mad Deck Evolution ! " Rezo said grinning . " I'll reveal the top three cards from my deck and I'll evolve one creature into the creature I'm summoning ! "

The cards which Rezo revealed were Volcano Charger , Inaba Geeze , the Explosive and Terror Pit .

" I evolve Inaba Geeze into Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God ! Volcano Charger and Terror Pit go to my graveyard and now Mad Romanoff , attack ! I'll use Mad Romanoff's meteorburn and send Inaba Geeze to my graveyard ! Now I can cast a fire or darkness spell from my mana zone for no cost ! I'll cast Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse ! Since Mad Romanoff is an evolution creature , I'll use the spell's both effects ! I shall destroy your Trash Train and revive my Inaba Geeze ! Mad Romanoff , break his shield , ike ! "

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! " Kokujo said sweating . " I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Knight ! "

Kokujo looked into Rezo's hand . The cards from his hand were Volcano Charger and Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike . Romanoff Strike was a spell , but had the race Knight , so Kokujo discarded it and Rezo lost a shield which was Terror Pit .

" My turn , I cast Volcano Charger to destroy your Maxval and I'll gain one more mana ! " Rezo said . " And now Inaba Geeze and Dark Division , break his shields ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast two Grudge Gatherings and destroy both your creatures ! Now my turn , I summon Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord and attack with Gal Volf , double break his shields ! " Kokujo said and a demon lion made of bones and with blue mane appeared behind him and roared while a demon wolf with red hair and weilding four swords jumped and slashed two of Rezo's shields .

" Shield trigger activate ! " Rezo said and took one of the cards which was in his shields to his hand . " I cast Primal Scream ! Now I'll put the top four cards from my deck to my graveyard and I'll take Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God to my hand ! Now it's my turn ! I cast Terror Pit and destroy Belbel De Dios ! Heh , your turn ! "

Kokujo made a few steps back sweating . The only creature he had left was Gal Volf and he had two shields . Rezo had two shields as well and no more creatures , but he also had Chester Romanoff in his hand and was about to summon it in his next turn . He had to find a way to finish the Red Priest fast , but it was hard . As he had expected , Rezo was a tough opponent for him .

Suddenly they heared screams from outside . Edo ran to the window and to his shock he saw that Rad and Sora were losing to their opponents .

" Saga , the Almighty Creator , totomeda ! " Xanagazu ordered .

" White Knight Ulphas , totomeda ! " Hanna ordered .

The two creatures fired two powerful lazors which made Sora fly in the air hurt . The girl landed on the ground with scratches on her body .

" Oh no , Sora ! " Rad yelled and turned his back .

" Where are you going ? We have a duel to finish ! " Ichiro replied . " XENOM , the Reaper King , totomeda ! "

" Necrodragon Bryzenaga , totomeda ! " the vassal added .

The two creatures fired their lazors upon Rad as well and made the boy fly in the air and land near Sora as hurt as she was . The four minions of Rezo stood victoriously in front of them .

" Hah , I knew that they were no challenge for us ! " Hanna laughed .

" Shall we take them as prisoners ? " Ichiro asked .

" No , they're bad wounded ! Let them die like dogs here in the battlefield ! " Xanagazu said .

The four servants went back into Rezo's castle . Edo trembled with fear , for he knew what was awaiting him and Kokujo . The brown haired boy turned back to the duel and yelled :

" Rad and Sora lost their duels ! Xanagazu , Hanna , Ichiro and that vassal are coming towards us ! We've got to do something , Kokujo ! "

Rezo smiled with satisfaction as he heared that . The Red Priest then spoke to Kokujo which was sweating harder than ever :

" See ? Your friends weren't able to defeat my minions , how would you be able to defeat me , Black Death ? "

" Grr... SHUT UP !! " Kokujo yelled and drew his next card . " I evolve Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade into BALLOM EMPEROR , LORD OF DEMONS !!! "

A gray goat demon with two heads and lots of hands appeared behind Kokujo and roared . The long haired boy then ordered the creature to attack :

" Break his final shields , Ballom Emperor ! "

Rezo stood laughing as his final shields got broken . The Red Priest then spoke to Kokujo as his shield shards united into cards :

" Shield trigger activate ! "

" What ? " Kokujo asked scarred .

" I cast Inferno Sign and revive Inaba Geeze , the Explosive ! Now my turn , Grave Evolution , I evolve Dark Division from my graveyard into Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God ! "

A horned vulture with dark purple wings and guns appeared behind Rezo and roared . Kokujo made a few steps back scarred . The Red Priest was winning the duel . It was clear now , no one could defeat Rezo .

" Meteorburn ! I send Dark Division to my graveyard and cast a spell for no cost from the graveyard ! I shall cast Terror Pit and destroy Ballom Emperor ! "

Kokujo was shocked to witness how lots of demonic hands grabbed his Ballom Emperor and smashed him to bits . But he had other things to worry about . The long haired boy turned his head back to the duel and saw Chester Romanoff flying through his final shields breaking them into pieces . When he took them to his hand , he saw that there were no shield triggers . The long haired boy layed his head down and awaited his defeat while Rezo laughed as hard as he could .

" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! I TOLD YOU THAT NOBODY CAN DEFEAT THE RED PRIEST ! YOUR FATE IS SEALED ONCE AND FOREVER , BLACK DEATH ! INABA GEEZE , THE EXPLOSIVE , TOTOMEDAAAAAAA !!!! "

A red robot with jets in its back flew towards Kokujo and hit him with its sword . Kokujo flew in the air hurt and landed near Subaru's dead body . Edo was more than shocked . Now evreyone , except for himself , was dead ! The brown haired boy made a few steps back and fell on his back scarred . Rezo then walked to Kokujo which was unconcious and said :

" Black Death , it is time to take your soul forever ! "

The Red Priest's hand glew with a bright red light . He aimed for Kokujo and when he was about to fire the beam , he noticed someone entering the throne room . It was none other than doctor Root !

" Wait a minute , Rezo ! "

" What do you want , Root ? "

" Please , don't steal Kokujo's soul ! I... I'll tell you how to use the energy from this mountain to recreate the Proof of Duelmaster , if you do me a favor ! "

" Sounds interesting . Go on ! "

" I want you to bring Subaru and Tsugumi back to life and I also want you to let us leave ! If so , I will give you the information you need ! " Root said and layed down his head , because this meant giving the world domination to Rezo .

" Fine , but how will I know that you have the information I seek ? " Rezo asked .

" I have the information in a notebook . I will show it once you bring Subaru back to life and then I will give it to you once you bring Tsugumi back to life as well ! "

" Tsh , fine , you have a deal , Root ! "

Rezo took out a shiny white ball from his pockets . It was Subaru's soul . The Red Priest casted it towards the boy's lifeless body and once it entered , the body shined powerfully and his heart started beating once again .

Doctor Root then took out a black notebook and opened it . Rezo took a look through the pages and saw that Root didn't lie , it was the information he was after .

" Now for the other part of the deal ! " Root requested .

" Tsh , fine ! " Rezo said and fired a blue beam which went towards the UFO .

In a couple of seconds Tsugumi's body was transported to the throne chamber . Rezo then spoke to Root with a menacing voice :

" I don't want you to trick me in some way ! Here's how we do it , you put the notebook down while I make the spell and when Tsugumi lives again , I'll take it ! And don't you even dare to steal it when you see Tsugumi alive , I warn you ! "

" Fine , I won't ! " Root replied .

Rezo started enchanting the words of the spell in an ancient language . Tsugumi's body floated in the air and Rezo's body got sorrounded by a red aura . Then Rezo fired a white beam on Tsugumi and spoke to doctor Root :

" I'm bringing her soul back to her body ! You slowly put the notebook down and walk away ! "

Root slowly moved the hand with the notebook to the ground . The doctor was afraid that Rezo might trick him and get away with it , but once the notebook had touched the ground , the doctor saw Tsugumi opening her eyes . Rezo stopped the spell and Tsugumi landed on her feet .

" My child... " Root spoke amazed .

" Doctor... " Tsugumi replied with the same amazement in her voice .

The blonde girl couldn't believe it , she was actually alive ! One single thought went through her mind and that was to see her boyfriend , Subaru . Tsugumi ran fast to doctor Root and spoke to him with a desperate voice :

" Doctor , please tell me where's my dear Subaru ! "

" He's there , my dear ! " Root replied and pointed to Subaru and Kokujo which were lying unconcious on the floor .

Tsugumi ran to the two and grabbed Subaru's hand . She was hoping that it wasn't too late and that Rezo didn't kill him . She shouted loudly at the black haired boy :

" Subaru , please wake up ! Please , Subaru , don't toy with me , wake up !!! "

The black haired boy's eyes slowly opened and all that Subaru could see was the angelic face of his dear Tsugumi . His face was lighted with happiness and the boy spoke to her :

" I must be in heaven , right ? "

" No , you're as alive as I am ! " Tsugumi replied and hugged him . " Oh , Subaru , I missed you so much ! "

" Don't cry , my dear , it's all over ! " Subaru replied and hugged Tsugumi as well .

Edo was more than happy to see that the two were finally reunited after all they had been through . It was a real miracle ! Still , evreything had a price , and the cost for Subaru's and Tsugumi's lives was the information which would help Rezo recreate the Proof of Duelmaster .

The Red Priest took the notebook and searched through the pages . There was no trick , no fake notebook , no invisible ink , no weird writing . Evreything was actually the thing he needed . Rezo smiled and then spoke to doctor Root :

" Indeed you know to respect deals , doctor Root ! Now get outta here before I change my mind ! "

" Edo , grab Kokujo ! Tsugumi , grab Subaru ! We're leaving ! "

Doctor Root snapped his fingers and the UFO started flying . The spaceship flew above the battlefield and teleported Rad and Sora in it . Afterwards it came to Rezo's balcony . Edo and Tsugumi managed to enter the UFO along with Kokujo and Subaru . Doctor Root stood one more moment and stared at Rezo . The Red Priest was giving him the same stare .

" Remember , doctor Root , you were the one which suggested this deal ! " Rezo said .

" I'll assume my responsibility for what I've done tonight , Rezo ! " Root replied .

The doctor ran in the UFO and the spaceship closed its doors and flew away from Rezo's castle . Inside the UFO , while Subaru and Tsugumi were rejoicing their reuiniting along with Edo , doctor Root was standing all alone in his lab . He looked at the window and to his shock saw Rezo's castle flying , but not towards a certain location . It was flying towards the orbit .

" What have I done ? What sort of nightmare have I unleashed upon this world ? " Root asked himself with a desperate voice .


	26. Rezo's triumph

Rezo's castle had reached the Earth's orbit and entered it , spinning the way the planet was . The Red Priest created an aura which kept breathable air in his castle and which could create even more air when needed .

Besides the maids , only Ichiro , Hanna , Xanagazu and the vassal were the last survivors of Rezo's grand army . Once the war was finished , they separated and did their own stuff . The vassal went to some maids to feed him and heal his wounds . Xanagazu went to a window to admire the beauty and infinity of the universe . Hanna went back in her own room and watched TV . Ichiro went to Rezo's throne room to find out what had happened . He was hoping for the Red Priest to tell him that he had murdered Kokujo in the worst way possible . Once he reached the throne chamber's doors , he knocked and waited for a response .

" Who is it ? " Rezo asked .

" It's me , Ichiro ! Lord Rezo , I was hoping we could chat ! "

" Come in , Ichiro ! " Rezo said .

The doors opened and Ichiro entered the throne chamber . The boy bowed in front of his master and then got up . Rezo was sitting on his throne looking relaxed and with a victorious smile on his face .

" What do you want to chat about , Ichiro ? "

" Lord Rezo , I was wondering what happened here . Could you tell me how did you kill my father and the chosen duelists and how awful their deaths were ? "

" Ichiro , I'm sorry to disappoint you , but ... "

" But ? "

" But your father and the chosen duelists are still alive ! " Rezo answered .

This news shurck the boy like a blade . His eyes and mouth opened wide as he stared at Rezo . Then the boy spoke with a shocked voice :

" They're still ... alive ? How can it be possible , Lord Rezo ? "

" You see , I had defeated Subaru and stolen his soul . After that , Kokujo came and challenged me to a duel . We dueled , he lost and when I was about to steal his soul , doctor Root came and told me that he knew the way to use this misteryous energy to recreate the Proof of Duelmaster . He had worked on that and wrote evrey detail in a notebook . And so , we had a deal , I bring Subaru and Tsugumi back to life and let them all escape and he gives me that notebook ! I accepted the deal and now I have the thing which will help me bring the Proof of Duelmaster back ! "

Evrey word spoken by Rezo was like a stab in the back for Ichiro . He just couldn't believe it . After all this struggle his father was still alive ! The boy was filled with rage and felt like he wanted to kill his master for not taking the life of his father , but he knew that Rezo would squash him in a second , so he calmed down a bit . Rezo noticed that Ichiro was acting strange , so he asked :

" Ichiro , is something wrong ? "

" No , evreything's perfect ! " the boy spoke with an angry voice and started walking away while hitting hard the floor with his feet .

Rezo then realised that Ichiro was angry on him . The Red Priest teleported in front of the boy and caught him by the neck .

" Listen here , brat , I don't have any interest in your vengeful deeds ! All I want is the Proof of Duelmaster so I can rule the world ! If you're so fond of killing your father , then wait until they'll foolishly attack us once again and you'll have the chance to crush him like the ant he is ! But until then , I do not want anymore grumpy attitudes against me , understood ? "

Ichiro didn't answer . He just looked to the other side with uncaring eyes . Rezo shook the boy and yelled :

" UNDERSTOOD ?! "

" Yes , Lord Rezo ! " Ichiro sighed and Rezo freed him from his grip .

" Good , you are dismissed ! " Rezo said .

Ichiro left the throne chamber and walked through the corridors . The boy then looked on a window and saw planet Earth and all its beauty . He stared at the giant blue sphere and kept thinking at Kokujo .

" Father , one day you'll pay , I won't rest until I'll see you dead ! " Ichiro said .

Meanwhile at the UFO . Doctor Root was working on healing Kokujo , Sora and Rad with the help of Edo which had nothing better to do . Subaru had healed fast , because his wounds weren't that serious . The only treatment Root had prescripted for him was to spend lots of time with Tsugumi . The two lovers were now in their room lying on their bed covered with a sheet .

" I still can't believe that we're both alive , Subaru ! I have no words to say for this great miracle ! " Tsugumi said .

" Yes , but now Rezo will get the Proof and we'll be history if we won't do something ! We'll obviously have to fight him once again and , and ... " Subaru said and then hugged Tsugumi with all his love and fear . " ... and then I may lose you again , my love ! "

" Subaru... " Tsugumi whispered and stared at him with her pure blue eyes . " Lets not worry about the future ! Lets live the present while we still can ! Now all that matters is that we're together again ! "

Subaru and Tsugumi stood hugged like that for hours talking about their stuff . Out of evreyone , they were the only ones which were happy of the outcome of the whole war .

Back at Rezo's castle . The Red Priest had studied for hours Root's notebook and then he came to a conclusion .

" I finally know how to recreate the Proof of Duelmaster ! " Rezo exclaimed .

The Red Priest ran to the bottle which had the strange energy inside . He opened it and mixed the energy with water . Afterwards he casted a spell and freezed the whole thing . Then he poured a strange gas over it and the ice took the shape of a blue egg . The first step was done , he had made an object of the exact size of the Proof from the strange energy . Afterwards he took the Proof and put it in the center of the room . He painted some strange circles on the floor arround it and then he came and chanted some words in an ancient language . The power with which he yelled the incantations and the heart he was adding to the spell made him feel as if the Proof of Duelmaster was the most precious thing in the world for him . Suddenly a strange blue light came out of the egg shaped ice object and it filled the whole room . Rezo covered his eyes so that he wouldn't be blinded again and waited for the effect to happen . When he felt that the light had disappeared , Rezo uncovered his eyes and to his amazement he saw a blue jem with a dragon mark on it floating in the room .

" At last , after evreything that happened , the Proof of Duelmaster... IS MINE !!! " Rezo yelled and grabbed the Proof . " IT'S MINE ! HAHAHAHAHAHA ! IT'S ALL MINE ! THE PROOF OF IS MINE !!!! "

Rezo then attached the Proof of Duelmaster to his staff and he felt a powerful energy was entering his body and amplifying his magic powers . That was it , his planetary kingdom was about to begin ! Rezo sat on his throne like a true king and hit the floor with his staff . The Proof's power sent a blue wave in space to all of the Earth's artificial satelites and stole its connection .

Meanwhile on Earth . Evreyone was minding their buisness when Rezo's face appeared on all TVs , computers , city commercials and screens and his voice could be heared in all radios and speakers . Evreyone was wondering who was he and what was he doing . Rezo then gave his message to them , a message which would change evreyone's lives .

" People of the Earth , this is Rezo , the Red Priest speaking ! I am your new ruler and by the power I was invested I will turn this infected planet in my own kingdom ! Resistance is futile ! Those who try to oppose will be vanquished from the surface of this planet ! "

Meanwhile at Kokujo's UFO . Rad and Sora woke up , but they were still weakened from the battle , so they stood on their beds talking about their defeat and what would happen to them . Doctor Root and Edo were desperately trying to heal Kokujo's wounds with evreything they had . If Kokujo would go down , then they wouldn't stand a chance against Rezo at all ! Subaru and Tsugumi were relaxing in the bed chatting about their stuff .

Suddenly they all heared Rezo's voice from the speakers of the UFO . The Red Priest's speech was now playing almost like a bad tape . Root and Edo had to ignore it because other problems were concerning them . Rad and Sora were also too tired to listen to Rezo and went back to sleep . Subaru and Tsugumi on the other hand were interested in what the Red Priest had cooking for them . The two got out of their room and stood on the hall listening to Rezo's speech from the speakers .

" The government of the United States will surrender all its soldiers and weapons to me ! All political parties from all democratic countires will be disolved ! From now on the Earth will be a single state and its governing way will be totalitar monarchy ! " the Red Priest said . " If someone dares to attack or betray me will be considered traitor of the state and executed by my minions ! Also , if a whole population dares to revolt against me , they'll suffer this ! "

Rezo then hit the floor with his staff and in the next moment a giant tsunami was created in Oceania . The tsunami sank a few islands which had some people living there . Evreyone in the whole world saw this on their screens and were terrifyied . Rezo wasn't joking at all , he was more serious than ever !

" And now that I've made my point clear... " Rezo said and continued his speech .

Back at Kokujo's UFO . Tsugumi was hugging Subaru with her head on his chest .

" He's going to kill us ! He'll kill us all ! " she cried with a scarred voice .

" Don't worry , I won't let him lay a finger on you ever again ! " Subaru replied and hugged her as well with his protective arms .

Rezo's speech lasted an hour . In that hour he showed the world his power and established his domination plans . After finishing his speech , Rezo called Ichiro , Hanna , Xanagazu and the vassal in the throne chamber . All four servants came and bowed in front of their great master . The Red Priest got up from his throne and said :

" The time has come ! I will not allow any duelist to rise up against me once again ! This is why I am sending you to Earth in order to anihilate evrey duelist you find ! None shall be spared ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " all four spoke .

" Go do my will and you shall be rewarded with ruling over all these inferior creatures from this world ! "

The four servants entered in a blue energy orb created by Xanagazu and flew straight towards planet Earth . The orb landed in a small village and all its inhabitants were scarred of the four duelists which came out of it . Some thought that they were aliens , but others remembered Rezo's speech and realised that they were actually his servants sent to eradicate duelists . Some duelists threw their decks away or hid the fact that they were duelists while others foolishly challenged them , unaware of what was going to happen .

Back at Kokujo's UFO . Rad and Sora finally got out of the hospital room . They still had some bandages on them , but they were ready for action once again . Once they entered the corridor , they met Subaru and Tsugumi which were walking towards Root's hospital to see how Kokujo was doing .

" Subaru , Tsugumi , good to see you again ! " Rad said .

" Rad-kun , Sora-san , I'm so happy to see you alive ! " Subaru replied smiling .

Suddenly , Tsugumi and Sora bursted into tears and hugged eachother .

" TSUGUMI-CHAN , I THOUGHT I WAS NEVER GOING TO SEE YOU AGAIN !! " Sora cried .

" SORA-CHAN , I MISSED YOU SO MUCH !! " Tsugumi cried as well .

Subaru and Rad looked at the two girls sweating . They just couldn't understand why must girls embarrass themselves so much just because they hadn't met in a while .

" Pathetic... " Rad whispered to Subaru .

" 100 % agreed... " Subaru whispered back to Rad .

After things calmed down , Subaru and Tsugumi explained to Rad and Sora where they were going and their intentions . They decided that it would be better for Kokujo that they all go and pay him a visit .

Meanwhile at Kokujo's hospital room . Edo and Root were tired after all their efforts to bring the long haired boy back on his feet . Doctor Root whiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and said to Edo :

" Oh well that's enough for today ! "

" You're the boss , doc ! " Edo replied and gathered the medical instruments .

Someone knocked at the door . Edo opened it and was surprised to see the other four chosen duelists together .

" Hey , guys , what's going on ? " Edo asked .

" We came to pay Kokujo-kun a little visit ! " Subaru answered .

" Yeah , and we also brought the good ol'guy a little present ! " Rad said winking .

" I'm sorry , but Kokujo can't receive any visiters ! " Root said . " He's still in a delicate situation and ... "

" Come on , doc , just a few minutes , please ! " Tsugumi insisted , her innocent blue eyes weakening doctor Root .

" F-fine , you may go... "

Kokujo was shirtless and filled with bandages . The long haired boy was sleeping , the angry expression on his face showing that he was having nightmares of some sort . The five chosen duelists and doctor Root entered the room and turned on the lights . That didn't wake up Kokujo , but they didn't give up . Subaru and Rad walked to Kokujo's bed and put the present box on his bed . Rad slowly opened it while Subaru whispered to Kokujo's ear :

" Kokujo-kun , wake up ! "

The black haired boy didn't get any response .

" It's me , Subaru ! " he insisted , but still nothing .

Rad then took out a slice of chocolate cake from the present box . Subaru put it on a small plate and layed it down near Kokujo's nose . They noticed that Kokujo was now breathing a little more intense .

" It's working ! He's waking up ! " Rad said .

" Oh , Kokujo-kun ! We have some nice chocolate cake for you ! " Subaru whispered to Kokujo's ear .

At the pronouncing of the word 'cake' , Kokujo opened his red eyes and got up as fast as he could . As he saw the chocolate cake slice , the long haired boy took it fast and ate it with his bare hands . Evreyone was watching him discusted thinking that he could try to be a little more mannered .

" Okay , I feel like new ! " Kokujo said and stretched his arms .

" Kokujo-kun , you're back ! " Subaru said .

" Meh , it takes more than a creature attack to get rid of the Black Death ! "

" Overconfident as always ! " Rad laughed .

" It's good to have you back between us , Kokujo ! " Edo said .

In fifteen minutes Subaru and Rad explained Kokujo the whole situation . Kokujo's face looked serious once again and the long haired boy spoke to them :

" So where are his minions now ? "

" They're somewhere in America , far away from us ! " Rad answered .

" Yeah , right now our UFO is flying above Eastern China ! " Subaru added .

" Good thing that I've activate the invisible shield ! Now Rezo won't be able to locate us no matter on which side of the globe we are ! " doctor Root said and lifted up his finger .

" Clever as always , doctor ! " Edo admired his idol .

Kokujo got up from his bed and got out of the hospital room . Root and Edo tried to stop him saying that he hadn't fully recovered , but he didn't listen . The long haired boy walked to the corridor where one of its walls was a giant window and looked outside . He saw panicked people , burning buildings and burned corpses on the ground . This was Rezo's kingdom , a kingdom where chaos and death ruled .

Kokujo took out his deck fro his pockets and looked at his Dorballom card which shined with a purple light . Dorballom's face appeared as a vision in front of Kokujo's eyes .

" Dorballom , I have failed ! " Kokujo spoke . " But I swear that I will face him once again and next time he'll feel our wrath ! "


	27. The first day of tyranny

Like everything has a beginning and an end, so does life have a beginning and an end. When people die their souls go in two places: heaven or hell. Those just people with pure hearts go to heaven to embrace eternal peace, while the winners go to hell to embrace eternal damnation.

Hell was, as described in many books, a fiery pit in which evreyone fell, but everything was done step by step. To reach that pit you must fall first in a black cave filled with nothing but darkness. There you were taken by demons and transported through the dark halls to the fire pit where your soul would suffer forever.

Now in hell it was another day of torture and suffering, but was really everyone suffering? Of course, from the most horrible sufferings to the least horrible. Masterminds and evil geniuses which caused lots of pain and suffering to the world were treated better than others in hell. So we now find a blue skinned man with long white hair wearing a red uniform and white pants sitting at a table. It was none other than Zakira!

"Ah, another day, another soul brought to eternal suffering." Zakira said while stretching his arms.

"Hahaha, you said it." a man dressed in nazi uniform replied and sat at the batle as well. "Back in my gay, I was sending more than just one soul to hell, haha. Those were the good ol'days!"

"You can say that again, Hitler!" Zakira said while pouring tea in two cups for himself and the man which sat with him on the table, Adolf Hitler.

"Good morning, gentlemen!" a black haired man dressed in uniform appeared. "Sir Lucy said that I was annoying the demons and suffering souls from level seven too much and sent me here to level one. So what's up?"

"Nothing, just drinking tea, watching what's going on in the real world by cable." Zakira replied with a bored voice.

"Apparently Zakira's old enemy, Rezo the Red Priest, has managed to recreate the Proof of Duelmaster and take over the world." Hitler laughed. "I wonder how long will it take him till he joins us at our tea party."

The man in uniform sat down at the table along with Hitler and Zakira and drank a cup of tea. He then sighed and reminded himself of something.

"So you say that my son is still alive?" he asked.

"Not only is he alive, sir, but he's also young once again. He's sixteen years old once again!" Zakira said. "This is the miracle of the five chosen cards."

"Five chosen cards?" the uniformed man asked with a clear worry in his voice. "Does this mean that my son is one of the chosen duelists?"

"You got it. Man, if I had a sharp thinker like you, I would've clearly defeated Stalin!" Hitler exclaimed.

The uniformed man then hit the table with his fists. His face became darker and the expression on it angrier. He then got up and yelled:

"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT MY SON IS ONE OF THE CHOSEN DUELISTS? HE'S A BIG FAILURE AS A DUELIST! I WAS HARSHLY DISAPPOINTED OF HIM EVER SINCE..."

Before the man in uniform could finish his sentence, a red demon with long goat horns and black bat wings appeared out of a giant flame. It was none other than the lord of all hell, and he was angry.

"Sir Lucy, nice to see you!" Zakira said smiling.

"Wanna have some tea with us?" Hitler added, trying to calm down the demon.

The demon walked to the man in uniform and without a single warning he grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. At first he strangled him hard but then he remembered that souls can't die so he dropped him down.

"I've had enough of you! Ever since you came to hell ninety years ago we can't frigging concentrate on torturing people normally because of you and your fucking complaints about your failure son! For this, I, Lucifer, king of hell, give you the following punishment: go out of here, live again and seek vengance on your unworthy son!"

"Do not worry, you bastard, that's the first thing I would do if I would get outta here anyway!" the man in uniform said and gave Lucifer a cold stare.

"Tsh, Shagrath, take him out of my sight!"

A man with black hair, pale skin and dressed as a black metalhead appeared behind Lucifer. It was none other than Dimmu Borgir's vocalist, Shagrath. He took out some chains and tied the man in uniform. Afterwards he put him in a charriot and rode out of hell with it.

As he saw that the man in uniform had disappeared, Lucifer sat down at the table. He drank all the tea which Hitler and Zakira had given to him, relieved that he had got rid of a problem.

"Gosh, how would the world survive with THIS guy alive again?" the demon asked.

"Meh, like I care, I'm dead anyways." Hitler said bored.

"I do care, sir Lucy, because now that you've brought this man back to life, he'll most likely cause pain and suffering to his own son, thing which would help Rezo in annihilating his enemies faster." Zakira said grinning.

"You know what, Zakira? I think that I'm underestimating you too much. Your evil genius is really impressing, hahahahahaha!" Lucifer laughed and Zakira and Hitler joined him.

Meanwhile on planet Earth, the atmosphere caused by Rezo's reign was catastrophic. Giant buildings and small villages were burning down. Corpses were lying dead on the streets. Duelists were getting killed by Rezo's clones and his four servants. Women and children were too scared to even breathe. And nor the States nor Russia had managed to stop Rezo. The Red Priest had canceled their defensive technology in a matter of seconds using his spells. Now they were all at the mercy of Rezo, and it was a matter of time until the whole planet was under his control.

"Aku Zen, Ultimate Transcendent God, todomeda!" Xanadu ordered.

"Milzam, Spirit of Miracles, todomeda!" the vassal ordered.

"White Knight HEAVEN, Lord of Spirits, todomeda!" Hanna ordered.

"XENOM, the Reaper King, todomeda!" Ichiro ordered.

The four gigantic creatures roared and killed four more duelists. There was no way out for the citizens of the city which was occupied by the . Clones were blocking all the ways out and were challenging people to duels.

Now where were our heroes when we needed them? Answer: hiding in Kokujo's UFO like cowards and doing nothing but watching how Rezo was growing in power. They just couldn't stand it, but they had lost the battle and there was nothing left to do yet.

Doctor Root was studying as always in his laboratory. Kokujo was again standing all alone in the living room. On the other hand, the five chosen duelists were standing in the hall looking outside through the glass wall. Sora was meditating, trying to get through the hard moment. Subaru was hugging Tsugumi, because she was afraid of Rezo and his uprising army. Rad and Edo on the other hand were angry because they couldn't do anything about it. They could just watch it, because challenging them to duels meant defeat even if they won , because they would lose energy battling all those clones and in the end they would be captured and killed.

"This sucks! I can't just stay here and watch how our planet is turned into Rezo's kingdom!" Rad spoke with anger in his voice.

"It is beyond our power now. All we can do is wait and hope for the best." Edo replied.

Suddenly, they saw Kokujo coming out of the living room and walking relaxed to an exit door of the UFO.

"Hey Kokujo, where are you going?" Rad asked.

"Out for a walk." Kokujo replied with a relaxed tone in his voice and opened the door.

"Out for a walk? When Rezo's army is attacking us like a horde of vandals attacks a small and unprotected village?" Edo asked shocked of Kokujo's indiference.

Kokujo didn't even bother to answer. He just got out of the UFO and walked calmly in the streets of the city. Scared people passed him running and screaming. He pretended that they didn't even exist.

Kokujo then turned to left. The long haired boy entered a restaurant and sat on a table. A scared butler entered and was shocked to find such a calm customer.

"M-may I have your order, s-sir?" he asked.

"Of course, a big sized chocolate cake and a bottle of 'good looking evil genius drink'." Kokujo replied and put his feet on the table while laying the back of his head on his hands.

"Um sir, don't you know what's outside?" the butler asked sweating.

"Yep, a crazy red witch is trying to take over the world and sends his lackeys to eradicate people thinking that his dream would come true."

"A-are you crazy, sir? Our lives are in danger and you're acting so calm! That's it! I'm outta here!"

The butler was about to run for his life, but Kokujo grabbed his hand and pulled him back. The long haired boy stared into the butler's eyes with his frightening red eyes and made the man tremble worse than jelly.

"Listen here pal, if you don't bring me my cake and drink then you'll regret the very first moment your mother had given birth to you!" Kokujo threatened the man.

The long haired boy let go of the butler which ran to the kitchen and searched for what he had asked. In a couple of minutes Kokujo had the chocolate cake and 'good looking evil genius drink' on his table. As he put the food on the table the butler ran out of the restaurant worser than cats which had just encountered a fierceful dog.

"Tsh, butlers these days and their death fright!" Kokujo said and bit a slice of cake.

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle, the Red Priest was watching everything which was happening on Earth through lots of screens. Maids were bringing him food and cleaning his room.

"Hehehehehe, it's only a matter of time till Ichiro, Hanna, Xanadu and that vassal bring down the duelists from the whole world." Rezo said with a grin of pleasement on his face.

Rezo turned to a screen on which he could see his four servants duel against four duelists. It was now their turn.

"I summon Necrodragon Bryzenaga!" the vassal said and a long dragon made of bones appeared behind him and roared. "Bryzenaga's effect will break all my shields!"

The blonde boy smiled as all his five shields got broken into pieces. He was surrounded by shield shards and felt more confident than ever. His voice then went through the opponent's body like a knife stab.

"Shield trigger activate - I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers! And now, shield trigger activate - I summon Estol, Vizier of Aqua, Skysword, the Savage Vizier and Bega, Vizier of Shadow. All three will give me a shield, so I now have three shields. Also, Estol makes me look at one of your shields, Skysword gives me a mana and Bega makes you discard a card from your hand. And I still have one more shield trigger - I cast Heaven's Gate and bring two Milzam, Spirit of Miracles in the battle zone and attach five more cards to two of my shields! Heh, I end for now."

"I summon Saga, the Almighty Creator!" Xanadu said and a giant red robot appeared behind her. "I'll now un-link Aku Zen and turn them back into Aku, Ultimate God and Zen, Transcendent God. And now I'll use Saga's effect and cast Violence Heaven which will destroy all our creatures except for Aku and Zen!"

A rain of black swords fell from the sky and went through the opponent's creatures and Xanadu's Saga, the Almighty Creator. The creatures blew up in a matter of seconds.

"I fortify one of my shields with Pillar of Feather, White Knight Fortress!" Hanna said smiling. "And now I summon Leonidas, White Knight Spirit for only three mana!"

"I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy my Fuuma Ravaal and your Astral Warper. Crooked Digger Reaper lets me draw a card, because a Reaper got destroyed, and now Crooked Digger Reaper, break his shield!"

The opponent took cover as Ichiro's creature broke one of his shields. Everything was watched by Rezo, and the Red Priest enjoyed the sights like hell. He then felt a sudden powerful energy rush through his body. He was excited. Rezo got up from his throne and yelled:

"GO ICHIRO, HANNA, XANADU AND VASSAL, KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL! ERADICATE THEM FROM THE EARTH'S SURFACE! DO NOT LEAVE ANY SURVIVING DUELIST! SHOW THEM THE POWER OF THE RED PRIEST! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Rezo's laugh was scaring the maids, but they had nothing to do but keep doing their job in his room. Rezo stared towards the screen where his servants were dueling.

"Milzam, double break his shields! My other Milzam, double break his shields! Skysword, break his final shield! And finally, Necrodragon Bryzenaga, todomeda!"

The bone dragon behind the vassal roared and flew towards his opponent casting a poisunous gas killing him.

"Aku Zen, Ultimate Transcendent God, todomeda!"

The two giant statue gods behind Xanagazu which were united into one roared and reached their hands grabbing her opponent and crushing him to bits.

"I evolve Leonidas into White Knight HEAVEN, Lord of Spirits!" Hanna said smiling as a giant blue angel robot appeared behind her. "Break his final shields, HEAVEN!"

"I evolve Deathraios into XENOM, the Reaper King!" Ichiro said and a dark blue goat demon with no face and weilding a Ballom staff appeared behind him and roared. "Break his final shields, XENOM! Also, Break Bonus! Since XENOM had broken three shields in this turn and you have no other cards in your hand, you'll discard your shields! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, YOU'RE ALL MINE!"

"Sepa, White Knight Monk.. "

"Crooked Digger Reaper..."

"TODOMEDA!" both Hanna and Ichiro yelled.

The creatures rushed and killed the last two opponents. Besides Rezo, Kokujo had also seen the duels. He was standing all alone in the street from a decent distance, staring at them and thinking:

"Rezo's servants are growing in power by each victory. I can't challenge them now, because most likely I'll lose. I must think of a way of recharging the batteries of the chosen duelists and also get them ready for the next confrontation with Rezo. Wait a minute, I think I've got it!"

Kokujo headed back to the UFO, moving as fast as he could. His idea would really solve the problem with the chosen duelists, and he thought that they would be able to finally defeat Rezo. As he entered the UFO, Kokujo told everyone his plan.

"A HOT SPRING TRIP?" the five chosen duelists yelled shocked.

"That's a great idea!" doctor Root exclaimed.

"Are you crazy, doctor? Rezo is taking over the world and you want to let Kokujo send us to some hot springs?" Sora shouted at Root.

"Actually Sora, hot springs might do you good. You've all been stressed with all this fight against Rezo. Why don't you go for this weekend to some hot springs and relax and let me and Kokujo take care of the rest?"

No matter how crazy did Kokujo's idea sound and how senseless was Root's approving, the five chosen duelists did feel that their bones felt the need to repair themselves.

"Okay, Kokujo and doctor Root, we're going!" Tsugumi said smiling.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind resting a bit in a hot spring." Subaru added.

"Heh, fine, go and pack your stuff. I'll go and search a good hot spring place far from Rezo's servants." Kokujo replied and entered the control room.

And so it seemed that our heroes were going to take a well deserved break while Rezo's army continued to advance. In this break the five chosen duelists would have to regain their whole energy and strength, for a new battle was approaching.

Outside the UFO a fire gate opened. Out of it came Shagrath and the man wearing a uniform. The man looked at his arms and was amazed that they looked a bit younger.

"W-what happened?" he asked.

"As you entered this world you've been made younger, most likely your body is forty-nine years old." Shagrath replied. "Oh well, I'd better get going. Good luck on your job, old man. Oh and here's a tip, your son and the other chosen duelists are going to the Fijimura hotsprings right now."

Shagrath disappeared in the fire gate. The uniformed man turned his sights to the city and was amazed to see those giant shiny buildings. The future was once again opened for him and he couldn't lose his chance once again, but first he had to take care of his son. The man looked at the sky and spoke:

"Subaru, your father's coming to see you!"


	28. Zakira

After a day filled with victories in duels and killing the lives of the innocent, the four servants of Rezo - Ichiro, Hanna, Xanadu and the vassal were flying back to the Red Priest's castle which was located in the Earth's orbit. They were all standing inside a blue energy sphrere created by Xanadu so that they could breathe in space until they had reached Rezo's castle.

Rezo was now in his throne chamber thinking. He was planning on how the world's administration chart would look now that he was the leader of the whole planet. It was great that he had all the power he had ever wanted but he suddenly felt exhausted, like his youth spell was losing its effects and he was finally turning old after four hundred years of youth.

"Sir, your four servants have returned from Earth. They have reported the deaths of over ten thousand duelists." a maid said from the almost opened door.

"Fine, tell them that they're free for the rest of the day and also tell everyone in the castle to not disturb me. I want to be alone." Rezo ordered.

The maid left and Rezo closed the door by firing an invisible wave from his hand to push it. The Red Priest then sat on his bed thinking of how great is to have all the goals in your life accomplished. He then closed his eyes hoping to have some great dreams about him ruling the world like Napoleon.

But once Rezo closed his eyes he heard a voice saying:

"It's great to have your life accomplished, right?"

"Huh? Who said that?" Rezo asked but all he could see was darkness.

Rezo then heard a strange sound, almost like a piano playing. He then felt himself moving and wandered in nothing but darkness. The Red Priest wondered what the heck was going on with him and why couldn't he see nothing, but hear that strange melody. Rezo then heard something like guitar riffs and saw a red light, almost like a light at the end of a tunnel. The Red Priest rushed towards it and the guitars became louder and louder. Suddenly he flashed out of the black tunnel and he found himself in a red tunnel where a band of five long haired pale skinned men were playing their instruments and headbanging worse than paint mixers.

"Hey, who are you? Where am I?" Rezo asked.

Then a flame appeared and out of it came another long haired man with pale skin and wearing black metal head clothes. Rezo immediately recognized him.

"Oh my, it's Shagrath… This must mean that you guys are Dimmu Borgir! But I thought that Lordi took care of you long ago and ..."

"FOLLOW!" Shagrath screamed in a microphone. "FOLLOW US! THROUGH THE HALLS OF DARKNESS WE TRAVEL!"

Rezo then looked better and saw that on the red walls there were paintings of demons being thrown out of heaven or pulling souls to hell.

"THE INVERTED CROSS LEADS THE WAY! " Shagrath yelled and pointed towards a gate which had an inverted cross painted. "FROM THE OMNIPOTENCE OF DARKNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!"

The gate was none other than the gate which led to the final tunnel which accessed hell. The gate then opened and lots of chains came out and tied Rezo. The Red Priest tried to oppose but it was useless. The chains pulled him towards a charriot in which he was layed down. Shagrath sat in it and the charriot moved on by itself in the last tunnel while the rest of the Dimmu Borgir band played again the same guitar riff but this time with some drum support.

It was the most terrifying experience in Rezo's life. He was actually going to hell. But how? His spell couldn't be broken that easily and why would he die in that moment when his whole life goals were accomplished? Was it because he didn't have any more reason to liv?

The guitar riffs then stopped and the charriot landed at the end of the final tunnel which was filled with smoke. Shagrath pushed Rezo out of the charriot and untied him.

"Shagrath, tell me what's going on! I demand it!"

"Enjoy your stay in hell, red witch." Shagrath replied and disappeared with the charriot

Rezo looked to the tunnel and saw that it was horribly long. It would take him forever to run back. He had reached the other end of the tunnel in thiry seconds only because Shagrath's charriot was faster than even the speed of light.

"Oh well, I guess I have nothing to lose than to..." Rezo said and then turned to see a closed gate on which there were sculpted different demons. "... open the gates of hell and enter it? Tsh, let's see how horrible this 'hell' is!"

Rezo then opened the gates and all he saw was a dark hotel hall. The Red Priest entered it and calmly walked through it without noticing that the gate had closed itself.

"Tsh, I hope that I won't get the same treatement as in those tunnels." Rezo thought.

Rezo walked until he reached a restaurant filled with red lights. There he saw all the evil geniuses of man kind sitting at tables and eating, drinking, chatting, watching what was going on in the world through tv and listening to Dimmu Borgir concert.

Rezo heard some symphonic keyboards which sounded like violins playing a sad song and when he looked towards a stage, he recognized the band.

"You again!" he thought.

"FADE BLUE MOUNTAINS ON THE HORIZON, INTO A TURNED GREY NIGHT." Shagrath yelled in the micrphone. "TRAVEL OVER FADING BLUE HORIZON'S MOUNTAINS, AND HERE IN DARKNESS I AM DESERTEEEEEEEEED!"

"Quickly has snow oppressed evrey bough... Quickly has king winter conquered earth..." another long haired man with pale skin and black metalist clothes sang with a beautiful sad voice as the violin keyboards played their sad song again. "Here where once the old fell in the field battle , in order to make the island waste , and make it clean ."

Then the instruments calmed down and the keyboards created a winter like atmosphere. Everyone was applauding them and shouting 'Dimmu Borgir!'. Then they all started playing their instruments and the long haired man sang again in operatic style:

"Over fading blue-horizon's moooountaaaaiin. Travel in its dark wooooooood. Over land where forefather's battle has conquered. Where Viking-sword sat plainly in sight!"

As he finished his beautiful singing, Shagrath suddenly made a loud and horrible scream which shrieked evreyone's bodies. All the evil geniouses seemed to love the song and they all applauded them loudly and shouted the band's name like obsessed.

Rezo made his way through the tables as Shagrath and the band bowed and received even more applauses. The Red Priest then sat down on a table without noticing who else was there. He then saw that the other Dimmu Borgir band members left the stage and the only ones which still were there were the man which sang in beautiful operatic vocals and the keyboardist. The keyboardist started playing a symphonic arrangement, as the other man spoke in a microphone:

"This song is called The New Kingdom and it's a poetic tribute towards our lord, sir Lucy."

The song was chilling, sad and gave you the feeling that something really bad was about to begin. Something so awful that might change the world forever.

"Beautiful song, I must say." a man said and sat down.

"Tsh..." Rezo replied and looked at the man. "Oh , you must be the famous Adolf Hitler."

"Ya, and you must be Rezo the Red Priest, the man which had managed to conquer the whole Earth." Hitler replied and shook hands with Rezo. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. I and the whole evil geniuses from hell owe you eternal respect for accomplishing a thing which we were never able to."

"Heh, it's an honor to meet you as well, mister Hitler." Rezo replied and drank a cup of tea. "Mmmm, who said that hell is that bad?"

"Haha, agreed!" Hitler replied and poured some tea for himself. "A toast in the name of Rezo the Red Priest, the man which managed to conquer the whole world!"

"REZO! REZO!" they all shouted and raised their cups of tea in the air.

Rezo couldn't believe it. If that was hell, he would NEVER want to go to heaven. He was respected even more than on Earth. He was the biggest villain of all history. After receiving more applauses and greetings, Rezo sat down at a table with Hitler and the two chatted:

"So Hitler, do you know why I was brought here?"

"Because you've accomplished your mission in that life."

"Is that all?" Rezo asked sweating.

"That… and the fact that an old friend of yours wanted to see you badly."

"Old friend?"

Suddenly a big red flame flashed out of nowhere. A blue skinned man with white hair and red eyes wearing a red uniform and white pants came out of it. Rezo stared at him more than amazed.

"Zakira!" the Red Priest spoke shocked.

"Hehehe, long time no see, Rezo!" Zakira replied smiling.

Without any warning, Rezo took out his staff and fired a powerful laser beam on Zakira . The blue skinned man made a few steps back as his 'body' started burning. He made a scream filled with pain and agony. Evreyone was wondering why was Rezo doing that to Zakira. The Red Priest had an angry expression on his face. His eyes were wide open and filled with rage. His mouth was also wide open showing his sharp white clenched teeth, like those of the sharks.

"DIE, YOU BASTARD! DIE!" Rezo yelled and made the beam more powerful.

Zakira fell on a couch burning hard and screaming. His suffering was horrible yet the Red Priest didn't have a bit of mercy on him.

"Rezo, stop it!" Hitler said. "Are you insane?"

"You don't understand!" Rezo replied. "This man was the reason why I almost died right after I've got back my sight! Because of him I would've died a miserable death and lost a life with open eyes! He deserves it!"

"I do understand your rage, Rezo, but souls can't die! No matter how much you torture them here, you'll never be able to erase their existence!"

"I don't care! I just want to see this bastard suffer for eternity in front of my eyes!"

It was the first time Zakira had ever suffered since he was in hell. The first suffering of his soul in over a century of existence. Zakira now knew how spiritual pain was like. It was worse than physical pain. The blue skinned man got up from the couch and tried to oppose to Rezo's laser. The Red Priest made the beam more powerful, but then Zakira spoke to him:

"I think it's time to reveal my true face!"

Two goat horns came out of Zakira's head, his muscles grew so big that his red uniform was torn apart, his eyes were as red as the fires of hell and his teeth became sharp. Now he could resist to Rezo's beam. Zakira slowly walked towards Rezo which was making the beam more powerful and in the next moment he grabbed the Red Priest's neck and lifted him up. Rezo dropped his staff and the attack stopped. Zakira gave him an angry stare and spoke with a demonic voice:

"I wanted to take it easy on you, but since you insist, I will do it the hard way!"

Zakira then strangled Rezo which felt an incredible pain. It was what they called spiritual pain and it was worse than physical pain. A hole in the floor opened and Zakira walked to it, still holding Rezo in the air.

"See that?" Zakira asked and pointed towards the hole from which Rezo could hear lots of horrible screams. "That's the second level of hell. Here at the first level stay only us evil geniuses, but if you want I can send you to the lower levels to experience real hell and suffer with all those pathetic souls if that's what you want!"

"N-no, p-please let me go! I-I'll be nice, I promise!" Rezo barely spoke.

"That's what I wanted to hear."

Zakira closed the hole and let Rezo fall on the floor. The Red Priest got up and and also took up the staff he had dropped. Now both Rezo and Zakira were face to face.

"Tell me Zakira, what are you after? Why did you bring me here?" Rezo asked.

"It wasn't I the one which ordered your bringing here, this was ordered by someone higher than me, if 'high' is possible in hell. You were brought here because my master, sir Lucy, wanted to see if you're worthy enough to rule over the Earth. For this he had requested a duel between the two of us."

"A duel, huh? And what would be the outcome of this duel, Zakira?"

"If you win, Rezo, you'll be sent back home with a minion of sir Lucy's as present and a little 'bonus' from me. But on the other hand, if I win, I will be the one going back and I will possess your body forever!"

Rezo then got angry. How dared a filthy demon decide to replace him with that ego-driven nazi, Zakira? He, Rezo, had worked to manage to rule the world. Everything he had done to reach the throne of the world had been done with his own work and the help of his minions. It was his right to be the leader. He couldn't let a blue creep steal the thing for which he had worked so much.

"Zakira, I challenge you to a duel!" Rezo said and took out his glowing deck.

"I accept, Rezo!" Zakira replied and took out his glowing deck as well.

Two dueling tables appeared out of the red fires of hell. Rezo and Zakira put their decks on them and rose up their shields, the duel starting. All the evil geniuses surrounded them to see the two facing each other.

"I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight." Zakira said.

"I summon Bloody Squito." Rezo said.

"I cast Magic Shot – Glory Gate and reveal the top three cards from my deck." Zakira said and three cards got up from his deck and revealed themselves. The cards were Light Divine Dragon Spell Del Fin, Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor and Terror Pit. "Since Nero Gryphis is the only Knight, I'll take him to my hand. And now Knight Magic - since Bloody Shadow is a Knight I'll use Glory Gate's effect once again." this time the cards revealed were Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit, Diamond Glorious, Light Divine Dragon and King Balcry, the Demonic Eye Lord. "King Balcry is the only Knight, so he goes to my hand, and the rest go to the end of my deck. Your turn."

"I summon Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast."

"I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation which will give 3000 power to all my blockers, Bloody Shadow now having 7500 power."

"Heh, you're finished! Mad Deck Evolution! I shall reveal the top three cards from my deck!" Rezo said and revealed the cards which were Fernando the 7th, Emperor of Mystic Light, Terror Pit and Miraculous Meltdown. "I evolve Fernando into Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God and the other two cards go to my graveyard. Meteorburn - I'll send Fernando to the graveyard and cast a spell from my mana zone for no cost! I cast Grudge Gathering to destroy Bloody Shadow! Mad Romanoff, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg! I shall destroy Dark Division and also summon Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor for free!" Zakira said grinning as an angel knight wearing a shiny purple armor appeared behind him and roared. "Heh, and now it's my turn - I summon Bega, Decaying Vizier and gain a shield. Also, you'll discard a card."

Rezo discarded Dark Divison and stared angrily towards Zakira. The blue skinned man made an evil laugh and spoke:

"Nero Gryphis, double break his shields!"

To Zakira's surprise, Rezo didn't block. The Red Priest stood calm as Nero Gryphis created a powerful fire ball and casted it towards him breaking two of his shields.

"My turn, I cast Volcano Charger and destroy Murmur. Now , Mad Romanoff, take down his shield!"

"Tsh, time for you to see the power of Zakira, Red Priest!" Zakira said and showed a glowing card. "I summon Death Mendosa, Dragonic Baron of Death! Death Mendosa's effect will destroy your Bloody Squito. And now Nero Gryphis, destroy Mad Romanoff! Bega, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate!" Rezo said smiling. "I summon Death Circle, the Explosive Shadow! Now I destroy my Death Circle and your Death Mendosa! My turn, I cast Volcano Charger and destroy Bega. I also summon Inaba Geeze , the Explosive."

Zakira then grinned and his eyes shined redder. The blue skinned man was in advantage and Rezo knew it. Zakira showed a glowing card saying:

"I evolve Nero Gryphis into King Balcry, the Demonic Eye Lord! I attack with King Balcry and revive Death Mendosa which will destroy Inaba Geeze! King Balcry, break his final shields!"

A giant knight wearing a red armor and weilding a green lazor sword appeared behind Zakira and slashed Rezo's final shields. The Red Priest was clearly in danger now. Zakira made an evil laugh and the whole hell cheered him. Seeing how he lost his popularity, Rezo got really angry, but he calmed down as he saw the cards which were in his shields.

"Your glory time is over, Zakira!"

"What?" Zakira asked sweating.

"Grave Evolution, I evolve Fernando from my graveyard into Chester Romanoff, the Wicked God!" Rezo said and an eagle like knight with big horns and sharp teeth appeared behind him and roared. "Meteorburn! I'll send Fernando to my graveyard and cast a spell from it!"

"So what's so special about that?"

"I shall cast MIRACULOUS MELTDOWN!"

"Oh crap!"

"Miraculous Meltdown makes you choose one of your shields for each shield I have, and the shields you haven't chosen will be broken. But since I have no more shields, all your shields will be broken!"

Zakira took cover as lots of chains with spears and bat wings in the front appeared out of nowhere and struck all his shields. To the blue man's bad luck, none of the shields were shield triggers. It was over, he had lost.

"Chester Romanoff, the Wicked God, todomeda!" Rezo ordered and Chester Romanoff flew towards Zakira and hit him hard.

Zakira flew a few meters and landed on the floor. The evil geniuses from hell were all applauding and congratulating Rezo for the victory. Zakira got up and walked towards Rezo. Instead of being angry, Zakira shook hands with Rezo in a friendly way.

"Good job, Rezo!" Zakira said. "You've earned my respect as well."

"Thanks, Zakira. Now what's the reward you were talking about?" Rezo asked.

Suddenly, Rezo was teleported along with Zakira to the tunnel filled with smoke in front of the gates of hell. Rezo looked around amazed of what had happened.

"What's going on, Zakira?"

"Here's the 'bonus' from me, Rezo." Zakira said and handed Rezo his King Balcry, Demonic Eye Lord card. "I think it fits more in your deck. Mine already has lost its Romanoff the 1st and Death Dragerion. I don't think that King Balcry would fit in it anymore."

"Thanks a lot, Zakira!" Rezo replied and took the card. "Now what's the reward?"

Suddenly, Shagrath's chariot came back. Zakira pointed towards Shagrath and said:

"From now on Shagrath will be your minion."

"This guy, my minion?" Rezo asked surprised. "Does he even know to duel?"

"Yes I do. I also have a deck." Shagrath said and showed a deck surrounded by an incredibly evil dark aura.

"Heh, fine, I accept this reward!" Rezo said and got in the chariot. "Thanks for everything, Zakira!"

"Good luck on your world domination, Rezo!" Zakira said while waving to the chariot which started moving away from hell.

When he could see Zakira no more, Rezo turned his back and saw how he was approaching the entrance gates from the second tunnel. When those gates opened, Rezo saw a bright light and closed his eyes.

When Rezo opened his eyes he was back in his bed. The Red Priest got up from his bed and walked to the balcony. He stared outside and saw planet Earth and the whole universe.

"Was it all a dream?" he asked himself.

"If it was a dream, then why are you holding that card in your hands?" a voice from the darkness asked.

Rezo looked in his hand and saw the King Balcry card which was given from Zakira. The Red Priest turned his back and saw Shagrath in the real world. Rezo smiled evily and spoke to him:

"So it wasn't a dream."

"It was as real as you and me." Shagrath replied.

"Excellent! Welcome to my team, Shagrath!" Rezo said and opened the doors of his throne chamber. "Come, I have to introduce you to the others."

And so Rezo and Shagrath left to find the rest of the servants from the castle. With the hellish support of Shagrath, Rezo's army was almost invincible. Would our heroes stand a chance against them?


	29. A day at the hotsprings

It was a nice sunny day at the Fijimura hotspirngs . The resort seemed calm and peasful , even though Rezo's minions were now killing all the duelists in the world and evreyone knew it . The reason why no one was scarred was because the minions of Rezo were now in Ukraine and were slowly moving towards the Atlantic Ocean , meaning that Japan was safe for some time .

" At last ! We're here ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Hell yeah , the Fijimura hotsprings ! " Sora added .

The girls were crazy about hotsprings as always , the boys thought . Still , Rad and Edo were amazed of the big dimensions of the hotspring resort . The whole thing must've been really important if people wasted their money to create such a modern place , especially since Japan was well known for its traiditionalist ways . Subaru on the other hand was extremely tired . All that stress he had to face due to Rezo was really starting to bring him down .

At Kokujo's UFO there was finally some peace and quiet . Without the five duelists , Kokujo and doctor Root could concentrate on their stuff better . But instead of working on finding a way to stop Rezo , Root was thinking at the chosen duelists .

" I think they've arrived by this time . " Root spoke to himself . " At last they'll all get some well deserved relaxation . And to think of the situation : a boy , a girl and some hotsprings . That's it , Subaru and Tsugumi might actually do what they wre supposed to do ninety years ago ! Who knows , I may become an uncle soon... "

" More like a great-grandfather . " Kokujo spoke from the door .

" Kokujo , you almost scarred me ! "

" Tsh , you're just getting old , doctor . Oh , and here's some news which I've found out from my sources : Subaru's father has been brought back to life , I don't know how , and now he's almost at the Fijimura hotsprings ! "

" W-what ?! " Root exclaimed . " Subaru's father... alive ? And going towards the same hotspring as his son ?? Oh great , my plans are ruined ! If Subaru and his dad were to clash head on... God , help us all ! "

Back at the hotsprings . A black haired man about the age of forty-nine was sitting in a hotspring pool relaxing . Then a blonde girl about the age of twenty came to him and disturbed him from his bath saying :

" Sir , I'm sorry for disturbing , but five youngsters about the age of sixteen had come to the hotel , as you asked me to inform . "

" I see , is one of them a boy with black hair like mine , only that his is long to the neck , and which has brown eyes ? "

" Yes , sir . "

" Thanks for informing me , miss ! " the man said and got out of the pool with his towel on .

The man was taller than her and had well trained muscles . He walked to the chair where he had put his clothes and took out some money which he gave to the girl .

" And here's your bonus . "

" Thank you very much , sir ! " the girl replied and left .

The hotel was modern , yet decorated in old japanese style . Paintings with the sun , the moon , waterfalls , forests , medieval japanese cities , etc were almost evreywhere . Vases with the finest japanese flowers were on evrey table , even on eating ones . If it wouldn't be for the cyber walking streets from outside or the virtual screens , computers and robots from inside , you would think that you were in medieval Japan .

The chosen duelists had tickets for only two rooms : one for Tsugumi and Sora and the other for Subaru , Edo and Rad . After they had unpacked all their stuff in the room , they all decided to go for some nice long baths .

After putting their swimsuits on , Sora and Tsugumi went to the baths from the hotel immediately . The hotel had a spa filled with all sorts of baths . You could hardly choose in which you want to go first .

" It's full of baths ! " Sora said amazed . " Not even at the natural hotsprings from the mountains have I seen such wonders ! "

" Ok , lets enter them all and get really pretty ! " Tsugumi suggested .

And so , the two girls began their hotspring bath quest . First they entered some pools with a normal hotspring baths . Then they hit the jacuzzis and waterfalls . And finally , after taking baths in ALL the pools they had found , the two girls had a long nice sauna therapy .

" Tsugumi-chan , do you think that we've missed something ? " Sora asked .

" Not at all , I've checked the map of the hotel three times ! The only thing which we've missed were the outdoor baths , but I prefer to take them later at night . " Tsugumi replied

Meanwhile , Subaru went to the men's locker room . There he took off his kimono and put on his towel . Afterwards he walked to the door which led to the outdoor bath saying :

" Real men just shut up and hit the outdoor bath ! "

As he opened the door , Subaru saw Edo which was already in the bath .

" I see that someone has finally learned from me ! " Edo said smiling .

" Edo-kun , you were faster than me , no fair ! " Subaru replied and entered the bath . " But yeah , you were totally right , only girls would run in all those baths inside like they would be some sort of fashion shops . Real men just chill down and have a nice outdoor bath ! "

" But I love the jacuzzis ! " Rad shouted from a window of the hotel . " And I also love the hydromassage pools and waterfalls and... "

Subaru and Edo laughed of Rad's pathetic situation . The boy had made a fool out of himself in front of them .

A few hours later the sun was setting . Tsugumi , Sora and Rad had finished their baths and were now heading towards the restaurant dressed in their kimonos .

" Man , I'm hungry . " Rad said .

" Yeah , isn't it about dinner time ? " Sora asked .

" By the way , I wonder what's Subaru up to . He's been acting strange ever since we arrived at the hotsprings . " Tsugumi spoke with a little worried voice .

Subaru and Edo were sitting relaxed in the pool talking about new dueling strategies , about what new jokes were out there and sometimes , when they felt the need , to talk about what would happen when they would fight Rezo again . Subaru then got up from the pool saying :

" I think that we're done for now with the baths , Edo-kun . We'll continue our chat at the restaurant , but for now , let's go and eat something ! "

" Agreed , let's go ! " Edo replied .

After changing back in their kimonos , Subaru and Edo headed towards the restaurant . But on their way , they met the black haired man from earlier which was standing by a table waiting for them . As he saw him , Subaru got a bit shocked . But the black haired boy calmed down and he gave the man a cold stare .

" Father... " Subaru spoke .

" Son... " the man replied .

" W-what ? " Edo asked confused . " Subaru , you're over one hundred years , how come your father is still alive ? "

" I don't know , but I'll find out ! " Subaru said and pushed Edo back gently . " Stand back , Edo-kun , this is gonna get ugly ! "

Subaru made a few steps towards his father and spoke with arrogance in his voice :

" Heh , when did you claw your way back from hell ? "

" A few days ago , but don't try to look as if you missed me , you idiot ! " Subaru's father replied with a cold voice .

" Just how many years did you spend in hell ? I bet that after you threw me out of the family , your life was shortened with about two decades ! Hehehe , if that's true , then God must have made the biggest justice ever ! " Subaru laughed .

" Don't be so overconfident , Subaru ! I did the right thing by kicking you out of the family ! " Subaru's father spoke with a serious voice . " You've ignored my and your mother's advices and used the darkness cards and you've also prooved to the rest of the family that all the years in which we've trained you to become a powerful duelist were useless ! Your cousin had defeated you with ease and... "

" Tsh , your babbling dosen't work anymore on me ! That was the past , now I am much stronger ! " Subaru said and took out his glowing deck . " If I must , I will show you how much I can kick your ass ! "

" Fool . To think that you'd get so overconfident just because you're one of the chosen duelists ! " Subaru's father replied and took out his glowing deck as well .

Both were sweating hard , but that didn't matter . They were ready to fight to the death . Two dueling tables suddenly appeared out of the floor and the duel began .

" I summon Deadly Fighter Braid Claw ! " Subaru's father said .

" I summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! " Subaru said .

" I summon Jasper of Obstinacy and now Braid Claw break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Braid Claw ! Also , gravity zero , I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! Now my turn , I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and break one of your shields with Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! "

" Shield trigger , I cast Hell Scrapper and destroy Bloody Shadow ! And now my turn , I summon Pyrofighter Magnus ! "

" You're pretty quick for an old geezer , dad ! " Subaru said .

" You've gotten faster in the past years , Subaru ! " the father replied .

Suddenly , Tsugumi appeared out of nowhere and saw what was going on . She then asked Edo who was the man which Subaru was dueling and when she got the answer , she was shocked , because Subaru had described his father to her as a very mean person .

" Their duel isn't doing good to this hotel ! Evrey shield shard is scratching the walls of is breaking the valuable objects . We've got to stop them somehow ! " Tsugumi said .

" But how ? If we dare to interfeer , we'll most likely need two coffins and some flowers ! " Edo replied sweating .

" Ike , Jasper , break his shield ! " the father ordered .

" Block it , Maxval ! " Subaru said .

" Jasper goes to my hand if destroyed , and now Magnus , break his shield ! "

Subaru took cover as the creature smashed one of his shields into pieces . The boy made a few steps back as the shield shards sorrounded him . As he was about to take the card to his hand , an announce was given through the speakers of the hotel :

" Dear guests , we announce you that there are only fifteen minutes left until the restaurant closes . If you won't reach it now , then you won't eat dinner tonight ! We thank you for the understanding . Have a nice night ! "

The duel then stopped . The shields and creatures disappeared . Subaru and his father packed up their deck and looked at eachother with anger in their eyes .

" I can kick the hell outta you any time I want . " the father said .

" Tsh , but you put food on the first place . " Subaru replied with discust in his voice .

" You got lucky . "

" No , you did , daddy . The next time we will meet will be the last . "

Subaru's father left from the dueling place having Edo and tsugumi stare at him amazed . Subaru walked to his friends and spoke with a bored voice :

" I'm hungry , let's eat . "

Edo and Rad asked for their dinner to be brought upstairs at their room , because Subaru didn't want to go to the restaurant because his father was there . After eating , Subaru sat relaxed on his bed while Rad was watching TV and Edo was still eating .

" I never woud've believed that your dad would come back to life , Subaru . " Rad said . " And also to come exactly at the same hotspring as ours , the coincidence is too big ! "

" I wonder whose 'great' idea was to bring this bastard back . " Subaru replied .

" Um , Subaru , I know that you and your dad have your problems , but maybe would you consider to... "

" Not another word , Edo-kun ! " Subaru said and got up from his bed . " I'll never make peace with that bastard , not after what he had done to me ! "

Subaru then got up and went back to the baths . Edo and Rad decided that they wanted to check out the arcade games room . On their way , Edo and Rad met Tsugumi and Sora .

" Hey , girls , where are you going ? " Rad asked .

" To the outdoor baths , of course . " Sora replied . " These are the only baths in which we haven't been . "

" Yeah , and I've also seen Subaru's father go there . Maybe I'll be able to talk a bit with him . " Tsugumi said .

" OH MY GOD , SUBARU'S ALSO HEADING TOWARDS THE OUTDOOR BATHS !!!! " Edo yelled .

Then they could hear the sounds of shields breaking and creatures roaring . The four rushed towards the locker rooms as fast as they could .

" I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness ! " Subaru said and put the top five cards of his deck to the graveyard . " Since I have three demons in my graveyard , Black Lucifer will get 3000 more power ! And now Chemical Protege , the Finest Sublimity God , double break his shields ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Chemical Protege back to your hand ! "

" I take Chemical back to my hand and Protege stays ! Also , Protege untaps at the end of my turn ! Let's see what you've got , old man ! "

Tsugumi , Edo , Rad and Sora all rushed in and found Subaru and his father dueling . They were late yet again .

" I summon Battle Attacking Dragon Rider Dorvolan ! " the father said . " Dorvolan will destroy your Protege and send your Black Lucifer back to your hand ! And now Dual Shock Dragon , double break his shields ! "

" Block it , Maxval ! " Subaru said sweating .

" Antoinette , Beautiful Battle Dragon Princess , break his shield ! Then Magnas , Electro-Knight , break his shield ! Your luck ends here , failure ! "

" Enough playing around ! " Subaru said and took the broken shields to his hand . " Shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Dual Shock Dragon ! Now it's time to send you back in hell , old man ! I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight and cast Inferno Sign to revive Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! With Olzekia's effect I'll destroy my Bloody Shadow and your Antoinette and Magnas ! "

" When Antoinette is destroyed , I'll discard my hand and draw the same number of cards ! " the father said and discarded two cards which were Deadly Fighter Braid Claw and Jasper of Obstinacy and then drawing two other cards . " You can regret your disobeyance and weep your weakness in the darkness once you're dead ! I summon Tick Tick , Swift Viral Swordfighter and Cocco Lupia ! Dorvolan , break his final shields ! "

Subaru took cover as his final shields got broken into lots of shield shards . His father was about to finish him off , but he tried to keep his calm .

" Tick Tick , Viral Swordfighter , totome... "

" Shield trigger activate... " Subaru said smiling . " I cast... "

Then another announce went through the speakers :

" Attention to all our customers ! The baths are closing in one hour ! If you're going to use one , then please hurry ! "

Once again the shields and creatures disappeared meaning that the duel stopped . Subaru and his father packed their decks again .

" I can kick the hell outta you any time I want . " the father said .

" But you refuse to go to bed filled up with sweat and stress from this duel . " Subaru found the excuse which his father was going to use .

" Exactly ! You got lucky again , kid . "

" The next time we meet will REALLY be your end , daddy ! "

Outside it was a nice calm night . The weather started showing signs that spring was approaching at last . The snow was almost molten and the air wasn't that cold anymore . Still , in those hotsprings you felt like it was summer , not winter . At the men's side of the hotsprings there were only three men left . A random guy , a strange guy which stood in a corner and Subaru . The random guy left after a short time and Subaru was left with the strange dude .

" Hotsprings are great . All your tiredness and worries just float away . " the strange man spoke .

" Is there something you're worried about ? " Subaru asked .

" Not really , just dealing with a problem son . "

" You too ? In my case it's a dad . "

" A brat who dosen't know his place . " the strange man said .

" A selfish geezer which refuses to admit that he's getting old . " Subaru replied .

" A kid with his hair long almost almost like his fails which are only a bit longer . "

" A heartless dictator which thinks that the whole family will do whatever he says . "

" A failure son which has no more reason to exist . "

Subaru then got up and turned towards the strange man with anger . The strange man also got up and revealed his face . He was his father , as he had expected him to be .

" You're ready , aren't you ? "

" The question is , are you ready , Subaru ? " the father replied and showed his glowing deck which was lying on a rock .

" Uh oh , wait a minute ! " Subaru said and ran into the hotel .

In a few minutes the boy came back with his deck which he had left in the locker room .

" Pathetic and clumsy as always . " the father said bored .

" We'll see about that , dad , this time you're going down for good ! " Subaru replid and his deck started glowing .

" SHIELDS UP !!! " both shouted .

Rad and Edo then came out of the hotel ready to enter the outdoor baths . The two were shocked to see that once again they were too late . Subaru and his father had begun yet another duel , and this time nothing could stop them .

Meanwhile , at the wemen's outdoor baths . Tsugumi and Sora were having an incredible time in the hotspring pool . They were feeling as if they were reborn .

" And with this bath we can officially say that we've been in ALL the baths from this hotel . " Tsugumi said smiling .

" Yeah , these baths are heavenly ! " Sora replied . " Tsugumi-chan , what do you think that will happen when we return ? "

" What do you mean what , Sora-chan ? We're gonna keep fighting Rezo . "

" Yeah , but , Tsugumi-chan , last time he had managed in tricking us and we've almost lost you . I don't want this to ever happen again ! "

" Don't worry , Sora-chan , I'll be more cautious next time . It takes more than a crazy red witch to bring me down ! "

Then both girls heared strange noises . For a moment they thought that those noises were some tourists , but when they payed more attention they realised that those noises were the sounds of shields breaking , creatures roaring and Subaru and his father shouting against eachother .

" Oh no , Subaru is at it again ! " Sora said and swam towards the wall which was separating the wemen's outdoor bath from the men's outdoor bath . " Tsugumi-chan , do you think that we could peek ? "

Tsugumi didn't even listen to Sora . She got up from the bath , put a towel on her and ran to the other side where she met Rad and Edo which were watching the duel .

" How's Subaru doing ? " she asked .

" Pretty bad since he had a slow start . " Edo replied sweating .

" Break his shield , Pyrofighter Magnus ! " Subaru's father ordered and a red lizard wearing cosmic clothes rushed towards the black haired boy and broke one of his shields

" Grr... now you've done it ! " Subaru replied with an angry voice . " Shield trigger activate , I cast Emergency Typhoon ! I'll draw two cards and discard Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! Gravity Zero , I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight for free ! Now my turn , I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and end ! "

" I summon Cocco Lupia and Deadly Fighter Braid Claw ! "

" I cast Inferno Sign and bring Olzekia , General of Decapitation to the battlezone from my graveyard ! Olzekia's effect will destroy your two creatures and my Bloody Shadow ! Heh , let's see how you like this , daddy ! This will make you regret the very moment you've turned me against you ! "

" You fool ! All I've done was for your good ! The reason why you're now in this situation is because of your stubborness ! I summon Magnas , Electro-Knight to destroy Maxval and make me look at one of your shields ! "

" My stubborness , father ? My stubborness ? You were torturing me with all those 'royal' rules of our family's and you were too blind to see that I wasn't happy at all ! If you think that you've done only good to me , then you really don't know your child ! I summon Demonic Holy Spirit , Auzesu ! "

" I do know you better than anyone will ever do , Subaru ! You needed to see how cruel life was and I see that you still need this ! I summon Totto Pippichi and Pyrofighter Magnus ! Break his shield , Magnus ! "

" Time to show you what do you get if you make me suffer ! " Subaru said with an evil smile on his face . " I evolve Olzekia into BALLOM EMPEROR , LORD OF DEMONS ! "

A giant gray goat demon with two heads and lots of hands appeared behind Subaru and roared . His father stared at Ballom Emperor which fired a powerful beam and destroyed all his creatures .

" BALLOM EMPEROR , SHOW HIM WHAT IT IS TO SUFFER THE WAY I DID ! " Subaru shouted and pointed towards his father . " MAKE HIM PAY FOR EVREYTHING !!! "

Subaru's dad took cover as Ballom Emperor fired a powerful lazor and broke two of his shields . The lazor also burned a bit his skin , but just a bit . The man got up fast and took the two cards in his hand saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! Send Auzesu back to your hand ! "

" Tsh... " Subaru murmed .

" If that's your way of releiving your pain , Subaru , then let me show you how weak you are ! " the father said and showed a glowing card . " I summon Bolmeteus , Steel Dragon ! "

A giant blue robotic dragon climbed down from the sky and landed in the water behind Subaru's father . The duel was really intense now .

" Bolmeteus , Steel Dragon . Subaru told me that that was his father's trump card ! " Tsugumi said .

" It seems that he still kept the old thing . " Edo replied .

" Tsugumi , I noticed something . "

" What is it , Rad ? "

" Through this duel , besides fighting , Subaru and his father have been confessing their feelings to eachother . "

" Yeah , it seems that they aren't able to talk to eachother , so they prefer to duel instead . It's like they let the creatures do the talking ! " Tsugumi said . " Good luck , Subaru ! "

Subaru stared at the mighty Bolmeteus amazed . He was now remembering the moments when he saw his father use this great dragon in duels . Ever since Subaru was a kid he admired his father for the style he had used in dueling , and when he used Bolmeteus he was impressing his son even more .

" Bolmeteus , Steel Dragon... " Subaru spoke while staring at the dragon .

" You still remember him I see . What's the matter ? Never thought that you'd face him or that you'd face me in a duel ? " the father asked .

" Tsh , bring it on , I'm now afraid of an iron lizard ! "

" If you say so . Aqua Surfer , break his shield ! Hehe , only two shields left , Subaru ! "

" I summon Hard Demon of Inferno , Biragias ! Biragias's effect will make Aqua Surfer lose 3000 power and die ! Ballom Emperor , take down two more of his shields ! "

Ballom Emperor roared and created another lazor ball which he casted towards Subaru's dad breaking two more of his shields .

" What's wrong , old man ? Ran out of stamina ? You really should retire after passing a certain age ! " Subaru laughed .

" Shut up , I won't lose to a kid ! Especially not to you ! " the father replied .

Subaru's dad took the two cards in his hand and said :

" Shield trigger , I cast Hell Scrapper and destroy Biragias ! This is it , Subaru , you're finished ! I summon Pyrofighter Magnus ! Bolmeteus , throw his final shields to the graveyard ! "

Subaru took cover as Bolmeteus roared and fired two powerful lazors from the guns which were located on its wings . The lazors stroke his final shields destroying them , and the cards which were in the shields went to the graveyard . The cards were Bega , Decaying Vizier and Terror Pit .

" THAT'S IT ! YOU'RE ALL MINE ! " Subaru's dad yelled . " PYROFIGHTER MAGNUS , TOTOMEDA !!! "

The red lizard wearing cosmic clothes ran towards Subaru and was ready to slash him with its sharp hand . Subaru stood with his eyes closed , but then he opened them with a certain look in them . Subaru's father was shocked for a second . Subaru's brown eyes were making him remember of his wife , whom had died decades ago . He felt her spirit inside his heart him for a moment , and she was telling him to spare their son . But it was too late , he had already attacked . Subaru then smiled and said :

" Surprise , daddy ! Ninja Strike 7 , I summon Hanzou , Menacing Phantom ! "

" W-what the ? " the father asked shocked .

" Hanzou will make your Magnus lose 6000 power and die ! " Subaru said smiling as his father's creature blew up before it could reach him . " Hehe , I guess that it was worth it to change my family name to the name of this creature , Hanzou ! "

" Shut up , you were never worthy of our family name ! "

" This all ends now , father ! I summon Gajirabute , Vile Centurion and throw your final shield to the graveyard ! "

A blue demon with angel wings appeared from the sky and flew towards Subaru's father . The demon hit the man's last shield with its lightning sword and destroyed it . The card which was in the shield was Aqua Surfer , which was a shield trigger , but shield triggers which go to the graveyard cannot be activated .

" DIE ! BALLOM EMPEROR , FINISH HIM OFF , TOTOMEDA !!! " Subaru yelled and Ballom Emperor fired a powerful lazor which threw his father a few meters away and made him land on the shore of the hotspring .

Tsugumi , Edo , Rad and Sora were all amazed . Subaru had defeated his father !

" Is it over ? " Tsugumi asked .

" I can't believe it , such a strong fire duelist lost to him ! " Rad added .

Subaru approached his father which was lying on the ground breathing hard . Ballom Emperor had hurt him hard , but the hotsprings managed to make his body resistent for a defeat in a duel . An expression which showed mercy appeared on Subaru's face . The black haired boy reached his hand towards his father meaning to help him get up .

" Subaru ? " Tsugumi spoke amazed .

Subaru's father opened his eyes and saw the hand . When he looked up he saw his son looking at him with the same brown eyes which reminded him of his wife and Subaru's mother . The man grabbed his son's hand and Subaru pulled him up .

Tears of joy appeared in Tsugumi's eyes . Finally , after all this time , Subaru and his father had finally managed to solve their problems and make peace .

" They did let the creatures talk for them ! " Tsugumi said smiling .

Suddenly , Subaru's eyes became colder and the boy tripped his father with his left foot . The man fell on the ground hurt . Subaru then stepped on him with his right foot and said with satisfaction in his voice :

" Die , old geezer , die already ! "

As she saw that , Tsugumi ran to Subaru and yelled to him :

" ARE YOU CRAZY OR WHAT ?! "

" What's the matter ? " Subaru asked the girl and stepped off from his father .

" How can you even ask that ? What was that ? That was totally cheating , making it look like you were going to solve things peacefully and then beating him up ! "

" Hehe , now this is something new from me , now isn't it ? "

" Don't take pride in it , Subaru ! Why must you be so , so... "

" It's not worth crying over , is it ? "

" Just shut up ! How much of a loser are you ? Aren't you embarrased as a person ? "

" Not a bit . " Subaru said smiling and raised his head up like a proud lion .

" Then try being a bit embarrased ! " Tsugumi yelled and wiped the tears off her eyes .

Suddenly , a powerful fist moved was through the air and hit the cheek of the proud Subaru which was now resting on his laurels . The black haired boy flew a few meters away and landed on the ground . The victorious lion had been turned into a defeated sheep . Tsugumi turned her back and saw that the one which punched Subaru was none other than his father .

" Your finish is weak as usual . If you don't finish them off for good , you'll end up crying later . "

" S-sir... " Tsugumi tried to speak to the man .

" Why you little... " Subaru said and got up with some scratches on his face . " How dare you ? "

" I can kick the hell outta you any time I want . " the father said . " But one more duel and we'll destroy the hotel . You got lucky . "

As Subaru's father left , the wall which was separating the men's bath from the wemen's bath fell . Luckily there weren't any other people in the outdoor baths .

Later that night , Tsugumi had come into the boy's room and was left alone with Subaru . She was healing his wounds with what she had found in the medical suitcase which doctor Root had given to Subaru for Christmas . Obviously , Subaru didn't want her to waste her time with healing him , but she insisted on doing it .

" Come on , don't move . I'm healing you up , so stay still . " Tsugumi said while putting a bandage on Subaru's nose .

" I never asked you to , my dear . " Subaru replied with a tired voice .

" I can't leave you with your cheeks all swelled . "

" Damn that old man , getting mad just cos I beat the shit out of him in a duel . He's a big pain in the neck . "

" Is he ? "

" Of course he is , do you think I enjoy facing a monster like him without getting paid ? Gimme some prize money , you old bastard ! "

" But you seemed to enjoy it . " Tsugumi said .

" Only the duel . What I've did after the duel was something which I should've done years ago when he banished me from the family . I didn't have the strength then , but now I have it ! " Subaru said and looked at his right hand . " Back then , I thought I'd never be able to beat him . Hell , I thought I wouldn't even manage to break one of his shields ! "

Meanwhile , at Subaru's father . The man was lying down on the bed from his room and was being healed by the same blonde girl from before .

" I'm deeply sorry for the trouble , miss . " Subaru's father said .

" Don't worry about it , sir . " the blonde girl replied ." But for your son to manage to defeat you in a duel... You must be a very proud father . "

" No , he's still untrained . I don't think that he's ready to face Rezo , the Red Priest and his powerful army . He and the other chosen duelists still have a long way to go ! "


	30. A witch named Tabitha

Storm clouds were gathered above the next city which was falling under the control of Rezo's minions . Xanagazu and the vassal were taking care of the duelists from the eastern side of the city , the army of clones was taking care of south and north and Ichiro and Hanna were taking care of the western side of the city .

" Grave Evolution ! " Ichiro said smiling . " I summon Death March , Reaper of Death ! "

Ichiro's opponent started sweating and stared scarred towards the boy .

" Supernova Death Dragerion , break his final shields ! " Ichiro ordered and Death Dragerion fired three beams from its mouths and broke his opponent's last two shields .

" Sh-shield trigger , I cast Tornado Flame and destroy Death March ! " the boy said sweating and trembling . " Please have mercy , sir , I haven't done anything wrong ! "

" All those which aren't on Lord Rezo's side would most likely rise against him sooner or later . I shall never allow it ! " Ichiro said . " Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper , totomeda ! "

A blue demon with a bull skull head slashed the boy in two with its red sword . Ichiro sighed , because none of the duelists he killed were real challenges . The boy turned to Hanna to see how her duel was going on .

" I evolve Astinos , White Knight Spirit into White Knight Ulphas , Lord of Spirits ! " Hanna said and a golden angel wearing a metal armor filled with precious jewels appeared behind her . " Aldora , White Knight Spirit , break his final shields ! "

A giant angel which had the size of a spaceship fired all its weapons and broke the opponent's last three shields . The boy fell on his back scarred and waited for his death to come .

" White Knight Ulphas , totomeda ! " Hanna ordered and the creature fired a powerful lazor ball burning the boy to ashes .

The girl packed her cards and after that she went through her long blue hair with her hand and closed her eyes . Another day of killing duelists in the name of Rezo had passed . She was tired and she wanted to go back to Rezo's castle to get some rest .

" Are you alright , Hanna ? " Ichiro asked and walked to the girl .

" I don't know , Ichiro , I feel very cold . " the girl replied and hugged herself with both her hands . " It's like something big is going to happen . "

" Don't be silly , what on Earth could possibly happen ? "

A lightning then stroke from the heavens . The powerful white beam fell in front of the two . Ichiro and Hanna were amazed of seeing the shiny weapon of Zeus which could have killed them if they were a step further .

" Oh my... what's going on ? " Ichiro asked .

" I don't know , but it's not good at all ! " Hanna replied while trembling .

The girl knew that something evil was coming . But she didn't knew if that evil would be on their side or just working for itself . As the lightning beam disappeared , lots of smoke appeared . Ichiro and Hanna coughed and covered their mouths . Even though the smoke was think , they could distinguish a strange figure get up from the ground .

" H-hey... who are you ? " Hanna asked while coughing .

The strange figure wave his or her hand and a powerful wind blew towards them and cleared the smoke . Ichiro and Hanna saw a lady between fifty – sixty years with long blonde curly hair , blue eyes and wearing some fancy clothes for her age .

" Now that smoke gave you some troubles , young ones . " the old lady said .

" Hey , lady , who do you think you are to come here all of a sudden and risk our lives with a lightning ? " Ichiro spoke irritated . " Who are you ? The wizard of Oz ? "

" Hehe , something like that , dear . You see , I am the fearsome witch , Tabitha Lenox ! "

" And what do you want ? Why did you come here ? " Hanna demanded .

" I've come here because I knew that you two are Rezo's servants . I want to meet the Red Priest right now ! Tell me where is he , you brats ! "

" Now you've gone too far , lady ! If you think that we're gonna tell you where Lord Rezo is just because you were unpolite with us and all of a sudden want to meet the ruler of this planet , then you must be totally nuts ! " Ichiro said and took out his glowing deck . " Tabitha , I challenge you to a duel ! "

Tabitha then stared at him with a surprised expression on her face . The witch then got angry and fired a beam on Ichiro making the boy fly in the air .

" Ichiro !! " Hanna yelled and stared at him .

" Heeeeelp ! Get me down from here , stupid hag !! " Ichiro screamed .

" I will ignore the fact that you've been rude to me and insulted me only if you tell me where Rezo is ! " Tabitha answered .

" Never ! I'll never reveal where our secret location is ! And especially not to you ! "

" Then you will float in the sky forever , boy ! " Tabitha replied and crossed her arms .

" No , please , no ! " Hanna begged . " Lord Rezo's castle is situated somewhere in the Earth's orbit . Now please , Tabitha , leave Ichiro alone ! "

" Tsh , fine . " Tabitha replied and snapped her fingers .

In a second Ichiro fell on Hanna , the position looking a bit suspicious . Tabitha laughed at the two and said :

" Hehehe , it seems that kids these days are eager about becoming parents earlier . Oh , the naivity of the youth these days ! "

" It's not what you think ! " Ichiro said blushing and got up .

" Heh , see ya later , brats ! I now have some important buisness to attend to . " Tabitha said and took out a broomstick .

The witch sat on her broomstick and flew away from the city . She headed directly towards the orbit . While flying on the broomstick with her hair floating in the air , she got a flashback in her mind :

_Great Britain , seventeenth century . Tabitha was running through the streets of London in the night along with Rezo which was blind by then . _

" _I can't believe it , Tabitha , I've passed the age of sixty , yet my body feels as if I'm still at twenty ! " Rezo spoke amazed ._

" _That's because of my magic , Rezo ! And now that I've thaught you how to cast the spell of Eternal Youth , you'll never grow older ! " Tabitha replied ._

" _I've always wanted to become soemone special in this world . And now I am , thanks to you . " _

" _There's no time for emotional moments , Rezo , we have a job to do ! " _

_The two rushed and in a few minutes they arrived at a big house . Tabitha then took out a deck and turned to Rezo saying :_

" _Now my services for you end , Rezo ! You're officially a duelist and sorcerer ! This deck which I'm now giving you is called Mad Rock Chester and there are only two copies in the world , both being in my posession . I'm giving you the original Mad Rock Chester deck and you may edit it as you please . Still , I want you to build your own deck and only use this one when you really need it , understood ? "_

" _Yes , Tabitha . " Rezo replied and took the Mad Rock Chester deck from her hands . " I promise you that I'll build a powerful deck and make you proud of me , just wait ! "_

" _Rezo , Rezo , if only we would meet again . After this night things will change forever ! " Tabitha thought and then spoke . " You remember the plan , right ? "_

" _Yes , you duel the girl with supernatural powers while I burn the house . "_

" _Good , now let's do it ! " _

_Tabitha entered the house looking for the girl while Rezo was using his powers to find some fuel to start a fire . The house was big , but Tabitha managed to find the girl she was looking for . She was Tsugumi's ancestor and reasembled her alot , but she was nineteen years old . The girl noticed Tabitha as soon as she entered the room ._

" _I know you ! " the girl exclaimed . " You're the evil witch which was after me and the man I love ! "_

" _Miserable creature , tonight I'll put an end to you once and for all , and then me and Rezo will be forever rid of the only one which would be able to stop us from bringing pain and suffering to the world ! " Tabitha spoke with a threatening tone in her voice and approached the blonde girl ._

" _Well here's some news for you , witch , I've made love with the boy I love exactly when I've turned eighteen , and now not only that our love is powerful , but we also have a girl ! My blood will be passed through generations and my powers of good will forever exist , no matter what you do ! It's over , Tabitha , you lost ! "_

_Tabitha then got really angry . She took out her wand and got a powerful beam ready to be casted ._

" _I'm gonna wipe you and your family off the face of the Earth ! "_

_Tabitha fired two lazor beams on the girl which fell on the floor hurt . The witch approached her and kept firing lazors saying :_

" _First I'll take care of you and then next will be your brat ! "_

" _NEVER !!! " the girl yelled and fired a powerful light beam which destroyed Tabitha's magic wand . " My powers are now bigger than ever , Tabitha ! I will destroy all forces of darkness , I will crush you once and for all ! "_

" _Okay , time for plan B . " Tabitha thought and then spoke while taking out her glowing deck . " I challenge you to a duel ! "_

" _Fine , I accept ! I will let my Angel Commands do the job instead of me ! " the girl replied and took out her deck as well ._

_Outside Rezo was looking for all the fuel he could find to start the fire . He had used his sixth sense gained from Tabitha's sorcery training and now he managed to teleport in his hands some matches and inflamable things such as dry tree branches . Rezo put all the inflamable stuff on the wall of the house and then set up the fire . _

" _Hehehehehe , say good bye , girly , once and for all ! " Rezo laughed ._

_Meanwhile , inside the house . Lots of turns had passed . The blonde girl had only Arissa , Apostle of the Holy Strike crossed by Neo Wave Catastrophe and one shield left while Tabitha had Horrid Worm and two shields left . It was the girl's turn ._

" _I evolve Arissa into Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits ! " she said and a giant golden robot angel appeared behind her and spread its beautiful white feathers in the house . " As long as Alcadeias is in the battlezone , we cannot cast spells which aren't light spells ! And since you have a darkness/fire deck... "_

" _Grr... " Tabitha murmed angrily ._

" _I attack with Alcadeias and use Neo Wave Catastrophe's effect ! I'll reveal the top three cards from my deck ! " the girl said and reveal three cards which were Aqua Super Emeral , Heaven's Gate and Glorious Heaven's Arm . " I send Aqua Super Emeral and Glorious Heaven's Arm to the bottom of my deck and cast Heaven's Gate for free ! With Heaven's Gate effect I'll bring Syforce , Aurora Elemental and Syrius , Firmament Elemental to the battlezone ! Alcadeias , break her final shields ! "_

_Tabitha took cover as her final shields got broken into pieces by two powerful lazor beams casted by Alcadeias . The shield shards united into two cards which she took into her hand ._

" _HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!! GIVE UP , YOU LOST !! " _

" _What ? " the girl asked ._

" _I summon Sir Virginia , Mystic Light Insect ! " Tabitha said smiling . " Sir Virginia allows me to return a creature from my graveyard to my hand , and if it's an evolution creature which shares the same race with him , I may summon it for free ! So I take back Chaos Worm and then evolve Horrid Worm into Chaos Worm for free ! "_

_The blonde girl made a step back scarred as a giant black worm with a big red mouth appeared in front of her and roared . _

" _Chaos Worm's effect will destroy your goody-two shoes Alcadeias ! " Tabitha said and Chaos Worm fired a lazor beam which made Alcadeias explode . " And now I cast Magic Shot – Critical Destroyer and destroy Syforce ! Knight Magic ! Since Sir Virginia is a Knight , I'll use Critical Destroyer's effect once again and destroy Syrius as well ! "_

" _Impossible ! " the girl spoke shocked as the two mighty Angel Commands behind her blew up easily . _

" _Chaos Worm , break her final shield ! " _

_The girl stood still as Chaos Worm flew through her last shield breaking it . She fastly tookt he shield shards which united into a card back to her hand . _

" _Shield trigger , I cast Spiral Gate and send Sir Virginia back to your hand ! " she said . " My turn , I summon Lord Reis , Spirit of Wisdom and draw a card , and then I'll also summon Mil Armor , Mecha King Vizier ! "_

" _Your time is over ! " Tabitha spoke victoriously . " Grave Evolution , I summon Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God ! Meteorburn , I send Bloody Squito , whom I evolved into Chester Romanoff to the graveyard and cast Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse ! Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse's effect will revive my Inaba Geeze , the Explosive and destroy Lord Reis ! Chester Romanoff , totomeda ! "_

" _Block it , Mil Armor ! " the girl said sweating ._

" _CHAOS WORM , FINISH HER OFF , TOTOMEDA !!! " Tabitha yelled ._

_The giant worm roared and casted a powerful lazor beam on the blonde girl which flew in the air burning and landed on the floor hurt . Event hough she was badly wounded , she tried to get up ._

" _Tabitha , you won't get away with it ! " she spoke weakened while getting up ._

" _Tsh , I admire your resistence , girl , but you're finished ! " Tabitha replied and turned her back to see the fire caused by Rezo approaching the room . " This whole house will burn to ashes and you will share its fate ! Hahahahahahaha !!! "_

" _I may have fallen tonight , Tabitha , but you won't lay a finger on my family ! " the girl said and with a big effort she threw a last beam on Tabitha . " This spell which I've casted on you will keep you distanced from my daughter and the man that I love for eternity ! You will NEVER be able to reach them or do them any harm directly or indirectly ! "_

" _Tsh , burn in hell , pathetic creature ! " Tabitha replied discusted and disappeared ._

_The blonde girl fainted on the floor as the fire sorrounded her and the entire house . Outside Rezo was waiting for Tabitha to come while he was enjoying the warmth and smell of the fire he had caused . Tabitha then flashed out of nowhere in front of Rezo . Sencing her presence , Rezo spoke :_

" _How did it go ? "_

" _I won the duel and she's unconcious on the floor . "_

" _Hahahaha , great , this means that our problems will be gone once and for all ! " Rezo laughed ._

" _Wrong , she had casted a spell on me which will keep me away from the boy she loves and her daughter which has her blood and has inherited her special powers . This is no good , if her daughter realizes her powers and I can't do anything to her , then I'm doomed ! " Tabitha spoke worried . " I'm sorry , Rezo , but I must go now ! "_

" _Go ? Where are you going , Tabitha ? " Rezo asked ._

" _I'll wander the world trying to bring more pain and suffering to others . But do not worry , Rezo , for we both have the spell of Eternal Youth casted on us . I think that we can wait for a few centuries until we meet again ! "_

The flashback ended as Tabitha sighed and stared to the stars . She was now entering the orbit and she had to look for Rezo's castle .

Meanwhile , at Rezo's castle . The Red Priest and Shagrath were sitting at the balcony plotting on their next move against the Earth's duelist inhabitants .

" And after Ichiro and the rest announce to me the taking over of cities from all the regions of the Earth and the deaths of their duelists , Kokujo and the chosen duelists will have no place to go ! They'll be forced to either face my powerful army , either surrender , and then I WILL PERSONALLY CRUSH THEIR BONES !!! "

" You've got one hell of an evil taste , Lord Rezo ! " Shagrath spoke amazed . " I must say , I'm glad that I'm in your team ! So , when do you think that I can join Ichiro and the rest on their quest of conquering cities and killing duelists ? "

" Most likely in their next mission... " Rezo said and then turned his sight to planet Earth only to see Tabitha and her broomstick . " What the... is that who I think it is ? "

" Huh ? Who is she ? " Shagrath asked .

" Shagrath , leave me alone a couple of moments , I have a guest to take care of ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! "

As Shagrath went back in the castle , Rezo took out his staff and made it flash first with a red light announcing Tabitha to stop in front of his castle and then with a green light to announce Tabitha to land at his balcony . The witch got the message and did as Rezo told her to do .

Tabitha's broomstick landed at Rezo's balcony and the witch got on her feet . She made the broomstick disappear and then turned to Rezo . He looked exactly as when she left him , the only difference being the fact that he had his eyes open . She was amazed of the colours of his eyes : blue and yellow .

Rezo on the other hand had never seen Tabitha until then , yet he knew it was her . When he was blind he had felt her powerful aura for lots of times and that was how he had always recognized her .

" Now who's this beauty which I see in front of me ? If it isn't my good old friend , Tabitha ! "

" Rezo , you crazy Red Priest , it's been far too long ! "

" I bet . We've got lots to tell to eachother , Tabitha , so why don't you enter my castle and have a cup of tea while chatting ? "

" You always knew how to take care of a woman , Rezo ! Come on , let's go ! "

And so , the two sorcerers went into Rezo's castle . The time they would spend together would bring them back old memories and new plans of ruling the world . Now besides Rezo and Shagrath , the team of the Red Priest also had the supernatural support of Tabitha as well , thus making them a much bigger challenge to Kokujo and the others than before . Would they have the power to defeat them ?


	31. Reflection, part 1

Rezo and Tabitha spent hours remembering their good ol' times and telling eachother what achievements they had made while they were apart . Rezo was feeling like he was in heaven . At last his life was complete : his eyes were open , the Proof of Duelmaster belonged to him , he was the ruler of the world , he had an invincible army and now his dear friend Tabitha was back to him . What more could he ask ?

Shagrath was standing outside the throne chamber listening to their conversation , and he started regretting it . All he could hear was how Rezo and Tabitha missed eachother and all the heart touching crap . But at least the stories about Tabitha's evil deeds made the whole worth it . Shagrath enjoyed to find out how Tabitha had brought plagues over countries , called crows to devour all the grains causing numerous famines and wiped civilisations off the face of the Earth through giant tsunamis or whild storms and erased them from people's memories . The only thought that this old blonde lady had caused the deaths of milions of people made him feel that with Tabitha , Rezo had hit the jackpot . And so it was , because after Rezo and Tabitha had finished their chat , they called Shagrath in the room .

Shagrath opened the doors and bowed in front of Rezo which was standing up in front of him while Tabitha was sitting at a table drinking some british tea .

" Why did you call me , Lord Rezo ? "

" Shagrath , we all know your special Black Metal powers ! " Rezo said . " I would like you to use them in combination with Tabitha's newest spell ! "

" Say what ? " Shagrath asked surprised . " B-but what's your plan , Lord Rezo ? "

" Remember that old song from your For All Tid album ? The one called The New Kingdom . "

" Oh , Det Nye Riket , yeah , what's with it ? "

" Shagrath , I need you to incantate the song's lyrics in english while Tabitha is casting her spell ! It is a spell which will work in four phases : phase 1 will bring back the dark memories of our enemies , phase 2 will weaken them while they're suffering from the grief of their memories , phase 3 will bring down the technology in the whole world for a few minutes which will lead to the final phase which will allow me to rebuild the places in this world the way I want ! " Rezo said and clunched his fists . " With this spell nothing will stop me ! The world shall be changed by my own will and nothing will stop me ! "

The expression on Rezo's face had darkened and his mouth showed a scarry evil grin . The Red Priest wasn't joking at all . What he was going to do would change the world as they all knew it .

Tabitha didn't even say a thing . She just walked to Rezo's bowl , added the ingredients she needed and fired lots of beams on the strange mixture . A dark purple smoke came out of the bowl and went towards planet Earth . The time had come ! Shagrath walked to the bowl and started enchanting the lyrics with a normal human voice which was filled with pain and sadness :

" Our hate shall win... Our evil shall grow... To fix itself in young souls . "

Suddenly , the sky on Earth turned from blue to red purple and the sun from golden yellow to blood red . The people on the Earth began to panic , but they knew that there was nothing they could do to stop the Red Priest . Now they were all at his mercy .

" The final war shall we win... And the blood of the good shall fall as rain... Their short souls shall be gathered together . " Shagrath continued with the same sad voice , but now filled with vengance .

On Earth a rain of blood started to fall on the whole planet and it destroyed all the cultures . Humans were running evreywhere screaming like rats trapped in a jar . That was the least they could do . Their futuristic homes couldn't protect them anymore , because the blood rain was falling through walls as well .

" We shall reign over chaos and everlasting night... We shall forget the womanly weak small mother... And end all ." Shagrath said and then turned his eyes to the window to see that the dark purple smoke also went through the sun and turned the blood red disc into a black one bringing an eternal night upon Earth . " A kingdom shall raise itself... In the ash of the burned homeland ." he continued and then started screaming . " THERE IS ONLY ONE MASTER RULER ! WE PAY TRIBUTE TO YOU , REZO , KING OF THE STRONG ! YOUR TIME HAS COOOOOOOOOME !!!!!! "

Red , orange and purple lightnings came out of the bowl and they stroke both Rezo and the Earth . Rezo yelled , but not because of pain , he was yelling because his power was growing much more . The Earth on the other hand was struck with lightnings so that it could start to make connection with Rezo's mind so that phases 3 and 4 could begin .

As the lightnings stopped , Rezo raised his head up and did a monstrous evil laugh .

" HAHAHAHAHAHA !!! And so , the final defeat of Kokujo and the chosen duelists begins ! There is no turning back now ! " Rezo spoke .

" I wish you were right , Rezo . " Tabitha thought . " There is only one way Kokujo and the chosen duelists can defeat the spell and that is if they manage to accept their pasts , thing which I fear that might happen , and then phases 1 and 2 will epicly fail ! "

Meanwhile , at Kokujo and his team . Rezo's spell had affected their UFO as well . The rain of blood was too much and it made the spaceship crash in the middle of a dark forest a few kilometers away from a beach .

Doctor Root and Rad were checking the UFO's engines to see if they were damaged while Sora was teaching Subaru , Tsugumi and Edo to get rid of their panic through meditation . The four were sitting crosslegged and with their eyes closed .

" That's good , now think about something really beautiful and concentrate at it with your eyes closed . Do not think at anything else and try to free yourself from your body . " Sora spoke .

" Psst , Edo-kun , do you know where Kokujo-kun is ? " Subaru whispered to Edo .

" I don't know , probably he's with doctor Root and Rad . " Edo whispered back .

" Subaru , Edo , SHUT UP AND CONCENTRATE ALREADY !!! " Sora yelled and threw a rock which hit Subaru's head and made the boy fell on the ground .

" At least I wasn't hit this time... " Edo thought .

Kokujo was wandering in the dark forest ignoring evreything which was going on . He was absored by the dark atmosphere , by the trees with fresh green leaves , by the crystal clean river and by the grass and rocks which were still stained with blood . The long haired boy was staring at the blood marks and then he spoke :

" This must be the place... "

In that moment the first phase of Tabitha's and Shagrath's spell had begun . Kokujo got a flashback in his mind about his childhood .

_It was a dark full moon night . A few weeks had passed since the Shinigamis were killed by Zakira . Now a nine year old Kokujo was running through the same forest because he was hunted down by special duelists hired by Zakira to do the dirty job of killing him . The little boy was now tired and stopped near a tree to rest . In his mind appeared the image of Kimera , the woman which was like a mother to him all those years he spent with the Shinigamis and her final words were rowing in his head : " Kokujo , you're just a child , you have not been able to choose the life you wanted to live . Please hide here and wait until you hear no more loud noises . Live , Kokujo , live for the sake of the Shinigamis ! " The little Kokujo bursted into tears and sobbed a bit without knowing that his hunters were close . In a few minutes he found himself sorrounded by lots of duelists wearing black robes ._

_" Hehehehe , give up , kid , your fate is sealed ! " one of the duelists said ._

_" No , if I must go down , then I will go down fighting in the name of the Shinigamis ! " Kokujo said and took out his glowing deck ._

_As the duelist in black robe accepted Kokujo's challenge , a strange man dressed in a white jacket and wearing a red kimono under it was standing on a hill watching what was going on . The wind was blowing through his long black hair while he was drinking mineral water from a bottle and observing the duel with a motionless face ._

_" I... I summon Kejila , the Hidden Horror and end ! " Kokujo said sweating , because he had never been used to a kaijudo duel ._

_" Hehehehe , and you expect to win using that pathetic deck ? " his opponent laughed . " I cast Bonds of Justice and tap all your blockers ! Now , La Ura Giga , suicide with Bloody Squito ! Also , Senatine Jade Tree , suicide with Baira , the Hidden Lunatic ! And of course , Ladia Bale , the Inspirational , double break his shields ! "_

_Kokujo took cover as his shields got broken by a giant spaceship like creature . The shield shards turned into cards and he took them both to his hand and said :_

_" Shield trigger activate , I cast Proclamation of Death and force you to destroy Ladia Bale ! "_

_The giant creature blew up as the duelist murmed something and gave Kokujo an angry stare . Kokujo then drew his next card , charged mana and spoke :_

_" I summon Zorvaz , the Bonecrusher and Propeller Mutant ! Kejila , double break his shields ! "_

_" Heh , time to show you how a real duelist plays , kid ! Shield trigger activate , I summon Kolon , the Oracle and tap Propeller Mutant ! My turn , I cast Sundrop Armor and add a card from my hand to my shields ! Also , I summon two Sarius , Vizier of Suppression ! Kolon , suicide with Propeller Mutant ! "_

_Zakira's henchman did a frightening evil laugh because he was in advantage . Kokujo layed his head down and stood motionless . He had no more energy to continue the duel and he was also losing ._

_" Come on , kid , don't give up now ! " the strange man from the cliff said in his mind ._

_Kokujo then looked at his dueling table and shyly began his next turn . The boy spoke with a scarred voice :_

_" I-I activate Kejila's s-silent s-s-skill a-and... double break your shields ! "_

_" Tsh... is that all you got ? " the opponent spoke bored ._

_Kokujo then slowly drew his next card and closed his eyes . When he opened them , he was surprised to see that he drew Ballom , Master of Death . The nine year old boy smiled and spoke with a confident voice :_

_" I evolve Zorvaz , the Bonecrusher into BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH !!!! "_

_A giant bird winged goat demon with blue skin and bone armor appeared behind Kokujo and roared towards all of Zakira's minions . The one which was facing Kokujo was the only one which got scarred tho . All his creatures got destroyed by Ballom's effect and he only had two shields left ._

_" Ballom , Master of Death , break his final shields ! " Kokujo ordered and Ballom roared and fired a power lazor ball towards the duelist breaking his final shields into pieces ._

_" I...I won't lose to a brat like you ! No...NEVER !!! Shield trigger activate , I summon Kolon , the Oracle ! My turn , I summon La Ura Giga , Sky Guardian and evolve him into LADIA BALE , THE INSPIRATIONAL !!!! " Zakira's henchman screamed and a giant spaceship like creature appeared behind him . " LADIA BALE , BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS NOW !!! "_

_Kokujo took cover as his final shields got broken into pieces . The attack was so powerful that Kokujo fell on his back weakened from the duel . He had lost way too much energy and he wasn't yet fully trained for kaijudo duels . His opponent was ready to finish him off when suddenly he got up and showed a shiny card saying :_

_" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit ! "_

_" Impossible ! " the opponent said shocked ._

_" Destroy Kolon , the Oracle ! " Kokujo said . " Ballom , Master of Death... FINISH HIM OFF , TOTOMEDA !!! "_

_Ballom made a loud roar and then fired waves of darkness from his demonic hands and those waves sorrounded the duelist hired by Zakira and killed him in an instant . Kokujo then fell on his knees breathing hard as other duelist approached him and challenged him . The little boy couldn't take one more duel , but before he could even accept another challenge , he fainted on the ground ._

_When he woke up a few minutes later , he saw all the duelists sent by Zakira dead in front of him . In the middle of the corpses was standing the strange man which watched him duel earlier ._

_" You're only a kid , yet you managed to defeat one of those tough opponents in a kaijudo duel . You really must be special ! " the strange man said ._

_" Y-you killed them all ? " Kokujo asked amazed ._

_" Forget about them , they're not worth your mercy , kid ! Now tell me , who are you ? "_

_" I am the last living Shinigami ! "_

_" The Shinigami ?! " the strange man spoke surprised . " I thought that they were all killed by Zakira . I must say , I didn't expect to find any survivors , but I guess that that's why those minions of his were following you . "_

_" The Shinigamis were all killed in an unfair battle . Zakira outnumbered them with hundreds of duelists and they didn't stand a chance ! " Kokujo said with a shadow covering his eyes ._

_" I understand , yet you survived . If you want , you can go a few miles to the east ! There is a small village which could offer you a shelter ! "_

_" I understand , thanks for evreything , sir ! " Kokujo said and walked away ._

_" Take care , kid ! " the strange man replied ._

_The next day we see the strange man walking calmly towards the village where he had told Kokujo to go . But when he was approaching , he saw a big grey smoke rising towards the sky from the east . It was the village ! The man rushed towards it as fast as he could ._

_When he reached it , he was greeted by the smell of decomposing flesh and the sight of a burned to ashes village . No house was standing up and there was no sign of life . There were corpses evreywhere . The strange man then saw Kokujo in the middle of the corpses sobbing . He ran to the boy and found him with burns on his face ._

_" What happened , kid ? " he asked ._

_" It was horrible , sir ! Zakira's servants had found my track and came to this village ! They challenged evreyone to duels and also burned this place to ashes to make sure that i would surely die ! When I was about to go and challenge them , a burning plank fell on me . A few minues later , after the fire from the plan was completely out , I got up only to see evreyone dead in front of me ! Why ? Why can't I protect my close ones ? WHY MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO UNFAIR ?! " Kokujo cried ._

_" If you really want , kid , I could help you fight back against Zakira and protect the others ! " the man said ._

_" Y-you do ? "_

_" Of course . Kid , I am the champion duelist Yukio Shichiman ! I had won seven world tournaments , learned how to use at perfection all five civilisations and I had the honor of facing Zakira's minions as well ! "_

_Kokujo stared amazed at Yukio . This man seemed like a god to him . Having so many accomplishments , he would totally be his key to power , Kokujo thought ._

_" I can teach you how to fight back , and you will be the best darkness duelist this world has ever seen ! " Yukio said . " Tell me , kid , what's your name ? "_

_" My name is Kokujo Kyoshiro . "_

_" Kokujo... this means Black Castle in japanese ! Precisely your name has chosen your fate to use the darkness cards ! Come , Kokujo , you have a long way to go ! "_

_And so , Kokujo and Yukio left from the ruins of the burned village to Yukio's personal cabin located somewhere in the mountains ._

The flashback ended and Kokujo realized that he was walking while remembering his past . Without his will , he had walked towards the mountains where Yukio's cabin once was . The long haired boy stared at the mountains as a cold breeze blew through his hair .

" This is the place where my training began ! This is where the lightest moments of my childhood had been , but these moments were lighted by the fires of vengance from my heart ! Yukio-sama , wherever you are now , I hope you're proud of what I have become ! " Kokujo said and started climbing the mountain .


	32. Reflection, part 2

Kokujo climbed the mountain and reached an old cabin . He stared at it for a few minutes as a flashback appeared in his mind .

_It was a sunny winter day . Yukio and Kokujo had finally reached the cabin from the mountain . The journey was exhausting , but worth it . Kokujo loved the sights and the fresh mountain air . The boy stared at the other mountains and valleys amazed as Yukio entered the cabin and took out some boxes with cards . The little Kokujo turned back and saw what Yukio brought . The tall man layed the boxes down and said :_

" _Kokujo , choose a civlisation , other than darkness ! "_

" _Hm... I think I'll choose fire ! " Kokujo replied ._

" _Okay then . " Yukio said and opened a box which was filled with fire cards and another which was filled with darkness cards . " Your training now begins ! You must create four decks with darkness and another civlisation and face me in duels . When you will have defeated me in each duel , your training is over !! "_

_And that was how Kokujo's training began . _

The flashback ended as Kokujo entered the cabin and looked inside . It was dark and evreything was covered with dust . It must've passed years since someone had been there . Kokujo felt a little sad about that . This was also showing him that time wasn't that forgetful as it was when he was made young again . Slowly , the things which belonged to his former life were fading away as if they were nothing . But Kokujo didn't want to think about that now . He continued remembering his training and another flashback appeared in his mind .

_A year had passed since Kokujo's training began . His eyes were tired and his face and hands were filled with scratches because of the harshness of Yukio's dueling style . Kokujo was tired because of the kaijudo duel , but he tried to resist . Now he and Yukio both had two shields left and it was Yukio's turn ._

" _I summon Bronze Chain Sickle to gain another mana ! Then I summon Emeral to replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! And finally , I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! " Yukio said . " Jack Valdy , the Everlasting , break his final shields ! "_

_Kokujo took cover as his final shields got broken by Yukio's creature . The boy made a few steps back and said in his mind :_

" _That's it , I'm gonna lose to Yukio-sama again ! "_

_But that was when one of the cards from his shields shined . Kokujo smiled and took the card in his hand saying :_

" _Shield trigger activate , I cast Ten-Ton Crunch and destroy your Skysword , the Savage Vizier ! "_

" _Heh , your turn ! " Yukio smiled ._

" _My pleasure , I cast Apocalypse Vise ! " Kokujo said . " Apocalypse Vise will destroy your Bronze Chain Sickle , Emeral and Bloody Shadow ! "_

" _He has proven good at using fire cards , now let's see if he can still win the duel after concentrating on his fire cards ! " Yukio thought and spoke to Kokujo . " When Bronze Chain Sickle is destroyed , I'll add one more card to one of my shields , both cards counting as the same shield ! "_

" _Trox , General of Destruction , break his final shields ! " Kokujo ordered and a giant orange demon made of bones roared and slashed Yukio's final shields with a giant axe . _

" _Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! Send Kokujo's Vile Mulder back to his hand ! "_

" _Ballom , Master of Death , finish Yukio-sama up , totomeda ! " Kokujo ordered and Ballom fired a powerful lazor on Yukio ._

_Because he was experienced in kaijudo duels , Yukio just landed on the ground with a few scratches . He saw that Kokujo was starting to get used to the energy draining from kaijudo duels and realised that the boy really had potential . Yukio then told Kokujo to choose another civilisation on which he would concentrate and he chose water . _

_Again a year of training and hard work had passed and now Yukio and Kokujo were facing eachother again . This time the duel was tougher for Kokujo , but he managed to keep four of his five shields intact while Yukio had only two shields left . Now it was Kokujo's turn ._

" _I cast Eureka Charger and draw a card ! Now I summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! I destroy Melnia so that Daidalos can now attack , and also Mongrel Man lets me draw a card ! " Kokujo said . " Daidalos , break his final shields ! Mongrel Man totome... "_

" _Not so fast ! " Yukio said with a strict voice . " Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers until the start of my turn , so shield trigger activate , I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain a mana and a shield ! "_

" _Tsh , Mongrel Man , break his final shield , now ! " _

" _Shield trigger activate ! " Yukio said smiling . " I cast Invincible Cataclysm ! "_

" _What the... " Kokujo spoke shocked . " Invincible Catacalysm's effect will throw three of my shields..."_

"_...straight to the graveyard ! " Yukio added . _

_Three of Kokujo's shields got broken into pieces and the cards fell into his graveyard . The cards were Terror Pit , Lost Soul and Marinomancer . Kokujo stared at his graveyard amazed . He had lost some important cards because of his stubborness , and now he was going to pay ._

" _I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight and evolve it into Jack Valdy , the Everlasting ! " Yukio said . " Jack Valdy's effect will destroy your Daidalos ! And now Jack Valdy , the Everlasting , attack and destroy his Mongrel Man ! Skysword , the Savage Vizier , break his final shield ! "_

_Kokujo took cover as his final shield was broken into pieces . Again he had the feeling that he would lose and the whole year of work was for nothing , but then the card which was in his shield started shining once again . Kokujo looked up and was amazed to see what card he had in his shields ._

" _Shield trigger activate ! " Kokujo said . " I summon Aqua Surfer ! "_

" _What the... " Yukio spoke amazed . " He did manage to make a comeback afterall ! "_

" _Send Jack Valdy back to his hand ! And now , Aqua Surfer , totomeda ! " _

_Again Yukio landed safe on the ground with a few scratches . Now he wanted to test Kokujo to see if he would rest on his laurels or be realistic about his situation ._

" _Hehe , nice comeback there , kid ! I knew it all along that you would win ! I think that you'll pass this training very fast and kick the hell outta Zakira ! " Yukio said ._

" _Like hell I will ! " Kokujo replied with a serious voice . " If it wouldn't have been for that Aqua Surfer shield , I would've lost the duel ! I was too stubborn when I attacked with Mongrel Man ignoring the effect of Memories of the Planetary Dragon ! If you wish , Yukio-sama , punish me with another year on studying the water cards ! "_

" _He had learned his lesson ! " Yukio thought and spoke . " There's no need to , Kokujo ! Now choose your next civlisation ! "_

_This time Kokujo chose the light civlisation and again spent a year on studying it and working hard to create a good deck . And now he was facing Yukio once again . This time both had all their shields and lots of creatures . Kokujo had two Photocide Lord of the Wastes , Vile Mulder Wing of the Void , Fallen Monk of Bloodstained Soil Zahaku , Gachack Mechanical Doll and Daidalos , General of Fury in the battlezone . Yukio had Aqua Surfer , Perfect Earth Planetary Dragon , Romanesk the Dragon Wizard and Skysword , the Savage Vizier . It was now Yukio's turn ._

" _I cast Faerie Life to gain one more mana ! And also Gravity Zero activate , I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight for free ! Now I evolve Bloody Shadow into King Alcadeias , Holy Gaia ! "_

" _What the... " Kokujo said extremely scarred . " King Alcadeias's effect will send the non-multicolored creatures I summon directly to the graveyard ! "_

" _Exactly ! Let's see you face this threat , Kokujo ! " Yukio said and continued his turn . " Ike , King Alcaeias , double break his shields ! Then Perfect Earth , double break his shields ! Romanesk , break his final shield ! "_

_Kokujo took cover as all his shields got broken into pieces . He fastly took the five cards to his hand and then said :_

" _Shield trigger activate , I cast Holy Awe and tap all your creatures ! "_

_A powerful light beam fell from the sky and went on Yukio's dueling table tapping his creatures . Now Kokujo managed to stop all of Yukio's creatures from attacking him that turn , but he still had no more shields . He had to find a way to win or get rid of Yukio's creatures fast ._

" _I summon Demonic Holy Spirit , Auzesu ! " Kokujo said smiling . _

" _Auzesu ! " Yukio exclaimed . " I must say that I didn't see that coming ! "_

" _Photocide , destroy Perfect Earth and Auzesu's effect will destroy King Alcadeias ! Also , my other Photocide , destroy Romanesk and Auzesu's effect will destroy Skysword ! And now , Vile Mulder , Wing of the Void , double break his shields and Auzesu's effect will destroy Aqua Surfer ! Zahaku , break his shield ! Gachack , break his shield ! And now I destroy Gachack and attack with Daidalos , General of Fury , break his final shields ! "_

" _Shield trigger activate ! " Yukio said sweating . " I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon ! You know what that means , kid ! "_

" _Uh oh... " _

" _Shield trigger activate , I cast Invincible Abyss ! With this spell's effect I will destroy all your creatures ! "_

_Kokujo took cover as all of his creatures blew up . Now Yukio was starting to show how tough he really was . _

" _I summon Aqua Super Emeral , Bronze Chain Sickle and Emeral ! " Yukio said . " I end my turn ! "_

" _My turn ! " Kokujo said sweating and drew his next card . " I charge mana and summon Daidalos , General of Fury ! "_

_A giant demon made of bones , with blue bat wings instead of ears , with giant monster mouths instead of hands and without eyes appeared behind Kokujo and roared . _

" _Is that all you got ? " _

" _Not at all , Yukio-sama ! " Kokujo said and showed a card which started shining in his hand . " I evolve Daidalos into BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH !!! "_

_Daidalos then cracked open and a giant blue goat demon with bird wings and bone armor came out of him and roared towards Yukio even louder . _

" _Ballom's effect will destroy all your creatures ! " Kokujo said smiling ._

" _Hehe , once again you prove to be great at comebacks ! " Yukio smiled as well ._

" _Ballom , Master of Death , TOTOMEDA !!! " Kokujo yelled ._

_Ballom roared and casted a lazor ball on Yukio . The man as always landed safely , but with a few more burns on both his clothes and face . _

" _There is only one civilisation left for you , Kokujo , and that's the nature civlisation ! Again you must work a year ! " _

" _Yes , Yukio-sama ! " Kokujo replied and bowed ._

" _God , I got more damages than before ! This boy is evolving day by day ! I just hope that he won't go too far ! " Yukio thought ._

_Again a year had passed and Kokujo worked harder than before to understand the last civlisation , the nature civilisation . While training , Yukio had noticed that he had grown much more serious ever since he had won the last duel . Yukio didn't knew if it was the victory , the age or the determination which made Kokujo work harder . But one thing was sure , Yukio would have an even harder challenge when they would duel again ._

_And so , Kokujo and Yukio started dueling yet again . This time both of them had two shields .. Kokujo had Daidalos , General of Fury and Bloody Squito in the battlezone while Yukio had only Jack Valdy , the Everlasting in the battlezone . It was Kokujo's turn . He drew his next card and spoke :_

" _My turn , I charge mana and summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to gain another mana ! " Kokujo said and a green horse like creature weilding a giant fork appeared behind him and roared . " Also , I cast Faerie Life to gain one more mana ! And finally , I cast Soulswap ! I will send Bronze-Arm Tribe to my mana zone and replace him with Fallen Monk of Bloodstained Soil , Zahaku ! I destroy Bloody Squito so that Daidalos could attack , and now , Daidalos , General of Fury , break his final shields ! "_

_Yukio took cover as Daidalos flew through his last two shields breaking them . He fastly took the cards to his hand and spoke with a serious voice :_

" _Shield trigger , I cast Faerie Life to gain a mana ! And now my turn , I charge mana and evolve Jack Valdy into Thunder Moon , the Enlightened ! "_

" _What the... " Kokujo spoke shocked . " That thing has 17500 power and is a triple breaker ! "_

" _And besides this , when Thunder Moon is summoned , I'll cast a spell from my mana zone for no cost ! " Yukio said smiling . " I cast Invincible Aura and gain three shields ! And now , Thunder Moon , the Enlightened , destroy Daidalos ! Your turn , Kokujo ! "_

_Then a dark shadow covered Kokujo's eyes as the boy got angrier and angrier . Yukio noticed this change , it was something which happened when powerful kaijudo duelists didn't stand losing . He knew that losing was a great motivational tool , but in this case it seemed that it was going too far . Yukio feared that Kokujo might become way too powerful and instead of creating a great duelist which would bring down Zakira , he would create a new evil which would take over the world ._

" _My turn ! " Kokujo said and his hand glew with a powerful purple light as he drew his next card . " HeheheheheheheAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!! " he laughed maniacly ._

" _That psychopath laugh... this must mean one thing , he has gone over the wrong side ! " Yukio thought . " I must bring him back to our real purpose , to bring Zakira down ! If he now turns into a power greedy evil genious , then we're all doomed ! "_

" _I EVOLVE ZAHAKU INTO BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH !!! " Kokujo yelled and Ballom appeared behind him and roared . " DESTROY THAT THUNDER MOON ! I SUMMON BLOODY SQUITO , AND NOW , BALLOM , DOUBLE BREAK HIS SHIELDS , HAHAHAHAHAHA !!!! "_

" _Not so fast , Kokujo ! Shield trigger , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and also shield trigger , I summon Perfect Earth , Planetary Dragon ! "_

" _Heh , your turn , Yukio-sama ! " Kokujo spoke with an arrogant voice ._

" _I cast Mana Nexus and put Invincible Abyss from my mana zone to my shields ! Also , Gravity Zero , I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! Perfect Earth , break his final shields ! "_

" _Shield trigger activate ! " Kokujo spoke with a voice which made Yukio's spine shiver . " I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bloody Shadow ! Also , shield trigger activate , I cast Soulswap to replace my Bloody Squito from my mana zone with Gajirabute , Vile Centurion ! When Gajirabute is summoned , I'll throw one of your shields to the graveyard , and I'll choose the shield with Invincible Abyss ! " _

_Yukio stared shocked at the shield which he lost . His last chance would be a shield trigger in his other shield . Since in almost the whole game he barely had a trigger , his last shield must contain a shield trigger . Kokujo knew that , so he made an evil laugh and spoke to him :_

" _HAHAHAHAHAHA ! Hoping for a shield trigger in your last shield , eh ? Well I have some bad news for you , Yukio-sama... YOU LOST !!! "_

" _What ? " Yukio asked shocked ._

" _I SUMMON GAJIRABUTE , VILE CENTURION !!! " Kokujo yelled ._

" _Impossible ! Another Gajirabute ?! " Yukio spoke vexed as he stared at his final shield going to the graveyard ._

" _BALLOM , MASTER OF DEATH , TOTOMEDA !!! " Kokujo screamed harder than ever as Ballom fired a giant lazor ball on Yukio . _

_Yukio had a harsh landing for the first time . He hardly got up and his clothes were torn , his body filled with several burns and his wounds bleeding . Yukio couldn't believe it , his worst fears had come true . After four years of training , Kokujo had become powerful , yet evil and power greedy , like Zakira ._

" _Heh , I guess that this ends my training , Yukio-sama ! " Kokujo spoke and took off the black robe which he had weared when he was with the Shinigami and while he had trained with Yukio . _

_Kokujo then walked to the cabin and took out a black leather cape . He put it on himself and looked in the mirror . Even though he was shirtless , he was looking exactly like a metalhead version of Dracula . _

_Kokujo then took out his deck and edited it , turning it from darkness/nature to darkness/light/nature and adding more cards which he had discovered in Yukio's boxes . Then he walked out of the cabin with his hands in his pockets . He intended to start searching for Zakira , but then Yukio stood in his way ._

" _What are you doing , Yukio-sama ? " Kokujo asked him ._

" _What am I doing ? Look at yourself , Kokujo , you look a thirteen year old rip-off of Ozzy Osbourne and you've turned into a dueling psycho from my training ! I cannot let you leave these mountains ! There is no telling what you might do to innocent people ! "_

" _Bullshit , I don't give a damn about innocent lives ! " Kokujo said with a cold voice . " All that I want is to fulfill my revenge and kill Zakira ! "_

" _And tell me , Kokujo , what will you do after you have killed Zakira ? " Yukio asked ._

" _Easy , I'll start a search to find the legendary Dorballom , Lord of Demons card and once I have it , I shall become the best duelist this world has ever seen ! Even if this means turning evil and squashing others like the ants they are ! "_

" _Okay , this is NOT the way I told you to follow when our training began ! " Yukio said sweating and took out his glowing deck . " There's no way I'm letting you leave this place alive , Kokujo ! "_

" _Tsh , bring it on , Yukio-'sama' ! " Kokujo replied with a sarcastic voice and took out his glowing deck ._

" _SHIELDS UP !!! " both shouted ._

_They both raised their five shields and drew their five cards . This time the duel meant all or nothing for both of them . If one of them lost , they wouldn't see the sunrise ever again . After a few turns ._

" _I cast Faerie Life ! " Yukio said ._

" _I cast Faerie Life ! " Kokujo said ._

" _I summon Bronze Chain Sickle ! "_

" _I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe ! "_

" _I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier ! "_

" _I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier ! "_

_Now they both had two creatures in the battlezone and they both had seven mana . It was Yukio's turn . _

" _I evolve Skysword into Kirin Legacy , the Twin Meteor ! " Yukio said . " I also summon Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! Now meteorburn , I send Skysword to the graveyard and summon another Skysword from my deck to gain another shield and mana ! Why , Kokujo , why did you let yourself blinded by rage and turn evil ? Don't you want to do justice and avenge the deaths of the Shinigamis ? _

" _Their deaths shall be avenged through Zakira's blood , but after that I shall become more powerful and then acieve my goals , and you won't stop me ! I cast Lost Soul and discard all the cards from your hand ! " Kokujo said and all the cards from Yukio's hand fell into the graveyard . " Witness the power of the last Shinigami ! "_

_The next card Yukio drew wasn't useful at all , so he just charged mana and ended his turn . Kokujo on the other hand got good cards now . The long haired boy got an evil grin on his face as he spoke :_

" _I summon Fallen Monk Of Bloodstained Soil , Zahaku and Daidalos , General of Fury ! I end my turn ! "_

" _My turn , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Daidalos back ! " Yukio said . " Kirin Legacy , triple break his shields ! "_

_Kokujo took cover as his shields got broken . He then took the cards to his hand and said :_

" _Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit to destroy Skysword and Soulswap to put my Bronze-Arm Tribe to my mana zone and replace him with Skysword , the Savage Vizier ! And now that I summoned Skysword , I'll get one more shield and mana ! "_

" _Bronze Chain Sickle and Aqua Super Emeral , break two of his shields ! " Yukio contniued sweating . " That's it , you have only one shield left while I have seven shields ! There's no way you can defeat me now ! "_

" _Think again ! My turn , I summon Daidalos , General of Fury ! " _

" _Heh , that Daidalos cannot help you too much , Kokujo ! "_

" _Think again , Yukio-'sama' , I summon Demonic Holy Spirit , Auzesu ! " Kokujo said and a giant robotic mixture between an angel and a demon weilding a sword and with a lazor eye in the chest appeared from the heavens and descended behind Kokujo . _

" _Oh no , that Auzesu again ! " Yukio said sweating ._

" _And that's not all ! " Kokujo said smiling . " Since I have three Demon Commands in my graveyard , I can activate Gravity Zero and summon Jet Black War Demon , Dulanzames for free ! When Dulanzames is summoned , I'll take all the creatures from my graveyard to my hand ! And now, Zahaku , attack Super Emeral and Auzesu's effect will destroy Kirin Legacy ! Zahaku , destroy Super Emeral now ! Also , Skysword , suicide with Bronze Chain Sickle ! "_

" _When Bronze Chain Sickle is destroyed , I'll add a card to one of my shields ! " Yukio said ._

" _Like that would matter ! Your turn , Yukio-'sama' , and this may be the last turn you ever have ! "_

" _M-my turn ! I summon Romanesk , the Dragon Wizard and gain four more mana ! Now if I get some good shield triggers , you're doomed , Kokujo ! "_

" _Think again , Yukio-sama , you lost ! " Kokujo said with an evil grin on his face . " I cast Soulswap to send a Skysword to my mana zone and replace him with Gajirabute , Vile Centurion which will throw your Aqua Super Emeral shield to the graveyard ! And also , I summon another Gajirabute , Vile Centurion and throw your shield plus shield to the graveyard ! Game-set-match , Yukio-'sama' ! "_

_Yukio made a few steps back scarred . He had lost three shield triggers due to Kokujo's Gajirabutes . His last hope was to keep relying on shield triggers ._

" _Ike , Dulanzames , triple break his shields ! " Kokujo ordered ._

_Yukio took cover as the giant demon broke three of his shields . The shields were Invincible Cataclysm , Invincible Aura and Invincible Abyss , but none of them weren't shield triggers and he didn't even have the cards which could turn them into shield triggers . _

" _And now , Auzesu , break his final shields ! " Kokujo ordered ._

_Auzesu slashed Yukio's last two shields with its powerful saber . Yukio then saw his final hope and said :_

" _Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn my last shield into a shield trigger ! "_

" _Heh , let's see what your last shield is ! " Kokujo said with an arrogant voice ._

" _Shield trigger activate , I summon... Perfect Earth , Planetary Dragon ! " Yukio said while sweating . _

" _Heh , any final words , Yukio-'sama' ? " _

" _All I wanted in this life was to be a champion duelist and to help other young duelists do the same thing ! I didn't mean any harm when I tried to stop you , Kokujo , it was for your and the whole world's sake ! But now I've lost , so finish me off and put an end to my misery ! "_

" _As you wish , Yukio-sama ! " Kokujo spoke now with a serious voice . " I destroy Skysword , the Savage Vizier so that Daidalos could attack ! "_

_Daidalos got a powerful lazor beam in his mouth ready . Yukio closed his eyes and with his arms open accepted his fate . _

" _DAIDALOS , GENERAL OF FURY , TOTOMEDA ! " Kokujo ordered ._

_Daidalos spitted the powerful lazor and in the next moment Yukio was dead ._

The flashback ended as Kokujo was staring at the mountains from the old cabin . The long haired boy went out of the cabin and walked to the old dueling table where he had defeated Yukio .

" After that day I kept wandering in the mountains for two years searching for Zakira . " Kokujo said . " After that I reached that city where Shobu and the others were lviing and established there waiting for Zakira to come . This must be the story of my life , a story of pain , agony and death . I just wonder , why don't I feel sorry for killing Yukio-sama ? Would it be because he was already ready to accept death ? If so , then Yukio-sama , wherever you are now , I hope that you're happy ! "

Kokujo looked back and saw that the UFO was still broken . The long haired boy rushed back to help his team mates .

Meanwhile , at Rezo's castle . While Rezo was watching his army advance and conquer the rebelling countries on Earth , Tabitha and Shagrath were watching Kokujo and the five duelists to see how the spell took effect on them .

" Damn that Kokujo ! " Tabitha said with an angry voice . " He managed to accept his past and wasn't touched by grief at all ! The spell didn't weaken him a bit ! "

" Don't worry , Tabitha , we still have the chosen duelists left ! " Shagrath said .

" I guess you're right . The more they suffer , the more they get weaker and the more Rezo will reach complete control over the Earth ! " Tabitha said . " Their UFO will be fixed until sunrise , hurry Shagrath , we haven't got much time left ! We have to destroy the chosen duelists tonight ! "

" Eye eye , captain ! " Shagrath replied . " Soon the chosen duelists will be history ! "


	33. Subaru's challenge and Tsugumi's threat1

A glooming peace this morning with it brings.

The sun for sorrow will not show his head.

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;

Some shall be pardoned, and some punished;

For never was a story of more woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

Subaru closed the book and looked at Tsugumi . The girl was lying on their bed covered til her head with a purple sheet and her eyes were full of tears . That sight touched Subaru and the boy went to the girl and wiped off her tears saying :

" I shouldn't have accepted to read you Romeo and Juliet as a good night story . You always cry to it and I cannot stand to see you cry , my love ! "

" Don't worry , Subaru , I just love this story ! " Tsugumi replied .

" I am going to see if whatever Rezo had done has ended . Sweet dreams , Tsugumi ! " Subaru said closing the lights of the room and left .

All this was watched by Tabitha through one of Rezo's mirrors . While Rezo was busy with world domination , Tabitha had the mission to exterminate the chosen duelists with the help of Shagrath . Now Tabitha was angrier than ever . She was walking in circles for a few minutes having a confused Shagrath watch her .

" Why are you walking in circles , Tabitha ? "

" It's a long story , Shagrath ! It all started when the ancestor of the chosen light duelist banned me from reaching her daughter and husband . Her family has enormous powers of good and with the love of a man Tsugumi can realise her powers ! If she and Subaru would ever make love , then my witch powers are forever doomed ! " Tabitha spoke worried . " I must find a way to separate these two before it's too late , and I have the best plan for it ! "

" Another plan ? You're not gonna let the Det Nye Riket spell weaken them ? "

" No , because they've accepted their pasts a long time ago ! Something else must be done to defeat these two , and I know exactly what's that thing ! " Tabitha spoke grinning and started laughing . " Hahahahaha , Subaru and Tsugumi won't know what hit them ! When I'm done with them , there won't be a decent human left to say that their love was unstoppable ! "

Tabitha looked to the mirror and saw that Tsugumi was all alone in the room . The witch got the evilest look on her face and with a single hand wave she made her book of evil spells and her ingredients appear in her hands .

" Tsugumi is all alone in the room ! This is the perfect ocasion to get rid of her once and for all ! " Tabitha said and gave the ingredients to Shagrath . " Put these in the pot while I recite the ritual ! The time has come to show the chosen duelists what I'm really made of ! "

Shagrath started putting crow feathers , snake skins , dead frogs and hot peppers in the pot . Then he mixed them with a giant spoon while Tabitha recited the ritual :

" COME , DEMONS ! COME TO ME ! RISE UP AND DESTROY TSUGUMI ! "

A river of fire came out of the pot and teleported itself in Tsugumi's bedroom . The river of fire entered one of her walls and summoned three demons from hell inside them . The demons had to take human shapes so they could materialise , so when they pushed themselves out of the wall , they took forms of purple human-like ghosts ( the walls were painted purple ) . Tsugumi was sleeping like a baby and didn't even hear the three purple demons which were slowly approaching her bed .

Outside the UFO the dark sun had finally set bringing upon the Earth a calm and normal night . Sora and Edo were still meditating even though Edo felt like an idiot for sitting out there and doing nothing . Subaru was looking at them from the window and was pitying his poor friend for being stuck with a lunatic girl . Evreything seemed so calm now that whatever Rezo was doing had stopped . The boy didn't knew that the girl he loved was in great danger .

Meanwhile at Kokujo . The long haired boy was walking back to the UFO calmly . The forest now seemed more peaceful than in daytime when the sky was red and all .

" I hope that those chosen duelists didn't do anything clumsy while I was gone . I can't even trust my UFO for five minutes in their hands ! " Kokujo thought .

The long haired boy suddenly stopped from walking . He stood as still as a statue could stay . The wind blew through his long hair making it flow in the air like a flag .

" I know you're here... Subaru's father ! "

" So you realised I'm here ! " the father replied and walked from behind the trees . " Nice work , Kokujo Kyoshiro , the Black Death ! "

" What are you up to , old man ? " Kokujo strictly asked .

" I have come to warn my son about a grave danger that is threatening him and the girl he loves ! The notorious witch Tabitha Lenox is back and she seeks revenge on Tsugumi and the ones she loves ! "

" Huh ? Who's this Tabitha Lenox ? "

" It's a long story... "

While Subaru's father started explaining to Kokujo about how he knew Tabitha and what she did to Tsugumi's ancestor we go back to Rezo's castle . Tabitha was rubbing her hands while looking at the demons which were now at Tsugumi's bed .

" Now to take care of Subaru ! " Tabitha said and turned to Shagrath . " Use your powers and summon a succubus ! Order her to seduce Subaru and keep him far away from Tsugumi while there's time ! "

" Hehe , as you wish ! " Shagrath replied smiling . " I'm gonna summon one of the hottest succubuses ever known by mankind and hellkind ! "

Shagrath walked to the center of the room and painted a naked woman with horns and bat wings in a circle . Then he started screaming :

" ILLNESS AND PLAGUES , TORTURES AND BLIGHT IS WHAT SHE BRINGS MOCKING HOLY STANDARDS ! DECEIVING FEEBLE FOOLS IS WHAT SHE LOVES ! "

The circle started burning with hellish fires . The flame was shining into Shagrath's evil eyes and he was enjoying it .

" GRANTED WITH THE POWERS , GIFTED WITH THE MAGIC ! " he screamed as the fire took the form of a woman . " WATCHING THE WORLD THROUGH RAVEN'S EYES !!! "

The fire then disappeared and a really beautiful pink haired girl appeared . The only things she wore were extremely short bras and underpants . She had black bat wings , demon horns , a sharp tail and pink eyes . As the fires stopped , Shagrath finished his incantation speaking to her :

" You damn woman , you mischievous whore , you heretic princess , you're devil's own ! "

That was when the succubus awakened . She looked at Shagrath and nodded .

" This boy is your target , succubus , his name is Subaru ! " Shagrath said and pointed to a mirror where Subaru's face appeared .

" Now that's one hot guy ! " the succubus said . " He's all mine ! "

The succubus disappeared in a portal which was leading to the UFO . Now that they took care of Subaru , Tabitha and Shagrath returned to their main objective , the final destruction of Tsugumi .

" Prepare her for the end , my evil ones ! " Tabitha ordered her demons . " Make her ready for her final destruction ! "

The three demons waved their hands and Tsugumi slowly floated in the air . The demons were now controlling her gravitational field . They turned to her closet and slowly moved with her body to it .

" Hahahahaha , evreything's going according to plan ! Tsugumi's gonna be destroyed and then me and Rezo will be free to rule the world forever ! Hahahahahahaha ! " Tabitha laughed .

Back at Kokujo and Subaru's father . The story of Tabitha amazed Kokujo . Never in his entire life had he heared of a witch to cause so many disasters throughout the centuries .

" You say that you and your family had faced Tabitha , sir ? " Kokujo asked .

" Yes , it happened ten years after I've expelled Subaru from the family . " the father said . " The whole family found Tabitha Lenox plotting to take over the Temple of Duel Masters and we all challenged her to duels . The duels were epic , we all showed our powers , but in the end she managed to defeat us all . Even so , she didn't manage to find the Temple because Subaru's cousin managed to steal her map in time and tear it to bits . I must say , she was one tricky girl , no wonder that Subaru lost to her ! "

" What happened after Tabitha lost her map , sir ? "

" She got really angry and cursed our family to die in horrible tortures and then disappeared . A few years after that incident our family members got strange illnesses and died after years of pain . The first to die... was my wife... " Subaru's dad said as a shadow covered his face . " Since then I swore vengance on that witch ! "

" But if that's so then why didn't Subaru die ? " Kokujo asked .

" He was kicked out of the family years ago and the curse didn't affect him ! "

" I understand... "

Meanwhile at Subaru . The black haired boy was walking through the corridors relaxed without being aware of what was going to happen to him . Then he heared a strange voice . The voice was calling him and he slowly walked towards the darkness entering the trap .

" Come , Subaru , come to me ! " the voice called .

" Who is it ? " Subaru asked while approaching .

" Who am I ? " the voice asked and giggled . " I'm the girl of your dreams ! "

Subaru then saw that the one calling him was the succubus . He was amazed of what he was seeing . Her seductive elegance was exciting his weak flesh . Her diabolical beauty was enchanting his bewildered mind .

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle . While Shagrath was still watching the demons slowly carrying Tsugumi's body towards her closet , Tabitha took out her wand and said :

" Target Tsugumi is now locked into position ! Time to call out the heavy artilery and take her out ! "

Tabitha walked to a table and took one of her favorite books entitled '1001 big bad spells' . She looked through the pages and stopped at spell number 666 .

" Time to raise a little hell ! " Tabitha said smiling and started the incantation . " Spirits of the dark side , souls of the damned , RISE UP , HELP ME GIVE BIRTH TO MY PLAN ! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!! "

Another fire river came out of the pot and teleported intself into Tsugumi's room , this time entering her closet . Then some red orange lights started coming out from it .

" Help me , souls of the damned , help me ! " Tabitha continued the incantation .

Tortured screams could be heared from the closet . They were of a really big and awful pain . But no matter how loud they were , Tsugumi was still sleeping .

" Set them free , oh evil one ! " Tabitha said and pointed her wand to the mirror where Tsugumi's closet could be seen . " Open the door to the fiery pit OF ETERNAL DAMNATION !!!! "

A red beam came out from Tabitha's wand and it teleported itself into Tsugumi's closet . In the next moment the closet opened itself and what appeared was something of a terrifying horror . There were fires evreywhere in the closet and tortured souls along with demons evreywhere . They were all screaming because of the pain and they were all greeting with open arms the three demons which were bringing Tsugumi to them . Tabitha and Shagrath laughed loudly . That was it , their plan was going to be a complete success .

" Hell is ready for you , Tsugumi , and I'm the witch sending you there ! " Tabitha spoke victoriously .

" Feed her to the flames , boys ! " Shagrath added . " Make her snap , crackle and pop ! "

With each second passing the demons were approaching the closet . With Subaru out of the way , will Tsugumi be able to escape the evil trap set by Tabitha ?

" This is it ! The final destruction of Tsugumi ! BURN , BABY , BURN ! HAHAHAHAHAHA !!! " Tabitha laughed .

Back at Kokujo . The long haired boy was rushing back to the UFO . In his mind there was only one thing and that was the last thing Subaru's father had said to him before leaving _"Beware , Kokujo Kyoshiro , you have a really powerful and tricky opponent ! If Tabitha Lenox wants , she would even kill Rezo ! Be careful and don't let yourself or any of the chosen duelists deceived by appearences !"_

" If what he said is true then I must keep an eye on Subaru and Tsugumi until doctor Root and Rad finish their work on the UFO . I gotta hurry before it's too late ! " Kokujo said and ran even faster than before .

Meanwhile at Subaru . The boy was staring at the succubus which was slowly approaching him . He didn't knew if he wanted to run away or just have that extremely gorgeous girl all for himself . With just a look at her he had completely forgotten about Tsugumi .

As the succubus reached him , she started taking off his clothes slowly and gently . Subaru didn't want to fight back . The feeling was so good .

" I'm gonna give you the night of your lifetime ! " the succubus said while taking off Subaru's underpants .

" Oh yeah , I'm all yours , baby ! " Subaru replied with lusty voice .

Shagrath and Tabitha were watching Subaru and the succubus through a mirror . Tabitha was drinking some wine while enjoying the sight . Shagrath on the other hand was speaking to the succubus trying to make her more attractive .

" That's it , succubus , keep Subaru occupied ! " Shagrath said . " As long as he and Tsugumi are apart , she'll be exposed to Tabitha's powers ! "

" We just need a little more time and then she'll be frying in hell forever ! " Tabitha replied and finished her glass of wine .

After lots of minutes of slow moving the three demons had finally brought Tsugumi in front of her closet . They now turned her body from horizontal to vertical position and started pushing her to hell slowly . But as they were about to finish the job , the screams and the hot temperature of the fires from hell made Tsugumi open her eyes .

" No , Tsugumi can't wake up now !! " Tabitha almost yelled .

" Why not ? " Shagrath asked .

" If she wakes up now , then she'll have the power to resist the spell my demons made and not get pushed into hell ! Then I'll have to ask the souls of the damned to somehow get out of the fires and pull her in which will take even more time ! "

" Then push her into hell , you bloody morons !! " Shagrath yelled to the three demons which Tabitha conjured . " Stop moving like slugs and make the girl fry already ! "

After Tsugumi opened her eyes , she looked around and saw what was going on . She screamed louder and louder as the souls of the damned were slowly approaching from hell to pull her in . She tried to turn back and run , but the three demons were still controlling her gravitational field so she couldn't move anywhere .

" NOOOO ! HURRY , SOULS OF THE DAMNED , DESTROY TSUGUMI NOW ! PULL HER IN THE CLOSET AND SEND HER STRAIGHT TO HELL !!! " Tabitha screamed .

Even though she managed to stop Tabitha's demons from pushing her to hell , Tsugumi still couldn't move a limb , meaning that she couldn't run away . All the girl could do was to scream in fear while the souls of the damned were approaching her to pull her into hell .


	34. Subaru's challenge and Tsugumi's threat2

Tsugumi was still screaming in fear while staring at the fires from hell and the demons along with the souls of the damned from her closet . The girl wished that it was all a dream , but the heat of the flames and the loud noises were the proof that it was all real . Tsugumi stared scared at the souls of the damned which were approaching her saying :

" Come to us , Tsugumi , come to us ! "

While Shagrath was watching this through a mirror , Tabitha went to a table to pour more wine for her in a cup .

" Hehehe , nothing can stop me now ! " Tabitha laughed .

" Indeed , Tsugumi will be destroyed , hahahahahaha ! " Shagrath laughed as well .

After screaming for a few minutes , Tsugumi remembered that she wasn't alone in the UFO . She started shouting for help hoping that someone could hear her :

" HELP ME ! SUBARU , PLEASE HELP ME !! "

" Scream how much you want , no one can hear you ! " Shagrath spoke with an evil voice

" This is it , Tsugumi , time to die ! " Tabitha added .

Meanwhile at Subaru . The boy was lying naked on the floor having the succubus kiss his chest like wild . He was enjoying it more than anything in the world . It was for the first time he had ever made love and he didn't even expect that the one he would make love to would be such a hot girl . But something was not right . Subaru felt a little pain in his heart . He felt as if there was someone else to whom he was devoted and he had to respect a promise , but he didn't remember who .

" Wait a minute ! " Subaru spoke and slowly pushed the succubus back .

" What's the matter ? " she asked . " Am I not attractive to you ? "

" Of course you are , but I feel that something's not right here . It's like I must keep my virginity for someone else , but I don't know who . "

" Oh , don't be silly ! " the succubus said and threw off her short underpants . " You know you want me ! "

Subaru then lost evrey doubt . The girl's body was 100 % attractive to him and nothing would hold him back now . As he pulled her to him and was about to make the position for the intercourse , something happened . Subaru heared Tsugumi's desperate cries for help and that was what woke him up .

" Tsugumi ! " Subaru exclaimed and got up while dressing back into his clothes . " I've gotta find Tsugumi ! She's in danger ! "

" Oh and we were having such a great time ! " the succubus spoke disappointed . " I'm so sorry that I have to do this ! "

The succubus then put her underpants back on and took out a glowing deck . Subaru tried to run away towards Tsugumi , but the succubus flew in front of him blocking the way . He had no other option than to accept the challenge .

Meanwhile at Kokujo . After a lot of running through the forest he at last had reached the UFO . He could see Sora and Edo meditating in front of it and he ran as fast as he could to announce them of the great danger which was awaiting them .

Tabitha saw this through another mirror and got angry . She smashed the glass of wine in her hands and screamed :

" NO !! KOKUJO KYOSHIRO CAN'T COME BACK TO THE UFO ! I SHALL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN ! NOTHING , I SAY NOTHING WILL STAY BETWEEN ME AND MY PLANS ! "

Tabitha then fired two powerful beams in that mirror and they appeared in the forest and created a powerful energy barrier between the UFO and Kokujo . Kokujo ran into the barrier and got massively electrocuted and pushed back . He landed on the ground with several harsh burns but he was still alive .

" Curse that witch ! " Kokujo said and slowly got up . " TABITHA , IF YOU'RE SO SMART AND COOL THEN WHY DON'T YOU COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME , STUPID OLD WITCH !!! "

That was when a small portal opened in the sky and Kokujo could see Tabitha's face . She looked exactly as in Subaru's father's description to his amazement .

" I would face you with all my pleasure , Kokujo Kyoshiro , but I have other important things to take care of ! See you later , Black Death ! " Tabitha said and closed the portal .

" Shit ! " Kokujo said and hit a tree with his fist . " Who knows what that f*cking witch will do to Subaru and Tsugumi now , and I can't do anything to stop her ! I hate it when I feel helpless ! "

Meanwhile at Subaru and the succubus . Lots of turns had passed since the duel started . Subaru had one shield left and Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness along with Bloody Squito in the battlezone while the succubus had three shields left and General Dark Fiend along with Bronze Chain Sickle in the battlezone . It was Subaru's turn . The boy drew his next card , charged mana and said :

" I summon Bloody Squito and cast Transmogrify ! With Transmogrify's effect I'll destroy Bloody Squito and replace it with the next card from my deck ! "

Bloody Squito blew up and Subaru revealed the next card from his deck which was Olzekia , General of Decapitation . The boy smiled and summoned the creature saying :

" When Olzekia is summoned I'll destroy a creature of mine and you two of yours ! "

" Heh , I'll destroy General Dark Fiend and Bronze Chain Sickle ! " the succubus said . " When Bronze Chain Sickle is destroyed , I'll add the next card from my deck to one my shields , both cards counting as the same shield ! "

" If you think that that's something , wait til you see this ! " Subaru said . " I destroy Black Lucifer ! And now I use his effect and return Death Monarch , Lord of Demons from the graveyard to my hand and Black Lucifer won't be destroyed anymore ! "

" WHAT ?! No fair ! "

" Life ain't fair , girly ! Black Lucifer , double break her shields ! "

The succubus took cover as Black Lucifer sliced two of her shields with his scythe . She took the cards in her hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Mana Nexus and put Terror Pit to my shields ! And now my turn , I summon Death Mendosa , Dragonic Baron of Death and destroy Olzekia ! "

" You may think that it's over just because you have a Terror Pit in your shields , but you're wrong ! " Subaru said and placed a card on his Black Lucifer card . " I evolve Black Lucifer into Death Monarch , Lord of Demons ! Ike , Death Monarch , break her final shields ! "

" You fool , you fell right into my trap ! " the succubus spoke with an evil voice . " Shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Death Monarch ! "

Subaru then got a grin on his face . The succubus was confused why would he be happy for her destroying his creature . As the demonic hands grabbed Death Monarch and smashed the demon into bits , Subaru spoke to her saying :

" Fool ! When Death Monarch is destroyed , I'll summon all the non-evolution Demon Commands from my graveyard for free ! "

" What ?! " the succubus said shocked .

" Heh , so I summon Black Lucifer , Olzekia , Gajirabute and Deathliger from my graveyard ! With Olzekia's effect I'll destroy your Death Mendosa and my Gabjirabute ! This is it , the next turn you do will be your last ! "

" I...I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare to my shields ! " the succubus said trembling . " Th-then I summon Bloody Squito ! "

" This is it ! "

" What ? "

" I cast Infeno Sign ! " Subaru said . " You know what this means , right ? "

The succubus layed her head down as Subaru's Inferno Sign revived his Gajirabute and threw her final shield to the graveyard . That was it , she lost the duel .

" Black Lucifer , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered .

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! " the succubus said sweating .

" Get out there , Deathliger , show her who's the man , totomeda ! " Subaru said and jumped on Deathliger which ran to the succubus and slashed her with its paws .

The succubus landed on the ground defeated . Subaru fastly packed his cards and ran towards Tsugumi's bedroom . He had to be as fast as possible before it was too late .

Meanwhile at Tsugumi's bedroom . The girl was still desperately shouting for help :

" HELP ME , SUBARU , HELP ME !!! "

" This is it ! " Tabitha said while looking at Tsugumi through the mirror . " Tsugumi's DONE FOR ! Hahahahahaha !!! "

" Oh no , we have some problems ! " Shagrath said and pointed to another mirror in which they could see Subaru rushing towards Tsugumi's room .

" Oh great , since when did Romeo get rid of that succubus ? " Tabitha spoke irritated . " I cannot let him interfeer ! "

Tabitha fired a beam into the mirror with Tsugumi's room and created a barrier blocking the door from opening . Now Subaru wouldn't be able to reach Tsugumi in time to save her . Two souls of the damned almost reached the closet door and they were about to pull Tsugumi with them in hell . She didn't have much time left . The girl lost all hope and waited her tragic end , but then she heared someone knocking at the door . It was Subaru .

" Tsugumi , open the door , it's me , Subaru ! "

" SUBARU , HELP ME , THEY ALMOST GOT ME !!! " Tsugumi yelled .

" Hang in there , Tsugumi , I'm trying to open the door ! " Subaru said and tried to pull the door with all his powers , but in vain .

Back at Kokujo . The long haired boy was staring at the UFO with anger . He desperately wanted to help Subaru and Tsugumi , but he couldn't .

" I guess that this is the end for them . " Kokujo thought .

" Are you giving up that easy ? " a voice asked him .

" Who said that ? " Kokujo said and got up .

A giant portal opened in the ground and out of it came a giant goat demon with red wings , 6 hands and 6 golden tentacles ending in golden goat heads . It was the lord of all darkness , Dorballom .

" Dorballom , it's about time you came here ! " Kokujo said .

" I know ! We're dealing with a very powerful opponent here , Kokujo , so we must do our best ! " Dorballom said and a sword made of dark energy appeared in one of his right hands .

" Is that what I think it is ? " Kokujo asked amazed .

" Yes , it's the Dark Saber ! It's been some time since you last used it , right , Kokujo ? "

One of Dorballom's golden tentacles took the Dark Saber and layed it down to Kokujo . The long haired boy stared at it amazed . Ninety years had passed since he last used it . Kokujo slowly approached his hand to the Dark Saber and shyly grabbed it . Once his hand touched it , Kokujo felt the power once again . The darkness entered his whole arm and the Dark Saber bonded with his body again . Once again he was the sword's rightful posessor .

" It's been some time , Dark Saber ! " Kokujo said and proudly looked at his sword .

" Now let's get down to buisness ! " Dorballom said and turned to the barrier . " Let's blow up Tabitha's barrier ! "

" Agreed , let's teach the old hag a lesson ! "

Kokujo and Dorballom turned to the barrier in battle position . Kokujo got the Dark Saber ready for attack while Dorballom got a powerful lazor ball ready . With loud shouts they both attacked . Kokujo slashed the barrier with the Dark Saber while Dorballom fired as much lazors as he could . At first the barrier fought back by firing some energy rays which burned Kokujo's skin a bit , but he resisted . In the end the barrier couldn't stand so many fast attacks and lost all its power . With a combined attack , Kokujo and Dorballom finally destroyed the barrier .

" Hahaha , nice job there , Dorballom ! "

" You're still good at using the Dark Saber , Kokujo ! "

While both were complimenting eachother , something happened . A small ball of light was falling down from the sky to them . Kokujo grabbed it and saw that it was a card :

" Huh ? What card is this ? " he asked .

" A card ? " Dorballom asked as well and remembered their attacks . " Could it be possible that our final attack combined with Tabitha's powerful barrier had created a powerful interaction giving birth to a new card ? "

" If that's so , then what card is it ? " Kokujo said while the ball of light disappeared and a darkness civlisation card fell into his hands . " Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King . Wow , now that's one awsome creature ! "

" Save the card admiring for later , Kokujo , we have a job to do ! "

" You're right , Dorballom , let's go ! "

Kokujo and Dorballom rushed towards the UFO . Tabitha senced that her barrier got destroyed and turned to the mirror where Tsugumi was . She walked to it and spoke to the souls of the damned saying :

" We gotta hustle , people ! Destroy the girl before Subaru gets to her ! "

Subaru was still trying to open the door , even though it was hard . The boy was speaking to Tsugumi , hoping that it wasn't too late :

" Tsugumi , open the door ! I love you , I love you so much ! "

" OH NO , NO , NO ! IF THEY START TALKING ABOUT LOVE I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET TO HER ! " Tabitha yelled and spoke again to the mirror . " SOULS OF THE DAMNED , LET'S GO , YOU PEOPLE ! PULL TSUGUMI INTO THE FLAMES , WE HAVEN'T GOT MUCH TIME ! DESTROY HER NOW !!!! "

That was when the two souls of the damned finally managed to reach Tsugumi and grab her hands . At last , the three demons which Tabitha conjured had done their job . They held Tsugumi immobile long enough and now that she was in the hands of the souls of the damned , they disappeared back into hell . Tsugumi was trying to resist , but the two souls of the damned had much bigger power . They were pulling her slowly into hell . She could now feel the fires burn her toes and also she could hear the tortured screams more louder .

" I would do anything for you , Tsugumi ! I love you ! I always will ! " Subaru said .

" I love you too , Subaru , forever ! " Tsugumi replied .

" Hold on , Tsugumi , hold on ! "

" I know , Subaru , I'll never let go ! "

That was when the two souls of the damned started losing their powers . Once they felt what the power of pure love was , they couldn't pull Tsugumi into hell anymore . They were pushed back into the flames and Tsugumi was free . The blonde girl turned back and ran fast to the doors of her closet .

" NO !! Subaru's and Tsugumi's love is starting to take effect ! " Tabitha spoke worried . " No , no , close the doors ! Keep her locked in hell ! "

" Instead of telling those guys what to do , why don't you cast a spell and do it by yourself , Tabitha ? " Shagrath asked .

" Because my powers don't work against the love of that girl ! Her cursed ancestors only realised their powers of goodness by pure love and my powers can't fight that kind of love ! "

Tsugumi was running fast towards the doors of her closet . She saw that they were slowly closing and that she would be forever trapped in hell if she wouldn't make out in time . The girl was tired , but her love for Subaru kept her running . She wouldn't give up for anything in the world . But when she almost reached the doors of her closet , they closed themselves to her shock . Tsugumi thought that this was her end , but then she saw a ball of light appear out of nowhere and with its power reopen the doors . She was amazed of what was going on – she was going to be free . The girl took the light ball and at last escaped the fires of hell .

The doors shut immediately after she had gone out of her closet . Once she was out , the hell from her closet disappeared . Tsugumi then stared at the light ball and saw that it actually was a golden deck , the Never Ending Hero deck .

" Wow , this golden deck came out of nowhere and saved me ! " Tsugumi said .

Then Subaru ran through the door and at last managed to open it . The boy looked fast around the room and saw Tsugumi on the floor . He rushed to her and said :

" Tsugumi , are you ok ? What happened ? "

" Subaru , it was horrible ! You won't believe it , but I was... "

" Subaru , Tsugumi !! " Kokujo shouted and rushed in the room . " Are you okay ? Did Tabitha harm you in some way ? "

" Tabitha ? What are you talking about , Kokujo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" Guys , I think that we should really have a serious talk ! " Tsugumi said sweating .


	35. Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King

A strange silence had fallen upon the Earth. After just a few hours the whole planet was back to normal as if Rezo's spell wasn't casted at all. At Kokujo's UFO there was a similar silence. The only lighted room from the giant spaceship was Tsugumi's room. There, Kokujo, Subaru and Tsugumi were chatting about what happened.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute, guys! You say that all this trouble was caused by a witch named Tabitha who happens to be a friend of Rezo's?" a confused Subaru asked Kokujo.

"Yep, and I don't doubt that she's the one behind the whole sending Tsugumi sending to hell thingy." Kokujo said and looked at Tsugumi which still had some small ash marks on her clothes. The girl was still staring amazed at the deck which saved her.

"And you say that this golden deck was the one which saved you, my dear?"

"Yes, Subaru, it appeared out of nowhere under the form of a ball of light and it miraculously opened the doors of my closet." Tsugumi said and looked through the cards. "From what I see, this deck is called Never Ending Hero and it has Light and Fire cards. It seems that it's based on Angel Commands and Armored Dragons."

"Angels and Dragons, huh?" Kokujo said and looked at the shiny golden cards. "Well then, it seems that you should build a new deck with those golden cards, Tsugumi. Should I ask Rad to come and teach you to use some fire cards?"

"No, Kokujo-san, I don't want to bother him and doctor Root now. They're busy reparing the UFO now. I think I can handle this situation myself."

Kokujo took out the Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King card from his pockets and stared at it. The card shined with a powerful purple aura meaning that Dorballom was asking him to use it now.

"I understand, Dorballom." Kokujo nodded to the card and then turned to Tsugumi. "Build a new deck, Tsugumi, and then come outside and face me! I want to test out something."

Kokujo left the room leaving Subaru and Tsugumi staring at him with large open mouths. They didn't understand why did Kokujo challenge the girl nor why did he leave without explaining his reasons.

"What's with this challenge all of a sudden? What does he want to prove?" Subaru asked.

"I don't know, but I will gladly accept it!" Tsugumi said and took out her old light deck. "I shall rebuild my deck and face Kokujo Kyoshiro!"

Meanwhile outside the UFO, Sora and Edo had been meditating for hours. Edo couldn't stand it anymore – he was cold, he was hungry and he began to feel his clothes becoming dirtyer. But when Edo thought that all hope was lost for him and he would die standing in that position, he heard something.

"W-what's this?" he asked Sora.

"I heard something really big coming." Sora replied and got up. "Edo, stop being lazy and get up already!"

"Me lazy? You're the one which forced me to stand there like an idiot!" Edo thought.

Sora and Edo got up and turned back only to find the giant Dorballom staring at them like the ants they were to him. Sora fell on her back more than shocked for she had never seen the giant demon before. Edo just walked calmly to Dorballom and spoke to him:

"Hey Dorby, what's up?"

"Oh I'm fine, Edo. I just came to help you guys a bit in this fight against Rezo." Dorballom answered and tapped Edo's head with one of its golden tentacles.

"Stop it, Dorby, you're tickling me!" Edo laughed.

Sora was staring shocked at the giant demon which was having fun with Edo as if it was his own toy. The girl couldn't believe how could a mighty creature like Dorballom be so friendly to humans.

Kokujo then got out of the UFO and calmly walked towards them. The long haired boy stared at Dorballom and Edo and then turned to Sora saying:

"I still can't believe how can Dorballom be the lord of all darkness and my master."

"I guess that this is a mistery which only time can solve..." Sora replied sweating.

Meanwhile at Rezo's castle, Tabitha and Shagrath were angry because of their defeat. Even though they didn't show it, Rezo knew about their failure to kill the chosen light duelist. Sensing that the Red Priest was approaching, Tabitha walked to the window and pretended to be looking at planet Earth.

"Shagrath, what do you think if I summon hell once again in that UFO and burn it to ashes?" Tabitha pretended to be thinking of a new plan.

"Tabitha, how could you let a brat of a girl escape from your powers?" Rezo asked. "I know what you and Shagrath have done in that UFO and how you've failed me. Gosh, I bet that if Lucifer knew that you were such a failure, he would've taken away your powers a long time ago!"

"How dare you insult the one which thought you everything you know and gave you all the powers you have now, Rezo?" Tabitha spoke frustrated. "If it wouldn't be for me, you would've remained a blind helpless brat stuck in a prison cell of Sairaag! Admit it, Rezo, without me the Red Priest would have never existed!"

"Like I care, Tabitha! Now my powers have grown alot more than in the past! I am much more powerful and I don't need your teachings anymore!"

"Oh, you want a piece of me? Okay, Rezo, you and me – a fight to see who is more powerful! But I warn you, Rezo, if I win, I will take charge of the castle and your army!" Tabitha said and got her magical powers ready.

Rezo took out the staff with the Proof of Duelmaster and charged it. Tabitha also took out her wand and charged it as well. Shagrath made a few steps back sencing that an epic fight was going to happen.

"You have no idea what you're up against!" Tabitha said and waved her hands making a magical incantation. "LIGHTNING GUN!" she then yelled and fired a lightning from her finger.

Rezo was pushed against the wall by the lightning and got a little hurt. The Red Priest walked back to Tabitha and said:

"Up for a spinaroo, Tabby?"

The Red Priest fired a beam from his hand. The beam was casted on Tabitha and in a few seconds it made the witch spin like crazy, fly and fall against another wall.

"Ouch, I bet that hurt..." Shagrath said sweating.

Tabitha got up and turned angry to Rezo. She then pointed her wand to Rezo and yelled:

"LIGHTNING BEAM!"

An even bigger lightning came out of her wand and electrocuted Rezo. The Red Priest could hardly stand on his feet once Tabitha had done her attack, but he was able to do another attack.

"DRAGON SLAVE!" Rezo yelled and fired an enormous lazor which caused the whole throne chamber to blow up.

The room was now messy and had lots of small fires burning around. Shagrath was lucky to not get harmed by Rezo's Dragon Slave because he stood behind a table. Rezo looked to see if Tabitha was defeated and towards his disappointment he saw her getting up. The witch was filled with ash but she still could fight back.

"Try this one for size, Rezo! LIGHTNING SPAM!" Tabitha yelled and lots of lightnings came out of her wand and hit Rezo in multiple parts of his body.

The Red Priest walked back trying to resist to Tabitha's attacks but it was hard. She was a tough opponent, thing which he didn't have in ages. If Tabitha would've continued with her attacks , then Rezo would've died for sure.

"Should I kill him or let him live longer? I guess that if this little fight teaches him to show me the respect I deserve, then I think I could forgive him." Tabitha thought.

Tabitha then stopped her attacks and made her wand to seemingly malfunction.

"Oh, these magic wands start to get old after only half a century. I really must go and buy a new one." Tabitha lied trying to hide the fact that she was sparing Rezo's life.

Rezo then got up. Steams were coming out from the multiple burns of his body.

"One more lightning and I would've been done for. Tabitha surely is a strong opponent and if I want to be a real ruler of Earth then I must surpass her somehow." Rezo thought and then spoke. "Nice try, Tabitha, but now it's time to show you what REAL power is all about!"

Rezo then aimed his staff towards Tabitha. The Proof of Duelmaster shined meaning that it was ready to fire a powerful beam.

"FEEL THE POWER OF THE RED PRIEST, PATHETIC SOUL!" Rezo screamed.

An extremely shiny laser came out of Rezo's staff and filled the whole room with a bright blue light. The Red Priest was now using the Proof's power but not in the good purposes of creation. He was using it in the evil purposes of destruction, thing which was feared by many duelists. After all those years of trying to hide the Proof from evil people, at last a crazy maniac got it in his hands and was using its negative energy for the first time. The effects of the negative energy of the Proof were catastrophic. Tabitha got absorbed in the powerful blue light and Shagrath, who was still hiding behind a table, could hear her screams. What she was feeling could not be known by Shagrath nor Rezo. They only thought that it was something extremely painful. Rezo felt as if he was a god while he was using the Proof's power, but then he felt all his energy draining and he stopped his attack.

Tabitha landed on the ground with her body all black. Her skin was awfully burned and she looked as if she came out from a horror movie. Rezo wasn't feeling better either. The Proof of Duelmaster consumed about 90 % of his body's energy only for that short attack. He fell on his knees breathing hard and staring amazed at the powerful gem which had revealed its true evil power to him for the first time.

"You say that you've become powerful, Rezo, but watch out, because your power may overcome you one day!" Tabitha said and walked away. "I'm going to clean myself up."

As she got out of the throne chamber, Tabitha headed straight to the bathroom.

"The Proof of Duelmaster is a really powerful item but Rezo isn't ready to use its evil power. If he won't find a way to raise his strength then the Proof will devour his whole life energy before he knows it. Poor fool, he's just a weakling depending on wizard powers and a gem which would kill him if he ain't careful. I pity him." Tabitha thought.

Back at the UFO, Tsugumi had finished her new deck and she was staring at it while heading towards the place where she would duel Kokujo. Subaru was coming with her because he was anxious to see how she had evolved.

Outside, Kokujo was sitting on the branch of a tree waiting for Tsugumi to come. Dorballom was playing with Edo and Sora lifting them up and down with its golden tentacles.

Then the blonde girl came out of the UFO followed by the black haired boy. Kokujo noticed them and jumped from the tree landing on the ground. Two dueling tables suddenly appeared in front of Kokujo and Tsugumi.

"Good luck, Tsugumi!" Subaru said and tapped her shoulder.

Tsugumi nodded and put her deck on the dueling table. Kokujo looked one more time at his Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King card and then he added it in his deck. The long haired boy put his deck on the dueling table and spoke:

"Are you ready to face me, Tsugumi?"

"As ready as possible!" the blonde girl replied.

"That's good. Shields up!" Kokujo said and raised his five shields.

"Shields up!" Tsugumi said and did the same.

The duel between Kokujo and Tsugumi began. A few turns had passed and none of them attacked. Kokujo had Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil in the battle zone. Tsugumi had Endra Pappi and Samurai Lupia in the battle zone and it was her turn. She drew her next card and said:

"Oh, it's the first time I use a fire card, I hope I don't screw it up. I summon Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon!"

A robotic dragon made of red orange metal and holding a short sword in his mouth appeared behind Tsugumi and roared. Kokujo looked at the girl bored and drew his next card.

"I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Angel Command." Kokujo said.

"Oh no!" Tsugumi replied shocked.

The girl showed the two cards from her hand which were Samurai Lupia and Perfect Galaxy, Spirit of Immortality. Since Perfect Galaxy was an Angel Command, she discarded it and lost a shield which was Valiant Spark.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, it was too easy!" Kokujo laughed.

"I'll show you 'too easy'!" Tsugumi spoke angrily. "I summon another Samurai Lupia! And now Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon, attack! I shall put one of my shields into the graveyard and thanks to my two Samurai Lupias I'll gain two shields!"

"Tsh..." Kokujo murmured.

"Bolmeteus's effect will destroy Trash Train and now Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon, double break his shields!"

Kokujo took cover as Bolmeteus slashed two of his shields with its sword. The shield shards turned into two cards which Kokujo took into his hand.

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bolmeteus!" Kokujo said and lots of demonic hands grabbed Bolmeteus and smashed the dragon. "My turn, I summon Shiver of Sealed Devil Jumazohl!"

"What?" Tsugumi said scared.

"Oh no, Jumazohl's effect will turn all of Kokujo's Grand Devils from his battlezone and graveyard into Demon Commands and besides that, when Jumazohl is destroyed, Kokujo can sacrifice another Demon Command instead!" Subaru said sweating. "Watch out, Tsugumi!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, he's right, you should better watch out, girly!" Kokujo said grinning evilly. "Let's see you defeat my Jumazohl!"

Tsugumi drew her next card and to her disappointment it wasn't something useful.

"I charge mana and end." the girl said having a shadow covering her eyes.

"Heh, you can't seem to fight back anymore, right?" Kokujo said and showed the next cards he was going to use. "I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards. Afterwards I summon Daidalos, General of Fury!"

"I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and draw a card thanks to Endra Pappi."

"Meh, time to put an end to this charade. I evolve Daidalos into Ballom, Master of Death!"

A giant blue skinned goat demon with big bird wings and wearing a bone armor appeared behind Kokujo and roared.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! DESTROY ALL HER CREATURES, BALLOM!" Kokujo yelled and Ballom fired a dark wave towards Tsugumi's creatures killing them all.

Tsugumi made a few steps back scared. She was terribly losing and she was disappointed. No matter how much she tried to work on her deck, she still seemed to be the weakest member of the team. Just when she felt that evreything was lost, she remembered that the game wasn't over.

"When Ultimus is destroyed I'll take a shield trigger from my deck to my hand!" Tsugumi said. "I shall take Heaven's Gate!"

"Like this would help you. Ballom, double break her shields!" Kokujo ordered.

Ballom roared and fired a lazor ball towards Tsugumi's shields breaking two of them. The girl smiled and took the cards to her hand saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers this turn! And now shield trigger activate, I summon Dragon Spirit Ulferus!"

A giant angel wearing a golden dragon armor appeared behind Tsugumi, its light radiating through the night.

"Ulferus's effect will let me cast Heaven's Gate for free!" Tsugumi said smiling. "I cast Heaven's Gate and summon Milzam, Spirit of Miracles for free! Milzam's effect will add five more cards to one of my shields, the stack of cards being considered one shield."

"Tsh, I end my turn." Kokujo spoke angrily.

"Woo hoo , awsome comeback, Tsugumi-chan!" Sora cheered.

"That's my girlfriend!" Subaru added proudly.

"And now my turn!" Tsugumi said with an energic voice. "Vortex Evolution, I evolve Ulferus and Milzam into Bolpheus Heaven, Holy Super Dragon!"

Ulferus and Milzam united and a small explosion took place. Then out of the sky an enormous angel wielding a long sword and having fire wings and a golden dragon armor descended to the dueling place.

"Wow, that's one awsome creature!" Edo exclaimed.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life!" Sora added.

"Tsugumi's going for a victory, that's for sure!" Subaru said.

Tsugumi put her hand on her Bolpheus Heaven card and tapped it meaning that she was going to attack.

"Ike, Bolpheus Heaven! I will put one of my shields into my graveyard and Bolpheus Heaven's effect will destroy your Maxval!" Tsugumi said. "Take Ballom down, Bolpheus Heaven!"

Bolpheus Heaven flew towards Ballom and with just a sword swing it slashed the goat demon's chest. Ballom landed on the ground and in a few seconds disappeared meaning that he was destroyed. Kokujo stared angrily at Tsugumi which was winning. Things weren't really going as he planned.

"This is not over! I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Afterwards I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Bloody Squito." Kokujo said. "Gal Volf, attack Bolpheus Heaven! Since Bolpheus Heaven is more powerful, Gal Volf is destroyed."

"Huh? Why would Kokujo sacrifice his Gal Volf?" Sora asked.

"Oh, he's surely up to something, you'll see." Subaru replied.

"Why would he waste his creature like that? Oh well, time to finish this duel!" Tsugumi said. "I cast Impact of Heavenly Violence and send Jumazohl to your shields! I also destroy your Bloody Squito! Bolpheus Heaven, attack! I will put one more shield into my graveyard and destroy Maxval! Now Bolpheus Heaven, triple break his shields!"

Kokujo took cover as Bolpheus Heaven slashed three of his shields with its sword, but then he grinned. The shields turned into cards and he spoke:

"GOT'CHA! Shield trigger activate, I cast Grudge Gathering!"

"Grudge Gathering! So that's why he sacrificed his Gal Volf, to have seven cards into his graveyard so that he could destroy Bolpheus Heaven with Grudge Gathering!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Oh no, I've been playing his game all along!" Tsugumi said sweating.

"HAHAHAHAHA, DIE, BOLPHEUS HEAVEN, DIE!" Kokujo laughed as Bolpheus Heaven blew up. "And now my turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Shiver of Sealed Devil Jumazohl!"

"This isn't over, I summon Saint Bolshack, Spiritual Dragon! Ike, Saint Bolshack, break his final shield!"

"Thanks, that's EXACTLY what I needed!"

Dorballom then realized what Kokujo meant. The creature looked straight at the only card from his hand which was what he wanted to see in action. A strange purple aura sorrounded Kokujo as he slowly put the card from his hand on his Shiver of Sealed Devil Jumazohl card saying:

"I evolve Jumazohl into Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King!"

A giant demon which reasembling Ballom appeared behind Kokujo. The only differences between normal Ballom and Ballom Monarch were that Monarch had an even bigger bone armor, a pair of golden horns and a golden crown shaped like a goat head.

"At last I see this new incarnation of mine!" Dorballom spoke while staring at Ballom Monarch which was much bigger than him. "Amazing, he's bigger than me, the Lord of all Darkness! Still, I don't sence bigger power in this creature, so I think that he's just another brainless brute..."

Ballom Monarch then stared at Dorballom with an angry sight. Dorballom felt the creature's anger and knew that he was undereastimating it.

"Don't listen to him, boy, he's just judging by appearance!" Kokujo spoke to Ballom Monarch and turned to Tsugumi. "Ike, Ballom Monarch, destroy Saint Bolshack!"

Ballom Monarch waved his hands and created a powerful lazor ball . He then casted it on Saint Bolshack making the dragon blow up. When Tsugumi thought that the worst was over, Kokujo got an evil grin on his face and spoke:

"But wait, there's more. Whenever one of my Demon Commands or Reapers win a battle, I may summon a Demon Command or Reaper from my graveyard."

"So what's the big deal about it?" Tsugumi asked.

"It is a big deal!" Subaru exclaimed. "Now I know, Kokujo didn't sacrifice his Gal Volf to use Grudge Gathering's effect, he sacrificed him only to be able to revive him again with Ballom Monarch's effect!"

"And everything went exactly as I planned." Kokujo said smiling. "I use Ballom Monarch's effect and revive Gal Volf! Now I choose the race Angel Command!"

The only card from Tsugumi's hand was Syrius, Firmament Elemental which was an Angel Command, so she discarded it and lost her final shield which had six cards due to Milzam's effect. Tsugumi bowed her head down in shame as Ballom Monarch stared at her with evil eyes. The girl was about to draw her next card but then Kokujo spoke to her:

"Don't even bother, the game's over."

"He's right, even if Tsugumi draws a blocker, Kokujo has two creatures which can attack her." Sora said.

"Man, and I really thought that she would win." Edo said.

"That's it, even pretty girls lose sometimes." Subaru added.

Kokujo gathered his cards as Ballom Monarch disappeared into thin air. Tsugumi was amazed of what happened. She fell on her knees and spoke to Kokujo:

"Aren't you going to finish me off?"

"Why would I do that? I have no reason at all to finish you off when it is clear that I have won. And besides, you're too tired from what happened and I don't want to make your health worse." Kokujo said and began to walk away. "Nice game, you've really evolved, Tsugumi!"

Subaru ran at Tsugumi and helped her get up and pack her cards. Edo and Sora on the other hand congratulated Kokujo for the victory and for the new card.

Then doctor Root and Rad came out from the UFO. They had oil marks on their clothes and sweat on their faces. When they saw the whole situation - Dorballom in front of them, Tsugumi with the golden deck and Kokujo with his new card, they both said:

"Gosh , we leave you guys alone only for a few hours and something big already happens?"

Everyone laughed and started to explain the situation to the two. But to their disappointment, Rad and doctor Root didn't manage to fix the UFO.

"If you guys want, I could transport you with my rocket towars Rezo's lair, but I don't think that more than six people could fit in." Rad said.

"There's no need for that, Rad." Dorballom said and grabbed the UFO with all its six hands. "Hop in, all of you! We must leave planet Earth before the sun rises!"

Kokujo, doctor Root and the five chosen duelists didn't even have time to ask Dorballom why did he say that. The demon grabbed them all with its tentacles and hands and put them all in the UFO. In the next moment it flashed away from the forest flying towards the orbit.


	36. The new journey begins

Rezo's army had advanced through the planet and in few days they had conquered almost all countries . The last resisting nations were the United States of America and Russia . Ichiro and Hanna went to the United States while Xanagazu and the vassal went to Russia . They were going to conquer them until sunrise .

At Rezo's castle things seemed to have turned back to normal . Rezo had recovered the enormous amout of energy which he had lost and had also casted a spell on his throne chamber turning it back to normal . Now the Det Nye Riket spell was reaching the final phase . Rezo could feel his connection with the planet grow higher and higer . Once the dark evil sun would rise he would remodelate the planet the way he wanted . And now there wasn't much time left . In about fifteen minutes the sun would rise .

" Shagrath , report me on what's happening on Earth ! "

" Yes , Lord Rezo , apparently Ichiro and the rest of your servants had managed to conquer almost all the countries and are now fighting the last two opponents : the United States and Russia . " Shagrath said and turned on a screen . " See for yourself ! "

Rezo sat on his throne and saw Xanagazu and the vassal facing in duels the best duelists of Russia in Moscow . Meanwhile the clone troops were taking down the last russian resistences .

" You really think that you can stop us ? Dream on , kiddos ! " Xanagazu said . " I summon Cyber X Xanadu and send Nariel , the Oracle to the bottom of your deck meaning that my Aku Zen can now attack ! Ike , Aku Zen , break his final shields ! "

" Also , shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers ! " the vassal said . " Shield trigger activate , I summon Milzam , Spirit of Miracles and add five more cards to my last shield ! And now my turn , I summon Necrodragon Bryzenaga and break my last shield ! "

The vassal then smiled as his last shield got broken into many pieces . He then reached his hand in the air as the shards united themselves into six cards which all went to his hand .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Kolon , the Oracle and Aqua Surfer ! "

" Oh no , my last blockers ! " the opponent spoke shocked .

" Heh , Milzam , double break his shields and Kolon , break his final shield ! " the vassal continued . " And now , Aqua Surfer , totomeda ! "

" Also , Qurian , totomeda ! " Xanagazu added .

With the defeat of the final duelists and the conquering of Moscow , Russia now belonged to Rezo . The Red Priest seemed glad of this victory , but he wanted more . He wanted to see America's downfall once and for all .

" Shagrath , show me what's happening at Washington DC now ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " Shagrath replied and pressed a button .

On the screen appeared something which Rezo wanted to see in ages . Washington DC with all of its futuristic buildings and robots was on fire . People were either hold as hostages or killed . The clones were marching towards victory . No soldier nor robot was able to stop them . Ichiro and Hanna were advancing towards the White House which had all its defense systems down for good . Once the president would be out of the way , nothing would stop them . In only a few minutes the president and his wife were now facing Ichiro and Hanna in two duels of life and death . The battle was epic but it was clear who the winners would be .

" I evolve Leonidas , White Knight Spirit into White Knight HEAVEN , Lord of Spirits ! " Hanna said and a giant angel robot made of gold which was painted in dark blue appeared behind her . " Send her last two creatures to her shields ! And now , HEAVEN , break her final shields ! "

" Oh no ! " the wife of the president exclaimed scarred .

" I evolve Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper into XENOM , the Reaper King ! " Ichiro said and a giant faceless blue skinned goat demon with enormous dark bat wings and weilding a staff which had a Ballom head on it appeared behind him and roared . " Ike , XENOM , break his final shields ! Also , Break Bonus , you'll discard a card for each shield XENOM broke which means bye bye to all the cards from your hand ! "

" Impossible ! " the president spoke as he lost all the cards from his hand .

" That's it , the sun's about to rise ! Go , Ichiro and Hanna , slay them now and open to me the path to eternal glory ! " Rezo said while looking at the duels .

" White Knight Ulphas , Lord of Spirits , totomeda ! " Hanna ordered .

" Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper , totomeda ! " Ichiro ordered .

With those duels ending the fate of the Earth had been decided . The last resistences had kneeled in front of Rezo's army and there was nothing standing in their way . That was when the sun rose . The Det Nye Riket spell's final phase began and Rezo got sorrounded by a dark red aura and got shiny red eyes . The Red Priest turned to planet Earth and with an evil laugh flew to it . All the inhabitants of the castle were shocked , except for Tabitha and Shagrath which knew what was going on .

Rezo was flying towards Earth with a really fast speed and a really powerful will . The faster he had that planet under control the better . At last he was face to face with the giant blue sphere . He was staring at it as if it was nothing more than a worthless ant .

" Planet Earth , this morning your fate is sealed FOREVER !!! " Rezo growled and fired a powerful red beam from his right hand .

The red beam was combined with the negative powers of the dark sun and together they entered the core of the planet . As this happened , the surface of the planet turned into light red . The people were all shocked because they knew it was the end .

Dorballom managed to escape planet Earth along with Kokujo , doctor Root and the chosen duelists which were inside the UFO . Once they were far enough from it Dorballom turned back and showed to evreyone what was happening to Earth . They were all shocked to see that Rezo was firing a strange beam into the planet .

" What's he doing ? " Rad asked .

" Is he trying to destroy Earth ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Or change its environment ? " Sora asked .

" Or its inhabitants ? " Edo asked .

" Or is he trying to unite with the planet ? " Subaru asked .

" I think that we should expect the worse ! " doctor Root spoke sweating .

Kokujo didn't have anything to say . All could he do was stand back and watch Rezo doing his thing .

" THIS IS IT , EARTH , FOREVER AND EVER YOU AND ME WILL STAY TOGETHER ! " Rezo screamed and was about to clutch his fist . Once he would've clutched his fist , the Earth would've been changed forever .

Just as Rezo was about to do it , his scepter shined and the Proof of Duelmaster came out of it and flew in front of Rezo . The Red Priest was surprised to see that the Proof was for the first time acting by its own . Tabitha on the other hand knew that this would happen . She then spoke to Shagrath :

" Rezo's gonna have a difficult choice to make , Shagrath . "

" What do you mean , Tabitha ? "

" The choice which he would now make will change his life forever ! I just hope he makes the right choice . "

The Proof shined with a powerful light in front of Rezo . The Red Priest was wondering what was going on . Then he heared a strange voice calling his name . At first he was confused but then he realised who was calling him .

" The Proof of Duelmaster ? You're...calling me ? "

" Yes , Rezo , the Red Priest . The time has come – you desire to remake this planet after your own will and then rule it , but evreything in this world must have a price . "

" I know , the laws of alchemy . " Rezo replied .

" Yes , Rezo , that's why the condition for you remaking planet Earth will be the loss of your wizard powers . What do you say , Rezo , do you agree with that ? "

" HAHAHAHAHAHA , FOOLISH JEM ! YOU REALLY THOUGHT THAT I GIVE A DAMN IF I LOSE MY POWERS OR NOT ?! " Rezo said and grabbed the Proof with his left hand . " AS LONG AS YOUR POWERS ARE IN MY HANDS , I HAVE EVREYTHING I'LL EVER NEED , HAHAHAHAHAHA !!! "

Rezo placed the Proof back on his staff and then concentrated all his energy in his right hand . With a loud scream he amplifyed the beam's power and planet Earth turned completely red . All its inhabitants had been put into temporary sleep so that Rezo could do that he wished with them . All this process was consuming his energy , but he didn't give up . He was now doing what almost any human would have ever wished – to make his own home where he could rule . Rezo decided that the planet's structure was far too complicated for him to rule it . He had to somehow simplify it .

Rezo first used his powers and united all continents into one single continent . Then he destroyed evreything which was on it , including life species . Afterwards he created all he wished on the continent : a beach , two factories ( one for chemicals , the other for oil – both bringing Tabitha fuel for her spells ) , a misteryous ruined castle which was near a lake , a night gambling city called Rezo Vegas similar to Las Vegas , an unique mountain which had an unique forest on it and an unique cave inside it , an unique desert which was very vast , an abandoned city where he sent all the spirits of the humans there and finally a castle which served as his base on the planet . This was his world and now it was all his .

Exactly when Rezo finished his spell he felt weakened . It was then when he had lost all his wizard powers and was about to fall in space forever , but Tabitha arrived just in time to save him with her broomstick and bring him back to his flying castle in space .

Meanwhile at Kokujo's UFO . All of them were amazed of what had just happened . They had no words for what Rezo had just done to their home .

" What should we do now ? " Kokujo asked Dorballom .

" My suggestion is to land on Earth before Rezo does . That way we'll have time advantage on our side and he'll also spend time trying to find our position . " Dorballom answered and flew with the UFO in his hands back on Earth .

Back at Rezo's castle . The army of clones was put to sleep . All of them deserved some rest after their battle against the Earth's resistences . Ichiro , Hanna , Xanagazu , the vassal , Shagrath and Tabitha were all standing alligned in the throne chamber while Rezo passed them all and sat on his throne . He looked at his servants with his blue and yellow eyes which were showing only satisfaction .

" Today , my servants , we've accomplished the main objective of this whole journey . Now you are all loyal members of my kingdom ! "

Rezo got up from his throne as the castle slowly moved towards Earth . He walked happily to his servants which were surprised of seeing for the first time their master being happy .

" Let's all rejoice this victory , my servants ! We shall establish on planet Earth and rule it forever ! "

" I'm sorry to be the one binging bad news , Rezo , but it's not over ! "

" What do you mean , Tabitha ? " Rezo asked while staring at the blonde witch .

" That demon Dorballom had managed to save Kokujo Kyoshiro , doctor Root and the five chosen duelists and fly away with them before you could do any change to the planet . Most likely they'll try to get their hands on the Proof and face you once again so my suggestion would be... "

Suddenly Rezo hit a wall with his fist making a small hole in it . His happiness had now turned into anger . He then got a plan for the final anihilation of his enemies and spoke :

" Those brats had stayed in my way long enough ! Tabitha , Shagrath , Xanagazu and vassal , you're coming with me on Earth ! I shall take care of those bastards once and for all ! Ichiro , Hanna , you wake up seven clones and bring them to me , they'll be joining me on my trip to Earth ! After this you two have the duty to stay here and watch over the maids and other clones ! If needed we'll return here ! Evreyone has understood their jobs ? "

" Yes , Lord Rezo ! " they all answered and bowed .

" Good , be ready in 30 minutes for leaving ! " Rezo spoke and got out from the throne chamber .

Dorballom and the chosen duelists were now approaching the Earth's atmosphere . Once they would land on the planet , the journey against Rezo would begin once again . Doctor Root was checking the UFO's motors hoping that he would find a way to fix them . Kokujo was standing all by himself in a corner staring at his Ballom Monarch card . Rad was checking the motors of his rocket for he knew that he would need it sooner or later . Sora was meditating while sitting on a sofa . Edo knew that once again their lives would be in danger so he spent these final moments of peace with his friends , Subaru and Tsugumi , playing video games .

Rezo and his team were the first to land on Earth . They all landed at the castle which he created to serve as their headquarters . Once they landed , they all began their work . Rezo's orders were precise . Tabitha and Shagrath had to work on a spell which would finish the chosen duelists once and for all , Xanagazu and the vassal had to work on something 'important' and the clones had to come with Rezo . He had a special mission for each one of them .

" I'm sencing something , Shagrath . " Tabitha spoke intrerrupting her spell study .

" What is it ? " Shagrath asked while getting the ingredients for the spell ready .

" The chosen duelists have entered the Earth's atmosphere , I can sence it ! I must take care of them by myself once and for all ! "

Tabitha then took out her broomstick and flew away by her own leaving a confused Shagrath watch her fly in the air . Dorballom was preparing to land along with the UFO when something happened . Tabitha appeared out of nowhere in front of the giant goat demon and spoke :

" You have stood in my way long enough , you demon wannabe ! It is time to show you what I'm made of ! "

" Bring it on , old hag ! " Dorballom replied and was about to attack Tabitha .

" You've asked for it ! " Tabitha said and took out her wand . " DEMON GENOCIDER !!!! "

A powerful orange ray came out from her wand and struck Dorballom so hard that he had no other choice than to teleport back into the creature world . Once Dorballom was gone Kokujo's UFO fell at highspeed and landed on the Emerald Beach .

" With Dorballom out of the way they'll be exposed to my magic . Until now my job here is done ! " Tabitha said and flew away . " Rezo has given up his powers and is now a normal human depending on his dueling deck and the Proof of Duelmaster which would suck his life energy if he uses it for evil purposes . In other words I'm the most powerful person in here ! Hehehe , I wonder how long should I keep up this sharade and keep Rezo the 'leader' of the Earth... "

Kokujo's UFO landed at the Emerald Beach . The landing wasn't a nice one , but no one was hurt . The UFO's door opened and out of it the chosen duelists , Kokujo and doctor Root came out . They were all dizzy because of the hard landing .

" Is evreyone ok ? " doctor Root asked .

" Yeah , we're fine . " Sora answered after seeing that none of them was bleeding or had serious injuries .

" Man , this beach is so beautiful ! " Tsugumi said and took off her clothes . " I wanna have a nice bath right now ! "

" Did she say bath ? " Edo asked and looked at Subaru . " You know what this means , right ? "

" Last one in the water is a rotten egg ! " Subaru said and took off his clothes while running towards the water .

" That's you , Suby ! " Edo said and did the same .

" Tsh , kids... " Kokujo murmed and walked to the UFO to help Root repair it .

Subaru and Edo jumped in the water and swam a little farther . Then they started splashing eachother with water . Tsugumi didn't swim too far . She just wanted to float on the water having the sun warm her skin . That was her way of relaxing .

Rad was the only one which wasn't relaxing or working on the UFO . Sora noticed that while she was putting sand on her skin to treat herself .

" Rad , is something wrong ? "

" Yes , I feel as if something's coming to us . " Rad answered and walked a few steps in the opposite direction of the sea .

The red haired boy then saw something big . At first the wind wouldn't let him see what it was but once it was over he saw that a giant factory was operating near the beach . He was amazed of the giant building and then he thought that Rezo must be close by . Rad ran back to his friends to warn them of what was going on .

" Guys ! Guys ! " he yelled while approaching them .

" Huh ? What is it , Rad ? " Sora asked and got up from the sand .

" Did you find something ? " Kokujo also asked while getting out of the UFO .

" Guys , I found Rezo's factory ! " Rad said and stopped running .

" Huh ? A factory here in the middle of nowhere ? " Kokujo asked surprised .

Tsugumi was floating on the water relaxed . All her pain and suffering was gone away and it was thanks to the crystal clean water which had an acceptable cold temperature . The sun's divine rays were reflected on the crystal blue liquid which sorrounded her angelic body . The same rays were warming her white skin making it shine like the most precious gold ever to be seen . The girl then opened her eyes wanting to see what Subaru and Edo were doing but then she saw something in the sky . At first it seemed to be a bird but when she looked better she saw that it was a silver helicopter .

" Guys , someone's coming ! " she shouted and jumped out of the water .

" Oh great... " Kokujo sighed . " Tsugumi , tell Subaru and Edo to get out of the water and you all dress up ! Rad , Sora , you go back in the UFO and... "

Before Kokujo could finish his sentence the helicopter approached the ground and they could see that theone piloting it was none other than Rezo ! The Red Priest gave them all an evil smile and kept his helicopter flying above the ground but enough close to it so that evreyone could see him .

" Rezo ! " Kokujo , Rad and Sora exclaimed .

" It's been some time , Kokujo Kyoshiro and chosen duelists ! " Rezo replied . " I honestly didn't think that all of you would survive my reign and the changes I brought on planet Earth but I do think that this is because of the failures which some of my servants are ! "

" Rezo , we survived because we were strong enough and we all had the will to beat you ! Together we'll always have at least a chance to bring down your reign ! " Kokujo spoke proudly and made a step towards Rezo's helicopter . " Come on , bastard , bring it on ! Zap us , this will show what a coward you are ! Or duel us , at least one of us will fall like a man ! "

" Oh , I'm terribly sorry , but it is not me the one you'll face today ! " Rezo said smiling and snapped his hands . A car with a sharp drill in front of it appeared from the factory and stopped behind the helicopter . " This is your challenge ! " Rezo continued as a clone duelist came out of it and walked to Kokujo , Sora and Rad .

" So who wants to die by my hand today ? " the clone duelist asked and took out his glowing deck .

" Don't waste your time and energy with this guy , Kokujo ! " Rad said and walked towards the clone . " I will be the one facing you , clone ! "

" Heh , bring it on , red haired boy ! "

Tsugumi , Subaru and Edo came to them all dressed up . They were all shocked to see Rezo again , but they knew that sooner or later they'd face him . Rezo then fixed his eyes on them and spoke to Rad :

" Chosen fire duelist , this duel shall be a duel with conditions ! "

" Sounds interesting , and what the condition might be ? " the red haired boy asked .

" If the last shield of my clone is broken , I'll fire the drill from his car towards you friends ! Let's see if they'll be able to not get hurt , hehe ! " Rezo laughed .

" You're such a despicable being , Rezo , but if there's no other choice than to put my friend's lives in danger in order to save the world then I see myself forced to do it ! " Rad replied as the dueling tables rose from the ground .

" Wow , I never knew that Rad was able to create such a complex sentence ! " Edo spoke amazed .

" Shut it , dimwit , or else ! " Rad said and gave Edo a terrifying gaze making the brown haired boy tremble .

The duel between Rad and the clone began . After a few short turns .

" I summon Cocco Lupia ! " Rad said and a red fire bird appeared behind him .

" I cast God Signal and put Shine Valkyrie , Heavenly God from my deck to the top of my deck ! And I also summon God Lupia ! " the clone said .

" I summon Bolshack Yamato Dragon ! " Rad said and a giant dragon wearing a red samurai armor with a horned helmet and a long golden sword appeared behind him and roared . " Ike , Yamato Dragon , double break his shields ! Cocco Lupia , break his shield ! "

The clone took cover as Rad's creatures broke three of its shields . The clone took the cards to his hand and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Transmogrify and destroy Bolshack Yamato Dragon and replace it with the next creature from your deck ! "

Bolshack Yamato Dragon blew up and Rad revealed the next card from his deck which was Totto Pippichi and which he summoned .

" My turn , I summon Shine Valkyrie , Heavenly God ! " the clone said and a golden dragon like creature weilding a shiny scepter made of gold appeared behind him and roared .

" Is that seriously all you got ? " Rad asked bored . " I summon Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon ! "

" I-impossible ! " the clone spoke scarred and fell on his knees .

" I attack with Samurai Dragon and put one of my shields to the graveyard to use the creature's effect ! " Rad said . " Now with Bolmeteus's effect I'll destroy Shine Valkyrie and also the creature breaks your final shields ! "

Rezo then got an evil grin on his face . The duel's condition was going to happen . After Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon slashed the clone's final shields with the sword from its mouth , Rezo pressed a button and the drill from the clone's car had been fired towards Kokujo and the other chosen duelists . Kokujo had been prepared for that moment and once he heared Rezo pressing the button he pushed Subaru and Edo aside and then yelled to Sora to duck along with Tsugumi . As the girls did that he jumped in the air for a few seconds and the drill didn't hit anything and landed in the sea .

" Damn ! " Rezo spoke angry and hit his chair with his fist .

" You'll have to do better than that if you want to take us out ! " Kokujo spoke to the Red Priest with satisfaction in his voice .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Totto Pippichi back to your hand ! " the clone said and showed a shiny card while trembling .

" Heh , nice but not enough ! " Rad said and then he yelled . " TIME TO FINISH THIS OFF ! COCCO LUPIA , TOTOMEDA !!! "

The fire bird flew with high speed and in just a second it hit the clone and made him fly in the air and land on the ground hurt . Rezo flew with his helicopter and took the clone in it . Afterwards he pressed a button and the clone's car rode back to the factory .

" Tsh , you won this small battle but it is I the one which shall win the war ! " Rezo said and flew away with his helicopter .

They all stared for a few seconds at the helicopter which was flying towards the giant factory which was at a small distance from the Emerald Beach . Then Kokujo got up and spoke to the chosen duelists :

" You've seen what our duels with Rezo and his minions will be now . I want you all to be more serious than ever ! This will be our final battle and if one of you dies then it's more than sure that Rezo has won ! "

" Kokujo is right ! " Sora said while getting up . " Remember the prophecy ? _The Red Priest shall rise like the menacing storm clouds , but the five chosen duelists along with their five chosen cards will bring his fall on the day chosen by God ! _If one of the chosen duelists dies in this mission then we're all doomed forever ! "

Doctor Root then came out from the UFO and walked to them . He was filled with oil and seemed tired .

" Kids , it will take me at least two days to bring this damn machine back to function ! I'm afraid that you'll have to wait until then if you need the UFO ! "

" I would use my rocket but only if needed . " Rad said .

" Doctor , we're going to hunt down Rezo . You stay here and fix the UFO and once you're done come and find us ! You can use the tracking system which I installed in the UFO's control room . " Kokujo said .

" Alright , then good luck ! " Root said and watched Kokujo and the chosen duelists which started walking towards the giant factory . " May God help us defeat Rezo this time ! " the doctor added .


	37. Rezo's chemical factory

Kokujo and the chosen duelists had arrived at the giant factory after minutes of walking . They were all amazed of the giant forms of the building and all the advanced technology it had on both outside and inside .

" Amazing , purely amazing ! " Edo said .

" With such a factory Rezo would've done so much good to humanity ! Imagine all the cures he could find for terrible illnesses ! " Subaru said .

" Or he could do harm to both humanity and the environment ! " Sora strictly spoke . " Look at the roof of the building , there are smokes coming out ! Also look in the left , there's a long pipe which throws chemicals directly into the sea ! I don't think that Rezo intends to do any good with this factory ! "

" Sora is right , we can't let Rezo play like that with the planet's environment ! " Tsugumi added .

" Then let's close this factory and defeat Rezo once and for all ! " Kokujo said and opened the doors of the building . " For the sake of the Earth ! "

" For the sake of the Earth ! " the chosen duelists reapeated and followed Kokujo in the building .

The insight of the factory was shocking . Evreywhere there were laboratories of different kinds . Most of them were concentrating on creating new chemicals and plants or even change the structure of atoms and create whole new species or substances . In one word this factory was a heaven for scientists . Evrey lab was operated by robots and computers and they could see no humans .

" That's weird , I'm 100 % sure that Rezo came in here ! " Kokujo said and walked around . " Well this place seems pretty harmless . "

" Agreed , I mean what could possibly happen to you in a chemical factory ? " Rad asked while following Kokujo .

" Wow , what a shiny button ! " Edo said and pressed a red button from a wall .

Then six holes appeared in the floor and all of them fell in six pipes which transported them with high speed to the lower part of the chemical factory . While they were falling Rad screamed towards Edo :

" EDO KANDA , IF WE SURVIVE THEN THIS"LL BE THE LAST IDIOTIC THING YOU'VE DONE IN YOUR LIFE !!! "

" Why me ?! " Edo asked while having tears falling from his eyes .

After a few minutes of falling , the chosen duelists and Kokujo got out of the pipes and landed on a metal floor . When they looked up they saw that there were pipes evreywhere and if they could climb on them they could go back to the first floor .

" Man , what a ride ! " Subaru spoke while getting up .

" I'm so dizzy ! " Rad said and tried to get up as well .

" At least he forgot about killing me... " Edo thought .

Sora then senced something and jumped in the air . She fastly looked down and saw that her fears were true . The green haired girl then yelled to the others :

" Guys , there's a toxic purple liquid filling the room ! Climb on what pipes you find and let's exit this basement before it's too late ! "

" She's right , look ! " Subaru said and pointed to a pipe from which the purple liquid was falling .

" I wonder what's this liquid... " Edo said and touched it a little with his finger which got a small burn . " OUCH , it's an acid and an even powerful one ! "

" Crap ! We have no time to lose ! Hurry up and climb those pipes now ! " Kokujo said and evreyone started climbing on each pipe they found .

Meanwhile at Rezo . The Red Priest was staring at a glass filled with that purple acid . He was reading on a paper the ecuation of the chemical reaction which created this substance and was amazed of how hard it could be obtained . The conditions to create such a substance could be made only in that factory meaning that they were the only ones able to produce it . Rezo then thought of ways how the acid could help Tabitha with her spells .

" I'm sorry to disturb you , Lord Rezo , but I bring urgent news ! " a clone said and bowed in front of the Red Priest .

" What is it ? " Rezo asked and turned to his servant .

" Kokujo and the chosen duelists have infiltrated in our chemical factory . Now they are in the basement which is being filled with our newest acid as we speak ."

" I shall call this new acid 'Alpha Anihilator' since it can burn a tiny mouse in only a second ! " Rezo said and threw a cute white mouse in the glass which disappeared in the liquid after just a second , the only thing remaining from the poor creature being a grey smoke . " See what I mean , clone ? Kokujo and the chosen duelists are doomed ! But just to be sure that they'll be doomed , come with me ! I must plan a small dueling arena in case they manage to escape from the basement . "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! " the clone said and followed his master .

Back at our heroes . Even though they were climbing fast on the pipes the acid was falling even faster from the pipe and was rising by each second passing .

" Man , I'm tired from all this climbing ! " Subaru said and whiped off the sweat from his forehead .

" Keep on climbing , Suby , the acid is reaching us ! " Edo yelled to his friend which started climbing once again .

" How much is it till we reach the first floor ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Wait a minute , guys , and I'll be back to help you ! " Sora said and started jumping from pipe to pipe using her shamanic powers .

" Don't just stand there looking at her ! Keep climbing ! " Kokujo said to the other chosen duelists .

" But Kokujo-kun , we're tired ! We cannot keep on like this much longer ! " Subaru said

" Yeah , we may be needed to carry some of our tired ones on our backs ! " Rad added .

" Shit , they're getting tired and we don't even know if we're almost there or didn't even reach the half ! And that acid is only a few feet under us ! This situation couldn't get worse ! " Kokujo thought .

Then the lights from the basement went off . Rezo was the one which did that because he knew that without seeing where the pipes are they would fall in the acid sooner or later .

" Man , why didn't I keep my mouth shut ? Oh wait , I DID keep it shut ! Man , why didn't I keep my mind shut ? Oh wait , if I did that then I would've been dead by now ! Oh , forget it , I have bigger problems now ! " Kokujo thought .

Sora managed to reach the first floor and noticed that it wasn't much to climb . When she looked down to announce her friends that they were almost there she saw that it all the lights in the basement were shut .

" Oh no , I must find a switch to turn on the lights before it's too late ! " Sora said and was about to run but then she saw Rezo at a window looking at her .

" Don't bother , dear , the switch is here and I am guarded by robots ! " Rezo spoke through some speakers . " I'm afraid that this is the end of your friends , hehehe ! "

" Not if I can do something about it ! " Sora replied and jumped back to the pipes .

Rezo then pressed a button which caused a small earthquake in the factory . Kokujo and the chosen duelists were holding tight on their pipes to not fall in the acid which was still rising . Then they heared someone falling on the pipes and moving fast to them .

" Who is it ? " Kokujo asked .

" It's me , Sora ! " the girl replied and in just a second she managed to grab Tsugumi , Subaru , Edo and Rad and hold them all on her back . " Kokujo , I got the others on my back but I can't hold more on it ! You'll have to find your way out by yourself ! "

" No worries , it won't be that hard ! " Kokujo said and took out a lantern from his pockets . " I almost forgot that I had this thingy ! "

" Hehe , okay , let's go , guys ! " Sora said and used her powers to jump upper and upper having the other four on her back .

After a few minutes they all managed to reach the first floor where the lights were up . Rezo then turned on the lights under the floor and they all saw that the acid had completely filled the basement . They also saw that the earthquake made by Rezo was only to replace the normal metal floor from the first floor with a long blue pipe .

" Okay , what's going on here ? " Tsugumi asked .

" It's your end , that's what's going on ! " Rezo answered through the speakers .

Evreyone looked up and saw the window of the room in which Rezo was . Then they turned down and saw the next clone they had to face . The duelist walked to them and as he was in front of them the pipe started shining . Half of it was now constitued of small platforms on which Kokujo and the chosen duelists were standing . The other half was still a normal pipe .

" Who dares to face my mighty clone ? " Rezo asked .

" I dare ! " Sora said and walked towards the clone . " I will show you what happens when you mess up with the environment ! "

" Fine then . Chosen nature duelist , the condition of your duel is each time one of your shields is broken one platform from the other half of the pipe disappears and one of your friends will die in my acid ! " Rezo said with a grin on his face . " And since your deck is a Nature deck you don't really have blockers ! Hehehe , your friends's fates are sealed ! "

" If I must , I will accept this hard challenge and try not to get any of my shields breaked ! " Sora continued and put her deck on the dueling table . " Let's do it , shields up ! "

" Shields up ! " the clone replied .

The duel between Sora and the clone began .

" I charge mana and end my turn ! " Sora said .

" I charge mana and generate Saving Sword – Memory Accela ! " the clone said .

" I charge mana and cast Faerie Gift ! Now the next creature I summon costs 3 mana less so I summon Kirino Giant for only 1 mana ! "

" Tsh , I charge mana and cast Faerie Life to gain one more mana ! "

" Kirino Giant makes all my Giants cost 2 mana less so I summon Kishima Giant for only 3 mana ! And now , Kirino Giant , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Emergency Typhoon to draw two cards and then I discard Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! My turn , I summon Underworld , the Greatest God ! " the clone said and a giant red and green robot appeared behind him and roared .

" Heh , your God is nothing compared to my Giants ! " Sora said . " I cast Faerie Life to gain one more mana and then I summon Sanfist , the Savage Vizier which by the way is a blocker ! "

" What ? You added Light cards in your deck as well ?! " the clone asked shocked .

" Yep , did you think I'm really that dumb to use only civilisation ? " Sora said smiling . " And now , Kishima Giant , break his shield ! Also Kishima Giant's effect will let me put a card from your hand to your mana zone ! "

Sora looked at the cards from the clone's hand and chose to send Hanzou , Menacing Phantom to the mana zone . Afterwards Sora's Kishima Giant broke another one of the clone's shields .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! " the clone said smiling .

" Kirino Giant , break his shield ! " Sora said .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send Kishima Giant to your mana zone ! Heh , seems as if your own civilisation is letting you down , nature girl ! "

" Meh , let's see what you do now , clone ! "

" I'm glad that you asked ! I cast Earth Eternity Gate and summon Chemical , God of Sublimity from my mana zone ! With his effect I'll draw two cards and discard Magical Dragon Babelginus ! Godlink ! I unite Chemical and Underworld to create Chemical Underworld , the Greatest God of Sublimity ! "

A creature made of dark blue crystal appeared at Underworld's right side and united with the giant red and green robot . That was how Chemical Underworld was created .

" Chemical Underworld has a power of 8000 , is a double breaker and if it wins a battle then it may untap and attack again ! " the clone said .

" Oh no , then my shields... " Sora said shocked .

" Exactly ! Ike , Chemical Underworld , double break her shields ! "

Sora didn't block because she knew that her Sanfist would be destroyed and Chemical Underworld would attack again . As her shields get broken the green haired girl turned to her friends and screamed :

" GUYS , WATCH OUT !!! "

The condition of the duel had to be made . Since two of Sora's shields got broken then two platforms must disappear and two of her friends must die . The platforms on which Tsugumi and Edo were standing then disappeared to the shock of the two . When they thought that that was their end two hands catched them and pulled them up . Tsugumi had been rescued by Subaru which hugged her once she got up on his platform saying that it was alright . Edo found it ironic that he had been saved by Rad which only an hour ago was threatening to kill him .

Sora sighed with relief after seing what happened to her friends . She then closed her eyes to relax and turned back tot he duel . The green haired girl then spoke :

" This is your end , clone ! "

" What do you mean ? "

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Torcon ! And now my turn , I evolve Torcon into Fighter Dual Fang ! "

" Oh crap !!! " the clone exclaimed shocked .

" Ike , Dual Fang , break his final shields ! " Sora ordered and the giant big fanged beast slashed the clone's last two shields with one of its giant swords .

" Sh-shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy your Sanfist ! "

" Kirino Giant , finish him off , totomeda ! "

The giant took out one of its swords and hit the clone with it . The clone was thrown against the wall and made a hole in it which lead to both the power generator room and to the exit of the chemical factory . Kokujo and the four chosen duelists jumped to the normal pipe and ran to Sora which was packing her cards .

" Nice duel you played there , Sora ! " Tsugumi congratulated her .

" Keep that for later , now we have something important to do ! " Sora said and ran towards the power generator room having the others follow her .

Rezo was angry because not only that his clone had lost the duel but also none of the chosen duelists were dead yet . He pressed a button and teleported the unconcious clone to his room . Afterwards he started moving in circles thinking of a new condition for the next duel .

Kokujo and the chosen duelists managed to reach the giant power generator which was a giant egg made of glass with some shiny blue energy fueling the whole equipment of the factory . Sora clunched her fists and spoke to her friends :

" You guys run to the exit and get outta here ! I'll reach you after I make sure that this factory will cease hurting Mother Nature ! "

" Okay , let's go , guys ! " Kokujo said and ran away along with the other chosen duelists

Meanwhile at Rezo's room . The Red Priest still walking in circles and thinking of a new condition for the future duel .

" Hm... maybe since the next zone is the ancient ruins then I could probably trap them in a cage and pour some Alpha Anihilator acid on them if one of the chosen duelists's shields is broken . This plan might do but I need more acid to be produced and... "

Before Rezo could finish his sentence all the lights in the factory had been shut down and all the machines stopped working . Rezo got shocked of what happened and ran to the basement which he supposed that was still filled with acid . When he lighted the basement with his lantern he saw that all the acid had been drained into a sewer by the robots once the duel was over . This made the Red Priest really angry and he yelled so loud that even Sora which was exiting the factory could hear him .

Outside , the chosen duelists were sitting on the grassy land waiting for Sora to come . Once the green haired came to them they got up and continued their journey .

" Guys , I think that Rezo got really angry after what I did , hihi . " Sora laughed .

" I so wonder how his face looked like when he saw all the lights turned off . " Subaru said .

" I bet that it would've been worser than those of horror movie monsters , haha ! " Edo laughed .


	38. The ancient ruins

After a few hours of walking on a plain Kokujo and the chosen duelists had at last found a forest . They were all releived that they could finally rest for a fewminutes in that place . The forest didn't have many trees because it was sorrounding a lake which was communicating with the sea . Near the lake was a small abandoned ruin of an ancient roman city . It seemed that the planet still had some beauties to offer .

" So what do you guys want to do now ? Have a bath ? " Kokujo asked .

" Nah , we already had one on that beach . " Tsugumi answered and walked to the ruin . " I want to see what's inside these ruins . "

" Same here , it may be something interesting . " Subaru said . " Who wants to come in the ruins with us ? "

" I think I'll come . " Edo said .

" Meh , I have nothing better to do so I'll come as well ! " Kokujo said .

" Me and Sora will be staying at the lake fishing . " Rad said and took out some fish bait .

" Okay , see ya , guys ! " Kokujo said and walked towards the ruins followed by Edo , Tsugumi and Subaru .

The ruins were fantastic . If people would've been living there then they would've thought that they were in Ancient Rome . There were temples dedicated to Jupiter and Venus , emperor and gladiator statues , sculpted columns , fountains of wishes and living houses evreywhere . Grass and plants had grown on these wonders and this was the first sign that the place wasn't inhabited anymore .

" What an awsome place ! " Subaru exclaimed and admired the temples .

" The Romans must've been one interesting civilisation ! " Tsugumi added .

" Meh , interesting my butt , most of the architectonic stuff and gods were copied from the Greeks and all they did was conquer other nations ! They weren't all that special ! " Kokujo said and walked to a fountain of wishes to drink some water .

Subaru entered a temple followed by Tsugumi to admire the building from the inside . Edo on the other hand saw some gladiator armors and decided to do a prank . He dressed up as a gladiator , took some weapons and ran to scare the two .

Inside the temple Subaru and Tsugumi were admiring the statues built there and the vases in which there were still gifts brought to the Gods .

" To think that ancient people had built this . It seems so impossible ! " Subaru said .

" If you think that's impossible then what about the pyramids of Ancient Egypt ? " Tsugumi asked .

" You're right , my dear , these shall be mysteries which only time could answer . "

The two lovers then heared a loud scream . They turned their backs and saw Edo dressed as a gladiator running towards them . They didn't recognise him and all they could do was run away . Since Edo wasn't a good weapon weilder he immediately threw a spear towards the two . They were far too fast for it and the spear hit a wall which got broken . Subaru and Tsugumi stopped once they saw that the gladiator fell on his back laughing hard .

" Hahahahaha , you should've seen your faces ! "

" Hey , I know this voice ! " Tsugumi said .

" You're no gladiator ! " Subaru said and took off the helmet from Edo's head . " You're Edo-kun ! "

" Man , the way you guys reacted was just too hillarious , hahaha ! " Edo kept laughing .

The two then blushed and layed their heads down ashamed . They foolishly fell for Edo's simple prank . Tsugumi then noticed something and pointed to the hole Edo made into the wall saying :

" Guys , dosen't that look like a secret passage ? "

" Huh ? " Edo asked and stopped from laughing . " You're right ! "

" Shall we check it out ? " Tsugumi continued .

" Ladies first ! " Subaru said and politely made way for Tsugumi to enter first .

The blonde girl wanted to play Subaru's little manner game and walked graciously into the secret passage with her long blonde hair flowing in the air . Subaru and Edo were staring at her as if she was a goddess .

" Man , you're one lucky bastard , Subaru ! " Edo said while drooling .

" Let's just go on ! " Subaru replied and both followed Tsugumi in the secret passage .

At first the secret passage seemed to be a tunnel but they fastly found some stairs which were going up in the form of a spiral . Without even wondering what could be waiting for them up the trio started climbing the stairs .

Outside the temple Kokujo was admiring the statues . He was thinking that the Romans were great artists and they really knew how to appreciate beauty . But something wasn't right . The statues , even though covered by grass and plants , seemed too recent built and he didn't believe that some normal human would order the complete restoring of a city . Then he realised it – this city was built or rebuilt by Rezo and it was probably a trap . When he was about to run to find the others , he got caught by something and pulled in the air . Kokujo looked up and saw Rezo in his silver helicopter controling a robotic arm coming from the vehicle which was holding him .

" I just knew that this was your doing , Rezo ! " Kokujo said while trying to get free .

" Heh , this city was rebuilt by me for my own pleasure , Kokujo Kyoshiro ! You can admire it how much you want , because it will be the last thing you'll see ! " Rezo said and flew with his helicopter towards the lake where Rad and Sora were fishing .

Back at Edo , Tsugumi and Subaru . The three had reached the roof of the temple and were now admiring the whole sight from height . The whole roman ruin looked fantastic with the forest sorrounding it and the lake near it . And to make the sight more beautiful , the sun was setting behind the lake .

" I haven't seen such a beautiful sight in a long time ! " Tsugumi said .

" Yeah , all these open colors would make a perfect painting for the wall of our room , my love ! " Subaru replied .

" HELL YEAH , I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD !!! " Edo yelled while sitting on the top of a tower .

" Edo-kun , get down there , it's dangerous ! " Subaru warned his friend .

Edo didn't listen and the rock on which he was standing moved and fell . The brown haired boy also fell , but from the roof of the temple . Tsugumi screamed scarred while Subaru jumped to save his friend . The two boys fell from the roof and luckily landed in the lake . Edo then took out his head from the water and scramed while splashing water evreywhere :

" OH SHIT , I'M DROWNING , I CAN'T GET UP ! OH SHIT , WHAT THE HELL AM I GONNA DO ? I DON'T WANNA DIE , I HAVEN'T DIED AS A MAN !!! "

" Um , Edo-kun , the water barely reaches my knees... " Subaru said while standing on his feet and doing his hair which was messed up by both the fall and water .

" Oh , I knew that all along ! " Edo said and stopped acting like a crazy animal .

Subaru and Edo then noticed something strange . A person was standing by the edge of the lake looking at them . At first it seemed as if it was a normal human but then they realised that it was a clone . Once the clone saw that the two noticed him he ran away . Subaru and Edo chased the clone until an earthquake appeared . The ground was shaking and then two totems came out of the ground . One totem rose from the place where Edo was standing while the other from the place where the clone was standing . The totems were grey and each of them consisted of four stone birds with their beaks wide open . The totems then created two walls between them having Subaru caught there . It seemed that Edo and the clone had to duel while standing on the top of those totems . But just as they were about to begin the duel Rezo came with his helicopter and said :

" You cannot start this party without your beloved Red Priest , now could you ? "

Rezo then pushed Kokujo , Tsugumi , Rad and Sora out of his helicopter . They were all tied up with a big rope and they landed between the two totems near Subaru .

" Don't you even try to untie them , Subaru , because you'll just be wasting your time ! The rope is a magical one and it will be untied only if Edo wins the duel ! " Rezo said and then turned to Edo . " As for you , chosen water duelist , the condition of your duel is that evrey time one of your shields get broken an arrow shall be fired from one of the beaks from these totems . The question is where will the arrow come from ? And of course if your friends won't be able to dodge , thing which is 90 % possible considering the small space in which they're trapped , then you can say goodbye to them ! Hahahaha , let the games begin ! "

" Tsh , I gotta be careful and not let this guy break my shields ! " Edo thought .

The duel between Edo and the clone began .

" I summon Aqua Guard ! " Edo said .

" I also summon Aqua Guard ! " the clone said .

" Huh ? Is this guy trying to copy me or what ? " Edo thought and then spoke . " I summon Akashic Third , the Electro-Bandit ! "

" I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Spinslicer ! " the clone said grinning . " Ike , Spinslicer , break his shield ! "

" I can't allow that guy to break my shield ! " Edo thought and then spoke . " I block the attack with Aqua Guard ! My turn , I summon Qurian and draw a card ! Ike , Akashic Second , attack Spinslicer and I'll reveal the next cards from my deck until I find a creature ! "

Edo revealed the next card from his deck which was Aqua Sniper . The boy smiled and said :

" Now Akasihc Second will become Aqua Sniper until the end of this turn , so , Akashic Second , suicide with Crystal Spinslicer ! Also Aqua Sniper goes to my graveyard ! "

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana ! Afterwards I summon Aqua Guard and end ! " the clone said .

" I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! " Edo said . " Then I also summon Aqua Guard ! Qurian , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! And now my turn ! You're so screwed , Edo Kanda , I summon Cryptic Totem ! Cryptic Totem is a 6000 powered double breaker which won't let you use your shield triggers once it's tapped ! Next turn your friends are dead ! "

" That's what you think ! If you think that I'll let you kill my friends then think again ! I will not let you take my dear ones away from me ! " Edo said and his hand glew with a powerful blue light as he drew his next card . " I evolve Aqua Guard into CRYSTAL LANCER ! Time to show you who's the boss ! Crystal Lancer , double break his shields ! Qurian , break his shield ! Aqua Super Emeral , break his final shield ! "

The clone took cover as all of its shields got broken into pieces . The shield shards slowly turned into cards and once the clone saw what he got , he smiled and spoke to Edo :

" You fool shouldn't have blindly attacked me thinking that you would save your friends ! You'll now pay for your mistake ! "

" W-what ? " Edo said sweating .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send Crystal Lancer to your mana zone ! And now I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Paladin and send your Aqua Super Emeral back to your hand ! Then surprise surprise ! I summon Aqua Guard and evolve it into Crystal Spinslicer ! "

" Oh no ! " Edo spoke shocked . " He has four attackers , one of them being a double breaker , and I have five shields ! All of my shields will be gone and Cryptic Totem won't let me use any shield triggers ! "

" Yes , but your Qurian would still finish me off , so... Crystal Spinslicer , kill Qurian ! Then Cryptic Totem double break his shields ! Crystal Paladin , break his shield ! Bronze-Arm Tribe , break his shield ! "

" This is it , the final destruction of the chosen duelists ! " Rezo exclaimed .

The condition of the duel had to be made . Since four of Edo's shields got broken then two bird beaks from each totem launched an arrow . In total they were four arrows . When Edo saw what happened he screamed loudly towards his friends . Once the first arrow got out , Subaru anticipated where it was going to hit so he ran and pushed his tied friends against a wall , he pushing himself against the other . The second arrow came from the lowest beak of the totem so they just jumped in the air . The third arrow came from the highest beak of the totem so all they had to do was to fall back . And the final arrow came towards their heads , but once again Subaru anticipated where it would hit so he just fell on his friends ducking and making them duck as well .

Evreything happened so quick that Edo thought that his friends were dead . Once he saw them all getting up and breathing he realised that evreything was ok .

" Darn those brats ! They managed to survive once again ! " Rezo spoke angry .

" Yes , and now it's time to finish up this clone ! " Edo said and his hand glew with a powerful blue aura as he drew his next card . " I summon Aqua Guard and then I evolve it into CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER !!! "

A giant golden knight centaur weilding two spears rose out from the sea and galloped to the lake where the duel was going on . He got out of the lake and threw one of his spears towards the dueling place . The spear landed behind Edo's totem and caused a small earthquake . The centaur then walked to them , took his spear back and stood behind Edo which smiling spoke to his opponent :

" This is your end ! CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER , TOTOMEDA !! "

The centaur roared with just one slash he destroyed the totem on which the clone was standing and the two walls which were keeping Subaru and the rest trapped . The clone flew in the air bleeding but Rezo caught him and took him in his helicopter . The Red Priest stared angry at Edo which was climbing down the totem and at Subaru which was freeing his friends .

" Next time , there's always a next time , chosen duelists ! " Rezo said and flew away .

Edo was greeted with congratulations and thanks once he reached the ground . The boy blushed and kept saying that it was nothing trying to be modest .

" Man , I really thought I was going to die there ! " Subaru said .

" Yeah , but you didn't and that's what matters ! " Edo replied . " Man , I haven't felt so manly for a long time ! "

" Yeah , yeah , whatever... " Rad replied and ate a donut .

" Hey , that was my last donut !! " Edo yelled and started crying worser than a girl .

" Yeah , he surely is our 'man'... " Kokujo spoke sarcasticly .

Evreyone except for Edo laughed at the pathetic situation in which the brown haired boy was . But besides that they were all enjoying the fact that they had survived this tough challenge and that they were one step closer to catching Rezo . The sun was now setting and they were all ready to leave the ancient ruins . Kokujo packed up all the food he could find and Sora did the same with all the herbs she found .

" We're ready to leave ! " Kokujo said while coming with Sora .

" Um , guys , have you seen Edo ? " Rad asked .

" He said he had something important to show us . " Subaru said .

" He also added that we should come to the Temple of Jupiter in the ruins . " Tsugumi said .

" Then what are we waiting for , let's go ! " Kokujo said and the chosen duelists followed him to the Temple of Jupiter .

Inside the temple evreything seemed normal . Now they just wondered where Edo would be . That was when they heared some tromphets . When they turned they saw Edo sitting on a pedestal staring at his right muscle which was flexed and holding an Aqua Sniper card in his left hand . On the pedestal were written the following words : Edo Kanda , the legend of dueling , the Hercules of Duel Masters , the savior of the ocean , etc .

" You just couldn't be more pathetic than you already were ? " Rad said and left .

" Wow , you surely are compliment greedy . " Sora said and left .

" Hero wannabe . No comment... " Kokujo said and left .

" I guess you had enough insults , Edo-kun , you can climb down from there . " Subaru said .

" Man , how people change ! One minute you're a hero , the next you're a zero . " Edo spoke disappointed and came down from the pedestal . " By the way , Subaru , where's Tsugumi ? "

Subaru got shocked and looked around scarred . Then to his and Edo's amazement saw Tsugumi standing on another pedestal holding some scales in her left hand and an Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits golden card in her other . On the pedestal were written the following words : Tsugumi , the goddess of beauty , the Aphrodite of Duel Masters , the guardian of light , the angel of goodness , etc .

" Man , how can she look awsome on that and I not ? " Edo asked sweating .

" I think it's the charm... " Subaru replied sweating as well .


	39. A night in Rezo Vegas

The reddish skies were slowly darkening bringing the dark and mysterious night upon the just reborn planet Earth . Kokujo and the chosen duelists were rushing through the grassy plain hoping to find shelter for the night soon . Their only worry was the fact that Rezo might find them when they would be sleeping in the middle of darkness and take them out with no problem .

Their worries had vanished when they saw a city filled with lights a few miles away from them . To their excitement they all ran to see if there were any normal humans which survived Rezo's spell . But once they reached the main entrance of the city their hopes faded away .

There was a big statue of Rezo made of purple and red neon and the following sentence was written on it : 'Welcome to Rezo Vegas !' . Rezo Vegas was a city that never slept . Sparkling neon lights of all colours and glittering golden buildings were filling the city with life and beauty . All the buildings contained pinball playing rooms , slot machine rooms and poker/roulette rooms . At first this city might seem a normal Las Vegas copy but then they noticed that the ones playing in the rooms were robots and with the money earned they kept playing once again losing what they had earned but winning once again only to keep on this vicious cycle .

" Now that's... something new..." Edo commented .

" New ? It is unfair for the poor robots to stay captured in that vicious cycle ! " Subaru said .

" Would you prefer to have them working for Rezo and maybe chasing us through the city ? " Kokujo asked the black haired boy .

" Not at all ! "

" Then shut up and be glad that they're harmless ! "

Subaru blushed with shame after what Kokujo had told him . Rad , Sora and Edo laughed at him a bit but then stopped as they noticed that Tsugumi wasn't laughing with them . The girl was staring amazed at the city filled with lights . Evreything seemed so fascinating to her : the lights , the golden buildings , the games , evreything !

" Now this is a city on my taste ! " Tsugumi said and made a few steps towards the entrance . " What are you guys waiting for ? Let's have some fun ! "

" Eh , I don't think that relaxing a bit in this city would hurt . And who knows , maybe we'll find a hotel and get some sleep tonight . " Kokujo said . " Let's go , guys ! "

Kokujo and the chosen duelists entered the city without being aware of the fact that Rezo was also there . The Red Priest was having dinner at the balcony of a restaurant and saw his enemies entering the city while drinking a glass of wine . He then smiled and spoke to himself :

" They've all come here . Excelent ! I'll let them have some fun playing some games and when they'll come to the hotel it will be their end ! Hahahahahahaha ! "

Our heroes had decided to split themselves into several groups and to meet up at the Golden Penny Hotel which was close to the other exit of the city . Subaru and Edo went to play pinball , Rad and Sora went to play at the slot machines and Kokujo went to play both poker and roulette because he was a born gambler . Tsugumi on the other hand had a walk through the streets of the city . All those bright colours and gold were catching her eyes . Never in her life had she felt so royal . She felt like a queen and Rezo Vegas seemed to be her kingdom .

While the others were playing games Tsugumi decided to go look around for some jewels and entered a jewel store . There are saw whole collections of silver and golden necklaces , rings , earrings and bracelets and jewels with rubins , emeralds and sapphires .

" Wow they're all so beautiful ! " she spoke while admiring the jewels .

Behind some curtains was hiding Rezo . He was the owner of that shop and when he saw Tsugumi entering it he thought of having some fun with the girl . He put white hat on his head , a moustache on his face , sun glasses on his eyes and replaced his staff with a walking stick . Then he came out of the courtains and walked to the girl saying :

" Good evening , my dear , can I help you with something ? "

" Yes , sir , I would like to buy... hm... I think that I'll buy that golden necklace with sapphire stone . That colour fits my eyes , hihi . " Tsugumi giggled .

" Yes , she wants the one at the highest price ! " Rezo thought and then spoke to the girl . " Okay , my dear , but this one costs 1000 dollars ! I'm afraid that you have to win them at the games here if you want to buy it . "

" Win some games to earn money ? No problem , I'll be back with the money before you know it ! " Tsugumi said and ran away .

" Perfect ! She'll never get 1000 dollars because if she keeps betting the money she wins at my games she'll sooner or later lose them all and then she'll want to gamble again and again ! Hahahahaha , how easy are humans to manipulate ! " Rezo laughed while taking off his disguise . " I think I'd better go back to the hotel . "

Meanwhile at Subaru and Edo . The two were getting exhausted of all that pinball . All they did was to win only a few coins and then lose them worser than hell . But they didn't give up , they wanted to get the money back and have more , alot more .

" Man , Edo-kun , I never knew that pinball could be such a pain in the neck ! " Subaru said while whiping some sweat drops from his forehead .

" Come on , Suby , we won't let a stupid pinball table take our money , now can we ? " Edo replied and took off his jacket . " I think it's time to show this machine who's the real man here ! "

That was when Tsugumi entered the pinball room . Subaru , Edo and the robots turned their heads to her as she entered graciously in the room . She walked straight towards Subaru's and Edo's pinball table and spoke :

" Stand back , guys , this is a job for girls ! "

" W-what are you doing here , my love ? " Subaru asked .

" And what do you mean that this is a job for girls ? " Edo asked sweating .

" Watch a master at action ! " Tsugumi said and introduced a golden coin in the machine which turned on immediately .

A small silver ball came out of it and started falling on objects from the table . With each object the ball touched , Tsugumi got more points . All the girl had to do was to move some flippers only to make sure that the ball didn't fall off the table . Subaru and Edo watched amazed how the girl kept the ball on the table for about an hour . After that hour the pinball game stopped and the table delivered a message to the player saying that it had no more money stored . Then lots of coins fell from the table and Tsugumi gathered them all .

" Oh my goodness , she actually won so many coins ! " Subaru spoke shocked .

Edo didn't have any words to say . All he could do was faint because of the shock . Tsugumi then counted her money and spoke to Subaru :

" I've won about 300 dollars . I'll still need more for the thing I want to buy . "

" But what do you want to buy , Tsugumi ? " Subaru asked .

" It's a surprise , my dear . You go and take Edo-san to the hotel to have some rest ! I'll come after I've earned all the money I want ! " Tsugumi said and left .

Subaru was surprised of her behaviour . He knew that she liked to buy golden shiny stuff but never in her life had she played games with such passion only to earn money to buy those thing . Subaru decided to think about that later and when he was about to grab Edo and take him to the hotel , something happened . The ground under them disappeared and the two fell in a strange tunnel . The ground then reappeared as if nothing happened .

Meanwhile Rad and Sora were losing badly at a slot machine . Like Edo and Subaru , the only money they got was put in the slot machine and they won less and lost alot . Now Rad was about to put his last coin in the machine when Tsugumi entered the room .

" Hey , it's Tsugumi-chan ! " Sora exclaimed .

" What have you been up to , Tsugumi ? " Rad asked .

" Oh , I've just been playing around and winning some money . " Tsugumi said and showed a sack behind her with the 300 dollars in coins . " What about you ? "

" Oh , we've kept losing at this crappy slot machine . " Sora spoke disappointed .

" Yeah , now we were going to try our last coin and... " Rad said but Tsugumi then took the coin from his hands .

" Let me try it instead ! " Tsugumi said and introduced the coin in the slot machine .

The girl then pressed a button and the slots started moving . After a few seconds she got three BAR's and she won 20 coins . She gladly took them and put them in her sack .

" Tsh , the luck of the beginner... " Rad said .

" We'll see about that ! " Tsugumi said and introduced another coin in the slot machine .

The girl again pressed it and in a few seconds she got three cherries and won 80 coins to Rad's and Sora's amazement . After Tsugumi counted the coins she spoke :

" 100 coins make 50 dollars . I still need more . "

" Let's see if you can get three Jack Pots ! " Rad spoke jealously .

" No problem ! " Tsugumi said and introduced another coin .

The girl spinned the slots one more time and this time she got three Jack Pots towards evreyone's amazement . Then all the coins from the slot machine fell and Tsugumi let them all fall in her sack which now got heavier .

" I guess that's it . It was fun , guys ! " Tsugumi said and left .

Rad and Sora were staring at her with wide opened eyes and mouths . Right after Tsugumi disappeared , the floor on which Rad and Sora were standing disappeared and the two fell in the same strange tunnel as Edo and Subaru .

Tsugumi was walking on a street counting her coins . As she saw how many they were , the girl spoke with a small disappointed voice :

" Only 700 dollars , gosh is it that hard to reach 1000 dollars here ? "

Then Tsugumi stopped in front of an enormous building on which was written Poker and Rulette . As she saw title she got dollar signs in her eyes as she spoke :

" Cha-ching , I just hit the real Jack Pot ! "

Tsugumi entered the building while pulling her sack with her . There she saw many robots sitting at both roulette tables and poker tables playing the respective games . She was surprised of the strange silence which filled this game room . But the blonde girl knew that she didn't have to waste a minute ! She sat at a roulette table and put 100 dollars on it betting on 13 black . The robots then spinned the ball on to their amazement they saw that the ball landed on 13 black and Tsugumi took all their money leaving the poor machines to play once again for nothing .

The blonde girl was now walking towards the exit but then to her shock she saw that she still needed to win 50 dollars to have 1000 . Tsugumi thought that a game of poker wouldn't hurt so she sat at a table and asked for some cards . When she turned her head she was shocked to see that she was facing Kokujo in a match of poker .

" Good evening , Tsugumi , I see that you've gathered lots of money there . " Kokujo said while putting an evil grin on his face .

" Yes , and I see that you've won fifty bucks , Kokujo . " Tsugumi replied and looked at the money near Kokujo . " How about we bet evreything we won , what do you say ? "

" And win all that money ? Sure ! Even if it's not a duel I shall still beat you , girly ! "

The game began . After a few turns of drawing cards both Kokujo and Tsugumi were ready to reveal their hands .

" Wanna see what I have , girly ? Take this , I got a full house ! What can beat that ? " Kokujo spoke with a victorious voice .

" What can beat it ? A royal quint ! " Tsugumi replied and showed her cards .

Kokujo then widened both his eyes and mouth . He couldn't believe it – the girl had THAT luck . Tsugumi gladly took Kokujo's coins and spoke to him :

" Don't worry , Kokujo-san , even the best must lose sometimes ! "

" Why you little... " Kokujo murmed angrily .

Tsugumi left then room happily with her sack filled with money . Kokujo was about to run after her and challenge her to another game but then the floor under him disappeared and he fell in a strange tunnel .

Back at Rezo . The Red Priest was standing in front of a big screen smiling . On that screen he had Kokujo , Rad , Sora , Edo and Subaru trapped in a small cage , all of them being at his mercy . Rezo then looked at another screen and saw Tsugumi heading with her money to buy the necklace she desired . Evreything was going according to his plan .

Tsugumi entered the jewel shop with her sack of coins and stopped in front of the golden necklace with sapphire stone admiring it . Rezo then came to her in the same disguise as before and talked to her :

" Have you brought the money , dear ? "

" Of course , here they are ! " Tsugumi said and put on a table all the 1000 dollars in coins , thing which gave Rezo a headache . " Count them , they're 1000 dollars ! "

" Wh-what the hell ? " Rezo spoke and fell on the ground shocked .

Tsugumi then took the freedom to take the necklace from its place and put it on her neck . The girl then turned to Rezo and said :

" You can count them and see that they're 1000 dollars if you don't believe me . I guess I'll be going now , bye ! "

Tsugumi left the shop and Rezo got up from his place and stared at all those shiny coins .

" She really managed to win all those coins ? What is she ? The goddess of luck ? " Rezo asked with a trembling voice . " Oh well , she got what she wanted , now to take care of her and her friends ! "

Tsugumi walked to the hotel with the necklace on her . She felt really proud for the jem she had earned by her own 'work' . The girl then stopped in front of the Golden Penny Hotel and waited for her friends . She didn't knew that they were captured by Rezo and that she was about to fall in his trap .

" I wonder where the rest of them are . " Tsugumi said .

" Oh , you'll be seeing them soon ! " a voice behind her said .

" Huh ? Who said that ? " Tsugumi asked and turned to see Rezo still disguised as the salesman . " Oh , it's just you . Do you know where my friends are ? "

" Sure , they're right there ! " Rezo said and pointed down .

Tsugumi turned her head down and to her surprise saw that the ground was now made of glass and that she could see under her a giant pinball table . To her shock she saw how the robots threw her friends inside and were now using them as balls for their pinball game .

" Oh my God ! Guys ! Why are you doing this to them ? " Tsugumi yelled to Rezo .

" Because I am your enemy ! " Rezo said and took off his disguise .

" Rezo ! I should've known that it was you ! "

" Hehe , foolish as always , my dear ! "

Out of the hotel came a clone . Rezo snapped his fingers and two dueling tables appeared from the ground . The clone and Tsugumi walked at them and got ready for a duel .

" Here's the condition for the duel , chosen light duelist ! " Rezo said . " If you'll not defeat my clone until your tenth turn then your friends shall be stuck in that pinball table forever ! "

" Tsh , if I won't be able to reach ten turns then my chances to summon Alphadios , Lord of Spirits are reduced ! " Tsugumi thought . " I must find a way to win without Alphadios's help ! "

The duel between Tsugumi and the clone began .

" I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! " the clone said .

" I summon Endra Pappi ! " Tsugumi said .

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain another mana ! "

" I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law and draw a card due to Endra Pappi's effect ! "

" I cast Eureka Charger to draw a card and get one more mana ! "

" I summon Samurai Lupia ! "

" I summon Wind Axe , Warrior Savage and his effect will give me one more mana and destroy your Ultimus ! "

" Heh , now that Ultimus got destroyed I'll take Heaven's Gate from my deck to my hand ! " Tsugumi said smiling . " Now my turn , I cast Heaven's Gate and summon two Syrius , Firmament Elemental ! Endra Pappi's effect will let me draw two cards ! "

" Tsh , let's see how you like this , girly ! I cast Judgement of the Flame's Spear and the Water's Blade ! " the clone said . " With this spell's effect I shall destroy all our creatures with power 3000 or less and draw a card for each destroyed creature ! "

Tsugumi stared shocked at her Endra Pappi and Samurai Lupia and at the clone's Bronze-Arm Tribe and Wind Axe which all blew up . The clone then smiled as he drew four cards .

" My turn ! " Tsugumi said and drew a card . " I cast Barrier Cyclone and add a card from my hand to my shield zone thus getting another shield ! And now , Syrius , triple break his shields ! "

" Perfect ! " the clone said . " Shield trigger activate , I cast not one but two Natural Snares and send both your Syriuses to your mana zone ! Play time is over , girly ! I summon Aqua Guard and evolve him into Crystal Zweilancer ! "

" Oh no , not Zweilancer ! " Tsugumi spoke shocked and made a few steps back scarred .

" Yes , Zweilancer ! He's a 13000 powered triple breaker ! In a few turns you're done for , girly ! " the clnoe spoke victoriously . " Crystal Zweilancer , triple break her shields ! "

Tsugumi took cover as Crystal Zweilancer broke three of her shields with its long spears . The girl was scarred and thought that she would lose . But as she saw the cards from her shields she smiled and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon ! Now my other shields are turned into shield triggers ! "

" Oh no ! " the clone spoke scarred . " Well how awful can it be ? "

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law ! " Tsugumi said .

" Phew , and here I thought that you were going to kick my butt . "

" Oh , but I will ! Shield trigger activate , I evolve Ultimus into ALPHADIOS , LORD OF SPIRITS !!! "

" Impossible ! " Rezo spoke amazed . " She summoned Alphadios and she didn't even start her eighth turn ! "

A bright light shined behind Tsugumi and six giant golden swords came out of it . The swords were all weilded by a giant golden angel with enormous white wings . It was Alphadios , the lord of all light and Dorballom's enemy .

" As long as Alphadios is in the battlezone we cannot cast any spells or summon any creatures which aren't light creatures ! " Tsugumi said . " And now to finish you off ! I summon Saint Bolshack , Spiritual Dragon ! "

A giant fire winged red dragon wearing a shiny silver armor appeared behind Tsugumi and roared . The clone made a few steps back scarred and kneeled in front of the blonde girl begging for mercy . Tsugumi didn't even listen to the clone . She put her hand on her Saint Bolshack card and tapped it saying :

" Ike , Saint Bolshack , break his final shields ! "

Saint Bolshack roared and flew towards the clone . The dragon slashed the clone's last two shields with its giant paws and then flew back behind Tsugumi .

" Alphadios , Lord of Spirits , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered .

Alphadios's blue eyes shined as the angel created an enormous lazor ball with all of its hands and in a few seconds the creature casted it upon the clone , Rezo and the hotel . Rezo ran towards his helicopter and flew away fast before Alphadios's attack could hurt him . The lazor destroyed the hotel and half of Rezo Vegas . Once the duel was over there was no sight of the clone nor any of the buildings behind him .

Tsugumi then looked down and saw that Alphadios's attack also managed to destroy the pinball room and her friends were now trying to get out of there . Seeing that evreything was ok and her friends weren't hurt , Tsugumi went to help them as the sun was rising .


	40. Mountain climbing

The sun was rising and our heroes were already heading towards the next zone . They were regretting the fact that they couldn't sleep at Rezo Vegas last night but they had no time to lose . Rezo had to be stopped at once . After a few hours of walking they all stopped in front of a giant rocky mountain .

" Wow , what an amazing beauty of nature ! " Sora said .

" Enough admiring , Sora , we have a job to do ! " Kokujo said and looked around . " Do you guys see any secret passages so that we could enter the mountain or avoid it ? I don't want to waste my time climbing up and down mountains ! "

" I'm sorry , Kokujo-kun , but there's no other way . We have to climb the mountain either if we like it or not ! " Subaru said sweating .

" Fine , then let's go ! " Kokujo sighed .

They all started walking on the path which led to the top of the mountain . The path was grassy and filled with mountain flowers . The air was cold and fresh . The sights were all beautiful . If they didn't had to find Rezo they would've thought that they were actually on a vacation .

" Now this is one beautiful place ! " Sora said while picking some flowers .

" Yeah , I could stay here forever ! " Rad replied while touching the tough solid rocks from the mountain .

" Mountains are so beautiful and romantic... " Tsugumi said while dreaming at a life with Subaru in a small cabin in that mountain . " Surely the perfect life ! "

" What are you thinking of , Tsugumi ? " Subaru asked the girl and approached her .

" Oh , well I was thinking of... "

" GAH , I FRIGGING HATE MOUNTAINS !!! " Kokujo screamed loudly . " Seriously , they make me sick ! There's nothing interesting happening , only climbing , climbing , climbing and looking at how big and filled with plants the mountain is ! I just can't stand this stupidity ! "

" Looks like someone's got a bee in his pants today... " Edo thought .

" Kokujo-kun , would you please stop complaining and keep on climbing ? We don't have time to whine about how awful the path towards Rezo is ! " Subaru spoke to Kokujo with a serious voice which made the long haired boy surprised of how mature the black haired boy sounded .

Kokujo murmed something and then kept on climbing on the path . The group continued its journey , this time leaded by Subaru . Kokujo was too grumpy and didn't want to lead the group at the whole climbing mountain buisness so Subaru took this duty . While climbing the mountain Rad and Sora were admiring the beauties of nature , Edo was thinking of finding something comestible to eat , Tsugumi kept dreaming at a perfect life with Subaru in the moutains , Kokujo only climbed while looking angry and Subaru was leading the group hoping that they would find a place to rest once they reached the top .

On their way to the top something happened . They all heared something fall and hit the ground and turned their heads to see that Tsugumi tripped on a rock and fell . Subaru ran to the girl to see if she was hurt . He delicately helped her to get up and saw that she only got some small scratches on her palms and knees .

" What happened ? Why did you trip all of a sudden ? " Subaru asked .

" Oh , I was just thinking... " the girl answered blushing .

" You keep thinking at that something for a bit too much time , what is it ? "

" It's just...well , how to say it ? You see , you and me were... living in a cabin here at this mountain and... we were having such a nice life and and... "

" Oh , I understand . You and your sweet fantasies ! "

Tsugumi was now up on her feet . She was staring into Subaru's delicate brown eyes . He was staring into Tsugumi's beautiful blue eyes . The mountain atmosphere made them forget about evreything and their love started to prevail . They slowly approached their lips ready to free themselves into a kiss when...

" SUBARU ! TSUGUMI ! MOVE YOUR BUTTS , WE'RE WASTING TIME !!! " Kokujo shouted from above .

Subaru and Tsugumi then woke up from their dream and saw what they were doing . They both blushed and rushed fast to join the others . Subaru again took the lead and the group was moving once again . After a few hours of climbing they were almost at the top of the mountain . Their only problem was the fact that the walking path stopped a few meters under the top of the mountain . Subaru stared at the height a bit and then spoke to the group :

" Bad news , folks . From here we have to climb on rocks until we reach the top of the mountain ! "

" How dangerous is it ? " Rad asked .

" I'll try to climb the stones and you'll follow me once we see that it's safe ! " Subaru said and turned back to the stones .

The black haired boy inspected the rocks and after he was sure that some were safe he tried to climb . But the first rock on which he put his foot fell causing him to fall as well . Subaru's luck was that Rad was there and caught him .

" Man , what a fall ! " Subaru said and got up on his feet .

" Subaru , how about I lead the group from here ? " Rad suggested .

" You lead the group ? NEVER ! I am a Leo and this means that I must be the leader ! " Subaru spoke proudly .

" And I am a Sagittarius which means that I won't give a damn of how much you're leading us ! " Rad replied . " We Sagittariuses are well known for being independent , so watch out how I will reach the top without any of your help ! "

Rad's and Subaru's small fight got on Sora's nerves . The girl just couldn't stand to waste time and see those two fighting over nothing so she grabbed them both and said :

" None of you is the leader , now shut up and climb !! "

Sora used her powers and casted both Subaru and Rad up with highspeed . The two landed on a plain of grass and when they got up they saw Sora jumping with the others on her back .

" Thanks for the help , Sora... " Subaru said sweating .

" Tsh , if it wouldn't have been for me we would've been wasting our time down there ! " Sora said and went to pick more flowers .

Kokujo stretched his body because he was really tired of all that mountain climbing . Subaru and Rad looked around to see where they had to go . Tsugumi and Edo went to the edge of the mountain and were amazed of the beautiful sight was there .

" Wow , Edo-san , look at all those beautiful places ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Wow , that's the way from where we came ? Man , I didn't knew that we could walk so much ! " Edo replied .

" Look , there's Rezo Vegas ! A little more to the east are the ancient roman ruins ! And a little more to the south is Rezo's chemical factory ! And right near the sea is the Emerald Beach ! " Tsugumi said while pointing . " Oh , look , there's our UFO and doctor Root on the beach ! I wonder when will he finish fixing the UFO and come to us... "

" I don't know , but I want to see how much to we have until we reach Rezo's hideout ! " Edo said and looked in the south-west direction . " God , I see only a long desert ! "

" Could this help you ? " Tsugumi asked and handed Edo a binocular .

" Okay then . " Edo said and looked through the binocular . " Beyond the desert I see a giant building sorrounded by an ocean of black liquid , I think it's maybe motor oil . A little to the east I see a strange town , I think it's abandoned ! That's all I can see , probably Rezo is hiding somewhere there ! "

Little did they knew that the castle which was Rezo's hideout was invisible thanks to a spell casted by Tabitha . The castle was situated a little to the north from the abandoned town .

" I feel so free when I stay here and look at the world which is under me ! " Tsugumi said and stretched her arms while letting her hair get blown by the wind . " Don't you feel the same , Edo-san ? "

" I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD !!! " Edo screamed with all his powers .

His echo made the mountain shake pretty hard . Edo didn't care because he wanted to do this ever since he knew himself . After the echo disappeared and the mountain stopped form shaking , evreything seemed back to normal . Rad then got up angry and fastly took a rock and threw it on Edo's head .

" You put our lives in danger with your idiotic scream ! For God's sake , learn to control yourself , you unpredictable maniac ! " Rad almost yelled towards Edo .

" Why me ? " Edo cried and got up on his feet with his right hand on the place where Rad's rock hit his head .

Suddenly another earthquake shook them . This time it wasn't because of Edo's scream . The ground fell and they saw that there was a pool of lava under them . The ground kept falling or separating and there were only three 'islands' of earth in the lava pool . Subaru found himself alone on one and the rest were sitting on the other which was bigger .

Then a strange silver submarine came out from the lava . The submarine had only one window and that was made from a special glass protected by lava . They all saw that the one piloting the submarine was none other than Rezo , the Red Priest !

" Good morning , my beloved enemies ! " Rezo said .

" Spare us the fake manners , Rezo ! " Kokujo said discusted .

" Heh , fine then ! "

A clone jumped out of the submarine and landed on the last island of earth . Two dueling tables appeared , one for the clone and the other for Subaru .

" So I'm the one facing you . Bring it on , clone ! " Subaru said and put his deck on the table .

" You're so gonna get it ! " the clone replied and put his deck on the table as well .

" Chosen darkness duelist , the condition for your duel is : each time one of your shields is broken then I will cast fire balls on your friends ! " Rezo said and pressed a button .

A gun came out from his submarine and aimed for Kokujo and the other chosen duelists .

" Darn , they can't avoid that cannon or else they'll fall in the lava and die ! I mustn't let this guy break any of my shields ! " Subaru thought .

The duel between Subaru and the clone bagan .

" I charge mana and end ! " Subaru said .

" I charge mana and end ! " the clone said .

" I charge mana and summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! "

" I charge mana and generate Thunder Blade – Bushido Spirit ! "

" I charge mana and summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! And now , Melnia , the Aqua Shadow , break his shield ! "

" My turn , I summon Loquat Reainers , the Wandering Travelers and end ! "

" I summon Hard Demon of Inferno Biragias and make your Loquat Retainers lose 3000 power and die ! Melnia , break another shield ! "

" Tsh , I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law and end ! "

" I summon Gajirabute , Vile Centurion and throw one of your shields to the graveyard ! Melnia , break another shield ! "

The clone fell on his knees scarred . He had only one shield left and Subaru had an army of creatures ready to defeat him . He had never expected such an excellent rush from a darkness duelist . Kokujo and the other chosen duelists were cheering Subaru .

" Wohoo , way to go , Subaru ! " Tsugumi yelled .

" Heh , can't you send us someone even more weaker next time , Rezo ? We're really having fun kicking loser ass ! " Kokujo laughed .

Rezo stared angry at Kokujo and the chosen duelists which were making fun of him . But this didn't last for long because the clone got up and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Hell Scrapper ! "

" What ?! " Subaru spoke shocked .

" Destroy his Melnia , Biragias and Gajirabute ! " the clone continued . " And now my turn , I generate Wind Blade – Kamikaze Spirit and also summon Shishio , Armed Swordsman ! "

" Great Hell Scrapper comeback , my friend ! Too bad that you didn't make it really worth it ! "

" What do you mean , chosen darkness duelist ? "

" You'll see ! I cast Inferno Sign and revive Gajirabute , Vile Centurion which will throw your final shield to the graveyard ! "

" Heh , I knew that Subaru will make an awsome comeback ! " Sora said .

" This kid does have potential ! I see that he has learned something from my rush duels ! " Rad spoke proudly but no one gave him attention .

The clone was angry . If the next card he drew wasn't good then he lost . To his luck it was a good card . The clone then spoke to Subaru :

" I cast Natural Snare and send Gajirabute , Vile Centurion to your mana zone ! Shishio , break his shield ! "

" Block it , Maxval ! My turn , I charge mana and end ! "

" Heh , if you think that you'll win , then think again , chosen darkness duelist ! " the clone said with an evil voice . " I summon Bolbalzak , Swordflash Dragon ! Samurai Generation ! I generate Galaxy Blade – The Final for free ! "

A giant dragon dressed in a heavy red samurai armor and weilding two long white swords appeared behind the clone and roared .

" Next turn you're history , chosen darkness duelist , same for your friends ! "

" I have a name , stupid clone , and that's Subaru ! My turn , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Bolbalzak back to your hand ! "

" Why you little ! " the clone spoke angry . " I'll make you pay ! I summon two Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law and end ! Heh , I have three Ultimuses in the battlezone ! Let's see you defeat that ! "

" I cast Dark Soul Creation to destroy my Aqua Surfer and draw three cards ! " Subaru said . " Afterwards I summon Bloody Squito and end ! "

" Heh , time to finish you off ! I summon Bolbalzak , Swordflash Dragon and generate Holy Gear – Nebula Wing for free ! Next turn you're done for ! "

" That's what you think ! I cast Transmogrify and destroy my Bloody Squito ! Now I'll replace it with the next creature from my deck which is Hanzou , Menacing Phantom ! Hanzou's effect will destroy one of your Ultimuses ! "

" Now that Ultimus got destroyed , I'll take Natural Snare from my deck to my hand ! "

" Like that would help you much ! I cast Grudge Gathering and since I have seven cards in my graveyard I will destroy Bolbalzak ! "

The giant dragon blew up behind the clone which was giving Subaru an angry gaze . The clone drew his next card and spoke :

" This is not over , I summon Shishio , Armed Swordsman and then Gravity Zero , I summon Bolmeteus Kensei Dragon for free ! Next turn I'll use my cross gears , break all your shields and win the duel and then you and your friends are done for ! "

" That's what you think , fool ! I've waited for this moment since the duel began ! " Subaru said and placed a card from his hand on his Hanzou card . " I evolve Hanzou , Menacing Phantom into BALLOM EMPEROR , LORD OF DEMONS !!! "

A giant goat demon with gray skin , two heads and lots of hands appeared behind Subaru and roared . It was Ballom Emperor and he fired a powerful beam which destroyed all of the clone's creatures . Now the clone had no more blockers to protect him .

" Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered .

Ballom Emperor created a lazor ball in its hands and casted it on the clone which was blown away and landed in the lava burning to death . Rezo had an angry expression on his face as he watched the whole scene . The Red Priest then spoke to his enemies :

" I'll get you next time ! "

Rezo's submarine sank back in the lava as the islands of earth floated and united with the mountain . Subaru received lots of cheers from his friends , thing which he deserved after saving their lives .

The group then turned their sights to the west and saw a big forest . If they wanted to continue their journey they had to travel through the forest .

" Would you keep leading us , Subaru ? " Edo asked .

" I think that Kokujo-kun is a much better leader ! And besides , guys , what's with all the joy all of a sudden ? It's not the happy end yet ! "

" But I do think that you deserve a small 'happy end' ! " Tsugumi said and kissed Subaru in front of evreyone .

Even if it wasn't the end of their journey , Subaru deserved that small reward . His and Tsugumi's love was now prevailing and its good powers were protecting the whole group from the evil which they had to fight . With such a powerful weapon , Kokujo and the chosen duelists standed a chance against Rezo and his downfall was approa_ching ._


	41. The forest

Kokujo and the chosen duelists wandered on the mountain top until they found a big forest . They knew that if they wanted to continue their journey they had to pass through it . Sora put her hand on the ground and sniffed the soil while having her eyes closed .

" There's no pollution , no mutation , no change made by humans . This is a 100 % natural forest ! "

" Well that sounds nice ! I think that we'll enjoy this natural experience , right , Subaru ? " Tsugumi asked while catching Subaru's arm and holding it tight .

" Of course , my dear , there's nothing better than a place where you can get lost with the one you love for hours and hours... " Subaru replied while admiring Tsugumi's golden hair and blue eyes .

" Will you kids concentrate on the mission already ? " Kokujo asked looknig discusted . " You'll have all the time in the world to love yourselves after we defeat Rezo ! "

" Hehe , I think that you should be a little less rude with them , don't you think , Ko ? " Edo laughed .

" Meh , I can do whatever I want ! " Kokujo said and started walking to the forest . " Are you guys coming or what ? "

The group entered the forest and started exploring it . Sora preferred to jump in the trees all by herself and communicate with the forest in her ways . The rest of the group separated in two : Subaru and Tsugumi went on the right way while Edo and Rad leaded by Kokujo went on the left way .

After half an hour of jumping through trees Sora finally landed on the ground . She had her pockets filled with fruits and herbs . Sora closed her eyes and once again put her hand on the ground . Using her shamanic powers she managed to communicate with the forest and establish a telepathic connection with its spirit .

" I can hear your voice , almighty forest ! " Sora spoke in her mind .

" Sora , daughter of Eve , what are you doing in this place ? " a strange elderly voice asked her , she couldn't realise if it belonged to a man's or a woman's .

" Me and my friends have to cross through you in order to continue our journey . I wanted to tell you that there's no need to panic , we won't cut any trees or pollute you ! So will you be kind and tell us a shortcut out of here ? "

" What is the purpose of your journey , Sora ? "

" Great spirit of the forest , we must find and defeat Rezo , the Red Priest once and for all ! "

" Rezo ? He is the one which gathered all the trees from this world and created this forest on the top of this mountain regardless the fact that some of them are tropical trees and can't stand high altitudes . The spirits of the suffering trees shall help you and your friends , Sora , but if you wish to defeat Rezo then you guys must find the exit all by yourselves ! "

" Then give us a clue , oh , great spirit of the forest , what must we do to find the exit ? "

" Only those which have pure hearts will find the exit and guide the others , that's all that must be said for now... " the spirit replied and Sora stopped hearing it .

Subaru and Tsugumi wandered through the forest calmly . Tsugumi was holding her head on Subaru's right shoulder while he was having his left arm around her waist . The two were admiring the beautiful trees with emerald leaves through which golden sun rays came out . So many trees were there that they couldn't distinguish a pine tree from a palm tree . But they didn't care about that . This was their special moment and they wanted to take advantage of it .

" It's incredible , I can hardly see the sky ! " Tsugumi said .

" The trees are so high that the only thing you can see are the sun's rays . " Subaru replied .

" Yeah , but besides this there are also some things we would easily ignore . " Tsugumi added while going to a bush and picking something up . " Look , I found wild fruits ! "

" Aren't they poisunous ? "

" Did ninety years of living at the city make you forget all the things I thought you about nature , Subaru ? "

" Well , kinda... " Subaru said and blushed .

" Shall we find ourselves a place where to taste some of these fruits ? " Tsugumi asked and showed both her hands filled with raspberries and blueberries .

" Wait a minute , I sence something ! Tsugumi , come with me ! "

Subaru ran forwards and Tsugumi followed him even if she didn't understood what was the boy intending to do .

Meanwhile at the other side of the forest . Kokujo , Rad and Edo have already gotten tired from walking . Edo was now gasping for air while walking slowly . The brown haired boy rested his body against a tree and spoke to the rest :

" C-can't we have at least a small break ? "

" For once I agree with you . " Rad replied and fell on his knees . " It's like we've been walking for hours ! "

" You two stop whining and keep walking ! " Kokujo's strict voice stroke their ears like an arrow . " We haven't got all day you know ! "

" But we're really tired , Kokujo ! " Edo cried .

" God , I want my rocket ! " Rad also cried .

Kokujo didn't even turn his back to see them . He was staring at the long way they had to walk until they would find an exit .

" Darn , I also feel tired , it's not just them ! And this forest , it seems like a labyrinth ! I must see if there's any way outta here before we'll faint here or worse ! " Kokujo said in his mind and then spoke to Rad and Edo . " You two stay here and rest until I come back ! "

" Huh ? But where are you going Ko-...." Edo asked and then saw that Kokujo started climbing a tree .

" You just had to ask... " Rad spoke sarcasticly and layed his head down to rest .

While climbing the tree Kokujo senced something . It was as if something was calling him and he couldn't go back . He felt as if being pulled towards the top of the tree and he didn't stop .

" Whatever might be up there should be ready to face the Black Death . " Kokujo thought

After a few minutes Kokujo reached the top of the tree . He looked around and was amazed to see that there were only trees evreywhere .

" Unbelivable ! The forest seemed normal when we first saw it after reaching the mountain's top . Just look at how big it actually is ! " Kokujo spoke amazed . " How are we gonna find our way outta here ? "

That was when a card came out of Kokujo's deck and floated in the air in front of him . It was Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King . The card shined with a powerful purple light and fired a beam in the sky .

The beam went straight to Rezo's castle which was in space . There Ichiro and Hanna were minding their buisness when the purple beam entered the room and struck Ichiro .

" Ichiro , what's going on ?! " Hanna spoke shocked .

" I don't know ! " Ichiro replied scarred .

Then a card came out of Ichiro's deck and floated in front of his face . It was Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper . The card then flew out of the room straight towards the place from where the beam was coming .

" Hey , that's my card ! " Ichiro screamed and ran to the balcony to see how Bell Hell De Gaul disappeared in the Earth's atmosphere .

" Who the heck would use a powerful beam to only steal a card from you ? " Hanna asked after arriving at the balcony as well .

" I know exactly who would do this ! Father ! " Ichiro growled .

The Bell Hell De Gaul card fell in the Earth's atmosphere and at last arrived at Kokujo in front of him . The long haired boy was amazed of what happened . Then to make things even more shocking , Dorballom appeared through a vision in front of him .

" What had just happened ? " Kokujo asked confused .

" Ballom Monarch , the new creature which was created , had decided through his power over the Reapers that Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper should no longer belong to your son , thus giving you back the card you lost ! " Dorballom answered . " Your deck is becoming more powerful by each second , Kokujo , we must make sure that it's gonna defeat Rezo once and for all ! "

" Yes , Dorballom , but I have one question . Can Ballom Monarch take decisions beyond your own will ? "

" He dosen't take any decisions besides the ones which concern the Reapers and which have my approval ! Anyway , make sure you update your deck ! " Dorballom said and disappeared .

Kokujo reached his hand in the air and took the Ballom Monarch and Bell Hell De Gaul cards . These were the only Reaper cards he had in his deck . Kokujo then thought of one thing and that was :

" Ichiro , how would it be if we would face eachother ? A Reaper versus Reaper battle , not a father versus son . You've evolved so much while serving under Rezo and you've become a Reaper like your own father ! I just don't know if I should be proud or scarred... "

Meanwhile at Subaru and Tsugumi . The two had ran into a field of flowers in the middle of the forest . There were all kinds of flowers ever known by man . All those beautiful colours made it seem as if they were on a rainbow .

" Amazing ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" I'm glad I found this place ! " Subaru said .

Tsugumi ran into the field of flowers and spinned around while looking at the colored plants . Then the girl threw herself in the field and lied down there .

" It's like a bed of flowers . It's so nice and perfumed . " Tsugumi said .

" I'm coming as well ! " Subaru said and jumped in the field of flowers near Tsugumi .

The two stayed like that for hours admiring the beauties of nature while holding eachother's hand . Time was passing by but they didn't notice . They were so absorbed in the moment that they never wanted to ever bother worrying about their mission again . Now all that mattered was that they were together and that no one could do them any harm .

" Tsugumi..."

" Yes , Subaru ? "

" Why don't we just run away ? "

" Run away ? "

" Yes , just the two of us . We could forget about Rezo and this whole chosen duelist thingy and live happily ever after somewhere in this forest . No one will ever find us and who knows , we could maybe create our own family after ninety years of waiting . "

" Subaru , I would love to spend a life of peace only with you , but we both know that this would be impossible . "

" Why ? Why must it be impossible , my love ? "

" Let's not forget that this isn't the Earth we know anymore . It's Rezo's world and this forest isn't a normal one , it's part of his creation . He'll most likely find us and then who knows what he'll do to us then . "

Then the image of Tsugumi's dead body appeared in Subaru's mind . The black haired boy remembered what happened when Rezo captured Tsugumi and killed her and how he had suffered because of that .

" No , I don't want that nightmare to ever repeat ! " Subaru said .

" It dosen't have to , my love . " Tsugumi said and touched Subaru's cheek with her right hand . " I'm here , I'm real , my touch is warm and filled with life . You cannot change the past , Subaru , but you can always change your life so that you won't regret the past , do not forget that ! "

" You're right , Tsugumi , I must fight to protect the ones I care for ! I must fight to protect you... "

Subaru stared at Tsugumi with sadness in his look . Tsugumi looked in his brown eyes and felt the fear and pain in them . She once again touched his cheek with her hand and slowly approached him to give him a hug .

" If only I could be able to make your fears go away . You're such a sensible warm hearted person ! Exactly like me... " Tsugumi thought .

The field of flowers hid their hug between the beauties of nature . It was like the forest was trying to protect them from the threat which was about to come .

The young couple then got up from the grass and continued walking through the forest . Tsugumi just couldn't stop worrying for her Subaru . He seemed so depressed and afraid that something would happen to her .

" Subaru , you sure you're alright ? "

" Yes , Tsugumi , there's nothing for you to worry ! "

" Please don't lie to me ! " Tsugumi said and walked in front of Subaru . " Listen , I know that you're overprotective in these times and I do not condemn you , but please do not suffer all alone ! Please , Subaru , share your suffering with me like you also share your love ! I am not a stranger , I am Tsugumi ! "

Tears fell from Subaru's eyes . His cheeks were now wet and red . Without warning he grabbed Tsugumi and hugged her powerfully as if he never wanted to let go of her ever again .

" I love you , I cannot live without you ! " Subaru whispered to Tsugumi's ear .

Tsugumi wanted to reply but she felt extremely warm and pure all of a sudden . Without realising the two were now sorrounded by a powerful golden aura which was radiating powerfully . The aura fired a beam in the sky which was seen by Kokujo , Rad , Edo and Sora .

" Wow , what's that ? " Edo asked .

" Stop asking stupid questions and let's go ! " Kokujo said and ran towards the place from where the beam was coming .

" Once again you fail... " Rad said and ran after Kokujo .

" But what did I do now ? Oh well , wait for me !! " Edo yelled and ran as well .

Sora was jumping fast from tree to tree . That beam meant only one thing and that was the fact that someone with pure heart had found the exit and was guiding them to it , as the spirit of the forest said .

Meanwhile at Rezo's hideout . The Red Priest returned to his headquarters with his silver submarine . He jumped out of it and entered a giant room with green metallic walls and three tables put in the form of a triangle which were filled with potions , ingredients and Tabitha's spell books . Tabitha was fainted on the floor and Shagrath was trying to take her pulse .

" Shagrath , what's going on with Tabitha ? Why aren't you working as I ordered you ? "

" She just fainted a few minutes ago . I don't know what's going on . " Shagrath replied .

Then Tabitha opened her eyes and gasped for air . She stared at Rezo scarred and grabbed his right hand once he layed down to see her .

" R-Rezo... "

" What is it , Tabitha ? "

" R-Rezo , p-please s-s-stop them ! "

" Stop who ? What's going on ? Who's doing this to you ? "

With a big effort Tabitha took out her wand and fired a beam using all her energy . That beam created a mirror in which Rezo and Shagrath could see Subaru and Tsugumi hugging eachother and the golden aura sorrounding them .

" Ts-Tsugumi's mother w-was f-from the family which had those s-s-special p-powers of good . When-whenever she would experience the l-l-love of a man... " Tabitha then paused a bit and breathed harder . " H-h-her powers would grow h-higher a-and c-cancel m-m-my own evil p-p-powers and d-drain a-all m-my l-life e-e-e-e-energy... "

Tabitha then fainted once again . Drool was coming out from her mouth and her body was getting colder and colder .

" NO , TABITHA !!! " Rezo screamed .

" We're losing her ! This has to stop immediately ! " Shagrath said and started looking for a potion which would heal Tabitha .

" I'm gonna stop those bastards right now ! " Rezo said and walked out from the room . " Clones , bring me my helicopter now ! "

Back at the forest . Sora found Subaru and Tsugumi hugging eachother and covered by the golden aura just after a few more minutes of jumping . She was amazed of what was going on with the two . It was something she had never seen before .

" What's going on with them ? " she asked herself .

Then the golden aura fired a beam on the forest and revealed a bottomless pit and an old wooden bridge which was leading towards a mine hidden in the mountain .

" Amazing , that's the exit ! " Sora exclaimed .

Then Sora felt a powerful hit in the head and fell from the tree branch unconcious . The one which hit her from behind was Rezo and he did it with a wooden hammer while sitting relaxed in his helicopter . Sora landed on the ground unconcious and this made Subaru and Tsugumi stop their hug . The beam disappeared but Kokujo and the rest still managed to find the exit in time .

" Guys , what's going on ? " Kokujo asked while observing the situation .

" Sora just fell from a tree in front of us . We were just...hugging... " Tsugumi said blushing .

" Man , this is so embarrasing ! " Subaru thought .

" Whatever hit Sora may be coming after us as well . " Rad said .

" He's got a point . Let's just take Sora and get the hell outta here ! " Kokujo said .

Rad grabbed Sora and put her on his back . Then the group started running on the bridge towards the mine . But as they were halfway there , something happened . Two wooden totems , each having four heads with four mouths , appeared from the bottomless pit and went through the bridge trapping the chosen duelists between them . One of the totems appeared under Kokujo and as a result , Kokujo was on it . Rezo's helicopter then appeared above them all and a clone jumped out of it and landed on the other totem . Two dueling tables came out from them .

" Kokujo Kyoshiro , at last I have the honor of seeing you duel ! " Rezo spoke pleased .

" Tsh , isn't this clone the same as the one which Edo had to face at the ancient ruins ? "

" Indeed I am the one ! " the clone spoke . " Edo Kanda's totomeda wasn't enough to finish me , hehe . "

" The condition for this duel is the same as the one from the ancient ruins ! The only difference is this . " Rezo said and fired a lazor from his helicopter which made a hole in the bridge in the space between the two totems . " This time if an arrow is thrown then your friends risk to fall off the bridge or fall in the hole or get killed by the arrow . Let's see how will they be able to avoid the arrows now ! "

" Tsh , don't worry , guys , I won't let any of my shields broken ! " Kokujo said .

The duel between Kokujo and the clone began .

" I summon Aqua Guard ! " the clone said .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Kokujo said .

" I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! "

" I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! "

" Heh , I summon Aqua Belala ! " the clone laughed . " Whenever I summon a creature , Aqua Belala's effect will let me reveal the top cards from both our decks and I'll choose one of them and put it to the bottom of it ! And now I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Spinslicer ! "

" Oh crap ! " Kokujo said scarred .

The clone revealed the top cards from his deck and Kokujo's deck . The card from the clone's deck was Cryptic Totem while the card from Kokujo's deck was Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil .

" Heh , Trash Train shall go to the bottom of your deck ! Crystal Spinslicer , break his shield ! "

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! My turn , I summon Hard Demon of Inferno Biragias ! Biragias will make your Aqua Belala lose 3000 power and die ! "

" Heh , I summon Mesai Daguras , Matchless Totem and end ! " the clone said .

" Why isn't he attacking with Spinslicer anymore ? Does he have an ace up his sleeve ? " Kokujo thought and then spoke . " My turn , I summon Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord ! And now , Biragias , break his shield ! "

" You probably expect me to block , isn't it , Black Death ? Well then , shock , I won't ! " the clone said smiling as his shield got broken . " My turn , I summon Cryptic Totem ! Hahahaha , let's see you take care of this , Black Death ! Next turn your shields will get toast and you won't even be able to use their shield triggers ! "

" That's what you think , fool ! " Kokujo said grinning . " I cast Death Smoke and destroy Cryptic Totem ! "

" Why you little..."

" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA , who's the weak one now , boy ? I attack with Belbel De Dios and destroy my Biragias to draw two cards ! Belbel De Dios , take down two of his shields ! "

" Block it , Crystal Spinslicer ! " the clone said sweating . " My turn , I summon Bliss Totem , Avatar of Luck ! Ike , Mesai Daguras , break his shield ! "

Kokujo got shocked . He knew that he had to not block with Maxval because he needed his strategy to work . The long haired boy looked down at the chosen duelists and shouted :

" Guys , I'm not gonna block the attack ! Watch out ! "

Kokujo's shield got broken and Rezo got an evil grin on his face . A mouth from the totem on which the clone was standing fired an arrow . The mouth was at the level of the chosen duelist's heads . Subaru immediately ducked on Tsugumi and none of them got hurt . As Rad saw the arrow coming towards him he threw Sora on Edo and then ducked . Thus none of the chosen duelsits were hurt .

" Tsh , you were lucky once again ! " Rezo spoke discusted .

" Heh , like it matters . Mesai Daguras dosen't let you use the shield trigger of the shields it breaks ! " the clone said smiling .

The shield was Aqua Surfer . Kokujo didn't mind the fact that he couldn't use its shield trigger because he could charge mana with that card . The long haired boy drew his next card , charged mana with Aqua Surfer and spoke :

" My turn , I summon Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper ! "

A bone demon with six heads and shiny purple eyes appeared on the bridge behind Kokujo and roared .

" HAHAHAHAHA , let's see you face my Bell Hell De Gaul , clone ! " Kokujo laughed . " I attack with Belbel De Dios and sacrifice Maxval to draw two cards ! Belbel De Dios , destroy Mesai Daguras ! And now I shall use Bell Hell De Gaul's effect and shuffle my deck and reveal the top card from it and if that's a non-evolution Demon Command then I may summon it for free ! "

Kokujo shuffled his deck and put it back on the table . He then revealed the top card from his deck which was Olzekia , General of Decapitation . Olzekia was a non-evolution Demon Command so it was summoned .

" Olzekia's effect will make me destroy one of my creatures and you two of yours ! I shall destroy my Olzekia ! " Kokujo said .

" I shall destroy... my Mesai Daguras and Bliss Totem... " the clone spoke ashamed because he had lost both his creatures .

" And since two more of your creatures were destroyed..."

The clone stared scarred at Bell Hell De Gaul's shiny eyes as Kokujo shuffled his deck once again and revealed Terror Pit which was a spell so it went to his hand . Kokujo then shuffled his deck for the last time and revealed Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King which was an evolution Demon Command so he took it to his hand .

" Your turn ! " Kokujo said .

" M-my turn , right . " the clone said scarred . " I summon Aqua Guard and evolve him into Crystal Paladin ! Ike , Crystal Paladin , break another shield ! "

The giant crystal centaur ran towards Kokujo and slashed another shield of his . The chosen duelists all stared scarred at both totems wondering from which mouth would the next arrow come . Then an arrow came from Kokujo's totem and it was from the highest mouth which meant that it couldn't harm any of them . Kokujo and the chosen duelists all sighed with relief as Rezo crunched his fists and teeth angry .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Crystal Paladin back to your hand ! " Kokujo said . " My turn , I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Liquid People ! "

The only cards from the clone's hand were Aqua Guard and Crystal Paladin . Kokujo discarded Paladin and the clone lost a shield which was Aqua Surfer .

" I now attack with Belbel De Dios and sacrifice Gal Volf to draw two cards ! Belbel De Dios , double break his shields ! Aqua Surfer , break his final shield ! "

The clone took cover as Kokujo's creatures broke all of his shields . He then took the cards to his hand and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send Bell Hell De Gaul to your mana zone ! You won't defeat me , I won't allow it ! I summon Aqua Guard and Aqua Super Emeral ! There , I have two blockers ! Let's see you defeat me now ! "

Kokujo murmed something with half of his mouth and then drew his next card . The long haired boy then charged mana with Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King which confused his opponent .

" Huh ? Why would you give up that powerful creature ? " the clone asked .

" Because I have this ! " Kokujo said smiling and showed a glowing card . " I evolve Belbel De Dios into BALLOM EMPEROR , LORD OF DEMONS !!! "

A gray skinned two headed goat demon with lots of hands appeared behind Kokujo and roared loudly . Kokujo made an evil laugh as Ballom Emperor fired a beam of death destroying Kokujo's Aqua Surfer and the clone's Aqua Guard and Aqua Super Emeral .

" IKE , BALLOM EMPEROR , TOTOMEDA !!! " Kokujo yelled and Ballom Emperor fired a lazor on the clone .

The clone flew in the air burning and this time Rezo didn't save him . He fell in the bottomless pit as Rezo flew away with his helicopter . The two totems descended back in the bottomless pit and Kokujo jumped on the bridge after packing up his deck .

" Good job there , Ko , you rocked ! " Subaru cheered .

" Yeah , let's just go ! " Kokujo replied and started walking .

Sora then yawned and woke up . She got off from Rad's back and asked the others :

" Did I miss something ? "

The only answer she got was some friendly laughter . She understood that they would explain later and laughed along . And so the chosen duelists continued their journey .


	42. The mine

Kokujo and the chosen duelists had reached the other side of the bridge and saw that the exit from the forest was a dark cave which lead into a mine .

" Tsh , seems that we have to enter this mine in order to get off this silly mountain . " Kokujo spoke bored .

" But what if there's no exit in that mine ? " Subaru asked .

" Then we'll be stuck in it forever . AHAHAHAHAHA , imagine it , just us and the darkness in the mine ! Oh , it would be fantastic ! " Kokujo laughed .

Rad got a chill running on his spine . The thought of being stuck in that mine was killing him .

" St-stuck in the...mine ? " Rad murmed .

" You knew he was joking , right ? " Edo asked .

" Y-yeah , right..."

" So , let's proceed in the mine ! We have no time to lose ! " Kokujo said .

The group entered the mine and went lower and lower . The mine's walls were rocky and filled with plants . The air was cold meaning that once the mine was filled with water . Some lamps were filling the mine with small lights but not enough to show them what was ahead of them . They were all walking carefully hoping to not fall into a hole or something .

Meanwhile at Rezo's lair . Rezo returned with his helicopter and landed with it on the parking zone . Afterwards he entered the room where Tabitha and Shagrath were supposed to be working . Rezo found Shagrath helping Tabitha to get up .

" Is she feeling any better ? " the Red Priest asked .

" Yes , she started recovering once Subaru and Tsugumi had been separated from their embrace . " Shagrath replied .

" Man , I haven't had that kind of shock for years ! " Tabitha said and wiped off the sweat from her forehead . " We really must do something about Subaru and Tsugumi before I won't be killed next time ! "

" I'll see to it eventually , now we have other things to do ! " Rezo said and walked to a mirror in which could be seen a dark mine in which his clones were digging for gold . " How much gold do you need for your spell , Tabitha ? "

" As much as you can get , Rezo , once the spell is finished... " Tabitha said smiling .

" Yes , it's just a matter of time... " Rezo replied smiling as well .

Rezo then walked to another mirror in which they could see Kokujo and the chosen duelists walking through the mine . Rezo analysed their behaviours to find out more about their weaknesses . Kokujo was enjoying the dark mine with all his heart . Subaru and Tsugumi were holding eachother's hands in the dark and sometimes shared small kisses when it was darker . Sora was smelling the ground and putting her hands on the walls trying to communicate with the cave and find a way out of there . Edo was just walking relaxed as if nothing was going on . Rad on the other hand was trembling worser than a naked man stuck in Antarctica . The red haired boy kept having a certain flashback in his mind .

_Ten years ago , Rad was just a normal kid which had nothing to do but duel and dream of having his own racing rocket one day . _

_Then on a morning when he woke up he saw on the calendar that it was 15__th__ December , his birthday ! He ran downstairs happily and filled with energy ._

" _Mommy , daddy , it's my birthday ! " he shouted ._

" _Happy birthday , son ! " his father greeted him . " Your mother is at work and will be coming back a little later for the party , but I've already brought your present ! "_

" _Really ? What's my present , daddy ? " Rad asked ._

_Rad and his father climbed down from the fifth floor using a cilinder elevator . Once they reached the first floor they saw a giant red rocket with flames painted on it . Little Rad stared at it with widened happy eyes . He ran to it and hugged the giant machine yelling :_

" _FINALLY , MY FIRST ROCKET EVER ! THANK YOU , DADDY ! "_

" _Hahaha , I knew how many rocket piloting courses you've taken ever since you were three years old and what a passion you've had both for rocket racing and dueling , son ! Me and your mother thought that if you already had your dueling deck then it would be unfair if you also didn't have your own rocket ! Wanna give it a try ? " _

" _Of course , daddy ! " Rad said and jumped in the rocket . " I'll have a short ride and be back before lunch time ! "_

_The rocket took off and flew through the sky which was clear on that day . Rad was sitting on the pliot's seat watching amazed the cities filled with snow under him . After a few hours of normal flying he decided to do some tricks . Rad made the rocket move in circle in the sky , also he made it move so that he could write random stuff on the sky , he also raced with his rocket through small and hard to reach places . In the end the boy found a dark cave in which his rocket fitted perfectly . _

" _Hehe , I'm gonna enter that cave and find an exit fast ! " Rad thought ._

_Without thiking of possible conciquences , Rad went through the cave at full speed . After a few seconds the rocket's fuel was gone and the rocket stopped and fell in the middle of the cave . Rad got scarred and got out . Around him was only darkness and he didn't knew where was the way out ._

" _H-hello ? I-is somebody there ? " Rad asked trembling ._

_The only things he heared were strange animal noises . The boy got scarred and jumped back in the rocket locking the door . He tried to open the emergency computer and call for help but it got maltfunctioned once the rocket hit the ground . Rad then scramed . He was so afraid that he was caught all alone in that dark cave that all he wanted now was to be in his parent's hands where he could feel safe ._

The flashback ended as Rad saw that the path was now separating in two ways : to the left and right .

" Ok , let's see how we split it up . " Kokujo said .

" Do we have to ? We don't even know where we are ! What if a group finds the exit but the other remains stuck here ? " Sora asked .

" If the other group is stuck then they will return to the initial place and go to the other group . As for how we'll split up , I with Subaru and Tsugumi will go on the right path while Rad , Sora and Edo go on the left path . "

They did as Kokujo said and split up . Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi were walking on a path which still had lamps lightning it .

" So , what do you plan to do once we've finished Rezo , Kokujo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" Let me defeat Rezo first and then I'll see what I will do ! " Kokujo answered sourly and then spoke in his mind . " Oh , you won't know where I'll be to see what I am planning to do , Subaru ! What I am planning to do must be done only by myself and Dorballom , hehehehehe ! "

Subaru blushed disappointed that he couldn't start a conversation and then turned to Tsugumi and whispered :

" Man , why can't he be a little more open ? Afterall we're his friends . "

" He's probably concentrated on Rezo right now . Let him have some time alone , Subaru , he needs it more than anything . " Tsugumi whispered back .

" If you're so anxious to talk then why don't you tell me what do you plan to do once Rezo's gone ? " Kokujo asked Subaru .

" Well , I'm planning to return with Tsugumi to our house and live our normal lives with you and the rest , Kokujo-kun . Who knows , we could even search for a dueling tournament if these things still exist . "

" Dueling tournament , huh ? " Kokujo asked and then spoke in his mind once again . " I wonder if me and Dorballom will have time to join a tournament . "

Then something happened . A hole appeared in the ground and Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi all fell in it screaming .

Meanwhile at Rad , Edo and Sora . The lamps which were lightning their path were few and soon they had no more light in front of them .

" Oh well , I guess that we'll have to walk in the dark . " Edo said .

" W-walk i-in the d-dark ? " Rad asked scarred .

" C'mon , don't tell me that you're afraid of the dark , Rad , you're a sixteen year old boy afterall ! " Sora commented .

" N-no , I won't continue , I simply won't ! " Rad said and ran to a lamp .

Sora and Edo wondered what was the matter with their friend . He seemed so afraid of the darkness as if someone or something was threatening his own life . The red haired boy sat with his back against the wall and stood as close as possible to the lamp . He had a melancholic expression on his face and dreamy eyes . That was because he was thinking of his childhood and how he had been stuck in the dark cave for hours . The only thought that this experience would repeat was horrifying him .

" I can't believe that our hotshot Rad has turned into a scarred girly which is afraid of the dark worser than a scardy cat . " Edo whispered to Sora .

" I won't let this happen ! " Sora replied and walked to Rad . " Listen , Rad , you can tell us what's the matter . You're between friends , so don't be ashamed of telling us why you're afraid of the dark ! "

" F-fine , it all started years ago on my birthday... " Rad began to tell them the story .

Then the flashback continued .

_Rad was sitting in his rocket all alone as the hours went by . The silence and darkness were slowly making him go nuts . To keep his sence of morality , the boy talked alone . But then the lights in his rocket when off . Rad got even more scarred and fell on the driver's seat . That was it , all was black . The boy's conciousness slowly started to fade and he felt falling into an abyss of shadows . He thought he had no more hope , but then he heared some familiar voices ._

" _Rad , sweetie , are you alright ? "_

" _Rad , son , can you hear us ? "_

" _Mom ? Dad ? " Rad slowly spoke as he opened his eyes ._

_Rad was now in the arms of his parents which were afraid the he would have been a goner if they wouldn't have come in time . _

The flashback ended as Rad stared sad into the darkness of the mine .

" Man , I feel so sorry , Rad . " Sora spoke heart touched . " I didn't knew you... "

" HAHAHAHAHAHA !!!! " Edo laughed and fell on his back . " ALL THAT ONLY COS HE WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK , HAHAHAHAHA !! "

" Hey , shut it , Edo , it's not that funny ! " Rad said while blushing .

" Woo , I'm Rad , I wanna act tough but when the lights go out I'm about to piss my pants ! Hahahahaha ! " Edo kept laughing .

" That's it , you're gonna get it , Edo ! "

Rad was about to go and beat Edo , but the brown haired boy ran in the darkness and kept laughing . Rad was too afraid to follow him , so he stood back .

" Man , how will I ever get through this , Sora ? "

" I'm afraid I cannot help you in this situation . You'll have to face your fears alone , Rad ! "

" No , I can't , I just can't ! " Rad murmed and closed his eyes .

That was when two holes appeared in the ground and Edo and Sora fell in them screaming . The holes disappeared before Rad could do something . That was it , he was all alone in the dark mine .

Edo and Sora fell and landed in a small gold transporting wagon where they were tied by two strange figures . Then they were taken to a place where workers were digging for gold .

" Wow , it really is a gold mine ! " Edo spoke amazed .

" And look , there's the exit ! " Sora replied and looked towards a tunnel leading out of the mine and practically out of the mountain as well .

" But , Sora , look who's here ! "

Edo and Sora turned to right and saw Rezo , the Red Priest standing in the middle of the workers . He was giving orders to them and he was also watching them dig out gold and put it in his helicopter .

" It's Rezo ! " Edo exclaimed .

" Yes , and look who's working for him , Edo . These workers are his clones ! " Sora added .

" Really ? So , how many clones does he have left ? "

" Let's count . One , two , three , four . Haha , only four clones left ? They'll be easy . "

Then two clones came to them and took them to a pillar where Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi were tied . The clones did the same with Edo and Sora as well and then went back to work .

" Man , I didn't expect you guys to get caught as well . " Subaru said .

" Well , that's life , Suby , we can't be perfect . " Edo laughed .

Then the Red Priest came to them . A victorious smile could be read on his face . He was enjoying the sight of his enemies all weak and vulnerable in front of him .

" If I could have my powers now , I would make you all suffer miserable deaths in the worst tortures ever ! " Rezo said . " But this dosen't mean that you won't die , Kokujo and four chosen duelists ! "

" Four ? Wait a minute , where's Rad ? " Kokujo asked .

" He didn't fall with us in the trap . " Sora answered .

" That's because I didn't even need him to fall in the trap ! " Rezo continued . " I've senced Rad's powerful fear of darkness and decided to use this in my favour . There are no more lit lamps in this mine except for the place where we're digging gold now . Let's see how Rad will make his way through the dark path until he finds you . "

Rezo then walked and stared to some pieces of gold from his helicopter . Then he turned back and spoke :

" This if he will ever find you ! I will make sure you die just before... "

" Think again , red witch ! " a familiar voice spoke from the darkness /

" Huh ? Who said that ? " Rezo asked and turned his back .

To evreyone's surprise , Rad came out of the dark and stood in front of Rezo and his clones . Evreyone was shocked . How could Rad find his way there through all that darkness ?

" Impossible ! You were supposed to be afraid of the dark ! " Rezo said .

" Yes , I am . But I remembered that I had an emergency flashlight in my pocket and decided to use it to find my way out of here . Pretty smart move for just a sixteen year old , right , Rezo ? " Rad spoke while acting cool .

" Grr , I won't let a punk like you fool me ! Clones ! Which one of you wants to face the chosen fire duelist ? "

" I wish to have the honor , Lord Rezo ! " a clone weilding a glowing deck spoke and approached Rad .

Rezo then walked to his helicopter which was filled with gold . He took out four metal umbrellas and handed three of them to three clones and turned the fourth one into a giant metal umbrella which he put above Rad and his opponent .

" Huh ? What's that for ? " Rad asked .

" To protect you . " Rezo answered . " You see , the condition of this duel is that evrey time your shields get broken , I will dig through this mine and cause an earthquake . The earthquake will cause stalactites to fall . My clones and you are protected , but your friends are not and they can't even hide because they're tied to my pillar . This time victory will be mine ! "

" Tsh , and how will you dig in the mine , Rezo ? "

" I'm glad you asked ! "

Rezo entered his helicopter and pressed a button . Two giant drills came out of it and aimed for the ceiling . If Rezo would make the helicopter fly into the ceiling , then the digging and the earthquake would begin .

" Tsh , then I guess I'll have to finish you fast . " Rad said .

" Heh , like you would be that fast . " the clone replied .

" SHIELDS UP !! " both shouted .

The duel between Rad and the clone began .

" I generate Ascendant Wing , Faerie Accela and end ! " the clone said .

" I charge mana and end ! " Rad said .

" I cast Faerie Life and gain one mana ! "

" I summon Cocco Lupia ! "

" Heh , then I summon Underworld , the Greatest God ! "

A giant red and green robot appeared behind the clone and roared .

" This shall not stop me from winning ! " Rad said . " I summon Bolshack Yamato Dragon ! Ike , Yamato Dragon , double break his shields ! Cocco Lupia , break a shield as well ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bolshack Yamato Dragon ! " the clone said smiling as two demonic hands grabbed Yamato Dragon and smashed it . " My turn , I generate Auto-equip Sword – Leo Impact and cross it for free to Underworld ! I also cross Ascendant Wing to Underworld ! Now , Underworld , the Greatest God , attack ! And my cross gear's effects will give me one more mana and add a card to one of my shields ! Underworld , break his shield ! "

Rad stared shocked at the shield which got broken into pieces . Rezo then grinned and pressed a button which made his helicopter fly . The machine's drills reached the ceiling and started digging in it . In a few seconds Rezo disappeared and stalactites started falling from the ceiling . The clones were protected by the umbrellas , but Rad's friends weren't . When Rad thought that it was the end of them , Sora managed to cut the ropes with her nails and free them in time . Then they all ran to shelter before any of the stalactites hitted them .

The earthquake then stopped . Rezo climbed down from the ceiling and was surprised to see so many stalactites on the ground .

" Heh , did they die ? " Rezo asked smiling .

" Think again , Reddo ! " Kokujo said and got out from the shelter along with the chosen duelists .

" Why you little ? What can possible take you to die ?! " Rezo almost yelled .

" Anyway , to continue our duel... " Rad said and showed a glowing card . " Shield trigger activate , I cast Ten-Ton Crunch and destroy Underworld ! "

" What the ?! " the clone spoke shocked as his creature blew up .

" And now I summon another Cocco Lupia and Bolshack NEX ! " Rad said and another fire bird appeared followed by a giant red dragon with wings of fire . " Bolshack NEX's ability makes me summon a creature with Lupia in its name from my deck and I summon another Cocco Lupia ! "

" What ? Three Cocco Lupias ?! "

The clone stared scarred at Rad which had three Cocco Lupias flying around his giant dragon , Bolshack NEX . It was obvious that the red haired boy was now in advantage .

" This is not over yet ! I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bolshack NEX ! " the clone said . " Now if I get some shield triggers , then I will be safe ! "

" This if you'll be able to use them ! " Rad replied as his hand shined with a powerful red glow .

The clone made a few steps back scarred as Rad drew his next card and his hand glew even more powerfully . The boy then raised the card into the air and shouted :

" I SUMMON BOLMETEUS SAPPHIRE DRAGON !!! "

The whole mine got sorrounded by fire as a giant blue light appeared above Rad . Out of the light came an enormous blue robotic dragon weilding four guns on his wings .

" Behold the power of the chosen fire card ! " Rad said . " I am Rad , the chosen fire duelist ! "

" I know well who you are , kid . I just can't believe that you've actually summoned that thing and even so quick ! " the clone spoke while trembling .

Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon stared down at the clone which was about to become his next victim . The dragon's stare was one which brought warmt in pure hearts and fear in evil ones . That was why the clone was so terrified .

" Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon is a speed attacker and a triple breaker and the shields he breaks go to the graveyard ! " Rad said smiling .

" Oh no... " the clone murmed .

" Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon , throw his final shields to the graveyard ! "

The dragon roared and fired all his four guns which destroyed the clone's last two shields and made the cards go to the graveyard .

" You're finished ! Cocco Lupia , totomeda ! " Rad ordered and a fire bird flew towards the clone and hit it so hard that it flew and landed a few meters away .

Rezo stared angry at the clone which got defeated and at Kokujo and the chosen duelists which once again had won . The Red Priest then turned to the other clones and said :

" Hurry up and take him to the helicopter ! Also , bring all the gold you've digged up so far , we'll need it ! "

The clones did as their master ordered them and in a minute they were all in his helicopter with all the gold . While the chosen duelists were cheering Rad for the victory , Kokujo walked to Rezo's UFO and spoke :

" Rezo , why did you come here to dig up all this gold ? For what purpose you need it ? "

" Well wouldn't you like to know . If you're so anxious to find out my plans , Kokujo , then why don't you come to my hideout to find out ? Oh , wait , I forgot , you'll never reach it ! And if you'll reach it , I'll make sure this will happen with at least one or two of your friends dead . See you next time , Black Death , hahahahaha ! " Rezo laughed and flew off with his helicopter .

Kokujo started at the helicopter which flew through the exit with all the gold . The long haired boy sighed and then turned to the chosen duelists .

" You were fantastic , Rad ! " Tsugumi cheered .

" That Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon of yours is amazing ! " Subaru added .

" Why thank you , guys ! " Rad said and then turned to Sora which was looking at him with a proud smile on her face .

" You've managed to defeat your fear of the dark , I'm proud of you , Rad ! " Sora said .

" Hehe , thanks ! I must say , it was really... "

" Ok , ok , enough resting on laurels ! " Kokujo intrerrupted Rad's moment of glory . " Rezo hasn't been defeated yet , you know ? "

" Yes , we know , Kokujo . " Subaru replied . " Should we continue our journey ? "

" Sure , but one thing bothers me . Rezo said that he has something cooking for us and he also said that he has a hideout . I wonder , is this hideout here on Earth ? And if the answer is yes , then how close or how far are we from it ? "

" My opinion is to not bother your mind with this stuff now , Kokujo . " Rad said . " You can think of that later ! "

" I guess you're right . Oh well , let's go ! "

Kokujo and the chosen duelists began walking towards the exit . Once again they had defeated another one of Rezo's clones and managed to continue their quest .


	43. Lost in the desert

Kokujo and the chosen duelists finally got out from the mine and practically , off and out of the mountain . They found themselves in front of a desert filled with rocky mountains and sand . The length of the desert was so big that it made the height of the mountain and the darkness of the mine seem worthless obstacles .

" Oh my... How the hell are we supposed to pass THIS ?! " Rad spoke shocked .

" It will take us ages until we've found the end of this desert ! God knows what Rezo might be capable of doing to the planet while we're trying to find a way out of here . " Subaru added .

" Don't worry , guys , my special powers which help me communicate with nature will get us outta here in no time ! " Sora said and closed her eyes .

The girl then layed her body down and touched the sand with her hand . She let the desertic wind blow through her hair and the sand brought by it touch her face . Sora then got up and talked to the others :

" The spirit of the desert is telling me to go westwards . "

" Then let's all go to the west ! " Kokujo said and evreyone started walking .

It was a hot sunny afternoon . The heat in the air was growing bigger and bigger and the chosen duelists couldn't stand it anymore , even if Kokujo took it like a man . Rad took off his racer jacket remaining in a short red mechanic shirt . Edo took off his student uniform as well and remained only in his pants and short white shit . Subaru on the other hand was pleased of having the opportunity to take off his own uniform . He took it off revealing a black Lordi T shirt he had been wearing under it . Finally he could sho wthe world that he was a fan of Lordi . Tsugumi on the other hand didn't feel too comfortable about the undressing buisness . She did feel hot , but she feared to expose her body to Rad and Edo . In the end she saw she had no other choice , so she took off her shirt revealing her chest , but Rad and Edo didn't even dare to look in Tsugumi's direction because they had respect for her and Subaru .

" You sure it's okay if I stay like this ? " Tsugumi asked blushing and covered her chest with both her arms .

" Don't worry , none of them will look at you , I promise . " Subaru replied and slowly took Tsugumi's shirt from her hands and put it in the bag with evreyone's clothes . " Now let's go , we have a long journey , my dear . "

" Y-yes... "

Sora was the only chosen duelist which didn't want to take off her clothes . She had been taught as a child to endure extreme moments like that , so it wasn't a big problem if she remained dressed normally .

The group walked for some time in the hot desert . For a few moments evreything seemed normal , but then Edo slowed down his walking and the others noticed it .

" Is something the matter , Edo ? " Kokujo asked .

" It's hot , no , it's hellish ! I've lost my sense of time . The water support is low . I think I will... Edo spoke and then fell on the ground . " My friends , our quest for defeating Rezo has failed ! "

" Get up from the ground , man ! " Rad spoke sweating .

" We've been traveling for twenty minutes and you're already exhaused ? " Subaru asked sweating as well .

" Do you guys need to ruin the drama ?! " Edo spoke frustrated and got up from the sand . " And now I've even got sand in my brand new pants ! "

" Tsh , stop fooling around and let's go already ! " Kokujo spoke and continued following Sora .

After more walking , Sora stopped and spoke to the rest :

" The spirit of the desert tells us to stop . He said that we've walked enough to the west . Now we must head to the south until we pass those small rocky mountains and then go to the east . "

" Um , Sora , are you sure about that ? " Rad asked .

" Positive ! " Sora replied and started walking .

Meanwhile at Rezo's lair . Tabitha was staring amazed at the enormous quantity of gold which was supplied by the Red Priest . She had never seen so much gold in one place in her entire witch life .

" Y-you brought all this , Rezo ? " she asked .

" Of course , Tabitha . " the Red Priest replied grinning . " With all this gold you'll be able to finish your spell and then nothing will stand in our way ! "

" Even if he's a mere human now , he hasn't lost his ambition of conquering evreything . Rezo , you would've been the perfect leader if you would've sacrificed your wizard powers AFTER you would've killed your enemies . " Tabitha thought .

Tabitha walked to a mirror and waved her hand . The image of Kokujo and the chosen duelists appeared in it . They were walking in the desert and they were tired .

" Man , guys , I want a bite of the good looking evil genious cake now ! " Kokujo said drooling .

" Forget that cake , I want to play those Sonic the Hedgehog games ! " Subaru replied .

" Man , I so need to use that make up on my face ! " Tsugumi added .

" I want that machine piece at once ! It will do great in my sweet rocket ! " Rad said .

" Guys , guys , you're forgetting the most important thing ever ! Can't you see the delicious candy which can't wait for us to devour it ? " Edo spoke while drooling as well

Tabitha laughed amused of what was happening . Tears of laugh were coming in her eyes and her stomach started to hurt .

" Hahahahahahaha , man I haven't had a good laugh like this in centuries ! " Tabitha laughed . " And the funniest thing is the fact that these idiots aren't having any hallucinations caused by my magic , they're having mirages and they're falling for it worser than a kid falls for fake lolipops ! Hahahahahahaha ! "

" At least someone's having fun... " Rezo thought while sweating and staring at Tabitha which couldn't stop laughing .

Sora couldn't believe how easy were her friends tricked by those illusions . She then looked in front of her eyes and was shocked to see lots of yaoi comics . The girl blushed and reached her hand in the air to pick one . But then she remembered that it was a mirage , so she stopped and spoke :

" It's all an illusion , it's all an illusion . Come on , Sora , fight it ! You've got to be strong in these times ! "

The green haired girl then turned her back and saw that her friends were still walking while seeing those mirages . At least they were going in the right way , after her .

" Man , I wish we'd get out of this desert as soon as possible ! Look at what it's doing to my friends ! " Sora thought and then put her hand on the sand . " Please , spirit of the desert , help me . I need your help more than ever ."

Back at Rezo's lair . The Red Priest was reading the list with the ingredients needed forTabitha's spell . He couldn't believe it , there was only one ingredient left and that was...

" Oil ? You wish to get machine oil ? " Rezo asked .

" Yes , oil is needed to mix the other ingredients . " Tabitha answered .

" Then you should be thanking me for creating an oil factory not far from here . There's only one problem though . It's at the end of the desert and I fear that the chosen duelists might come and ruin our plans . "

" Don't you worry about that , Rezo . I , Tabitha Lenox , will handle them in my way . Now you just go and bring me some gold ! Black gold that is . "

Rezo walked out of the room . The Red Priest called two clones and he left with them by his helicopter . Tabitha watched them leave through her mirror . The witch sighed and the spoke :

" The final battle is getting closer and closer . "

" I must agree . " Shagrath replied and came out from the dark . " Do you think that we'll be able to win it ? "

" I seriously don't know . Rezo had done the most foolish thing in his entire life , and that was giving up his powers . His magic combined with mine would've been more than useful to take out the chosen duelists . But what can I do now with only my powers and a 400 year old mortal which rlies only on his deck and the Proof of Duelmaster which sooner or later would consume him if he won't be careful ? "

" I know that this situation sucks for you , Tabitha , but try to look on the bright side : Lord Rezo is supplying you with all the ingredients you need . Now , can you tell me what spell does he want you to cast ? "

" Oh , Shagrath , you won't believe it if I told you ! "

Back at Kokujo and the chosen duelists . Some time had passed and they realised that they were having mirages . This was becoming annoying to them because the images of their desires were too realistic and they really desired all those things .

" Man , make it stop ! The candy's not real , the candy's not real . " Edo spoke to himself

" Curse whoever made me like make up ! " Tsugumi cried .

" Man , why can't these lovely Sonic games disappear already ? " Subaru moaned .

" No fair , I can't believe that these lovely machine pieces are only mirages ! Please , come to me , my pieces , I need you for my rocket !! " Rad almost screamed .

" Darn , I knew that that good looking evil genious cake was too cool to even exist . " Kokujo said sweating .

Sora looked back and noticed that her friends were becoming tortured by the idea that the things they desired were only illusions . She wanted to do something to make them get rid of their earthly desires , but she had another mission right now . She had to guide them out of the desert before it was too late .

The green haired girl turned her haid back and her face got hit by a wind which brought more sand onto her cheeks . It was like a message brought to her by someone .

" I understand... " Sora whispered .

The green haired girl walked to her friends . They just couldn't stand those illusions anymore . They were lying on the sand exhausted and they were trying to forget those fake images .

" Guys , there's no time for rest now ! " Sora said .

" What do you want now , Sora ? " Rad asked angrily .

" The desert's spirit told me that from here we must go southwards and there we will find the exit . "

" Oh , will you please stop deluding yourself , Sora ? "

" Yeah , Kokujo-kun is right , there is no spirit of the desert , it's just another illuson and you're falling for it ! " Subaru added .

" B-but , guys , the spirit can't be seen , I only felt him through the desert winds and... "

" Oh , please stop tricking us with your voo-doo hoo-doo ! " Edo said bored .

" Yeah , who knows , you might have leaded us in the wrong direction all this time . " Tsugumi said .

Sora was shocked of what she was hearing . Her own friends were distrusting her and were also accusing her of not being able to find a way out of the desert . She wanted to help them , but they began to doubt her abilities . She was heartbroken .

" Guys , what's wrong with you ? " Sora asked .

" With us ? Nothing . I began wondering what's wrong with YOU ! " Kokujo replied .

" Fine , then you can just find your way out by yourselves ! " Sora said and ran away with tears falling from her eyes .

Sora's tears flew in the air and landed on Tsugumi's cheeks , waking her up from the mirage . The girl looked around and realised what they had done .

" Sora-chan... " the blonde girl spoke with a silent voice . " What have we done ? "

" Who cares ? She was a pain in the neck anyway . " Kokujo said sourly .

" No , she wasn't ! She wanted to help and we treated her like garbadge . Why ? Because we were too selfish and didn't notice her efforts . This has to stop now ! "

Tsugumi walked to the bag and took out a bottle of water . The blonde girl then splashed evreyone's faces with water and made the mirages go away .

" Hey , why did you do that ?! " Rad spoke frustrated .

" Let's say that you guys needed to chill up a bit . " Tsugumi laughed . " Ok , guys , rest time is over , we have to find Sora and apologise ! "

" Apologise for what ? " Edo asked .

" Oh , God... " Tsugumi sighed .

Sora ran in the desert southwards . She wasn't intending to find the exit , she only wanted to be far away from her friends which were mean to her .

The sun was still radiating powerfully . The sand was burning like an oven . The air's heat was similar to a sauna . Even Sora's tears had been dried away . Still , Sora didn't want to give up . With the help of her powers she managed to run faster and faster until she started to see something in the horizon . That was when she began to slow down a bit . As she was approaching , she saw first a building , then two , then three , then a whole factory ! The green haired girl smiled happily . She had found the exit ! At first Sora wiped her eyes to see if it was a mirage , but she saw that it wasn't .

" At last , the exit ! " Sora said . " It's no mirage , it's the real exit ! Hahaha , I've gotta tell the others right now ! "

The green haired girl was about to run back , but then Tabitha suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of her .

" Good afternoon , chosen nature duelist ! " Tabitha said smiling .

" You ! You're the witch that caused us trouble ever since we began searching for Rezo again ! " Sora said .

" You have a clever sence , my dear ! Tabitha Lenox is the name , and I'm afraid I cannot allow you to tell your friends about Rezo's factory ! "

" Is that so ? Let's see you stop me , witch ! " Sora said and took out her glowing deck . " I challenge you to a duel , Tabitha Lenox ! "

" Heh , this will be fun . "

After a few turns . Sora had Bronze-Arm Tribe and Skysword , the Savage Vizier in the battlezone and five shields . Tabitha only had four shields and it was her turn .

" I cast Primal Scream ! " Tabitha said . " I'll put four cards from my deck to my graveyard and then take a creature from it to my hand ! "

The cards which Tabitha put into her graveyard were Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse , God Gut , Inaba Geeze the Explosive and Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God .

" Heh , I take Mad Romanoff to my hand and end my turn ! "

" I evolve Bronze-Arm Tribe into Fighter Dual Fang and get two more mana ! " Sora said and a giant red caped tiger like beast with big fangs and weilding two enormous swords appeared behind her and roared . " Ike , Dual Fang , double break her shields ! Skysword , break her shield ! Hah , you have only one shield left ! "

Tabitha smiled as the shield shards sorrounded her . The blonde witch then raised her hand in the air as the shards united into cards . She took the three cards and showed one of them to her opponent saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Dual Fang ! "

" Oh no... " Sora spoke shocked as her Dual Fang was smashed by lots of demonic hands in front of her own eyes .

" And now my turn , Mad Deck Evolution ! " Tabitha said and revealed three cards from her deck which were Reaper – Atomic Destroyer , Romanoff the 1st Lord of the Demonic Eye and Chaos Worm . " I evolve Romanoff the 1st into Mad Romanoff and send the other two cards to my graveyard ! Ike , Mad Romanoff , destroy her Skysword ! "

" This is not over ! I summon Sanfist , the Savage Vizier and evolve it into Craze Valkyrie , the Drastic ! "

A giant blue robot with axes instead of hands and a red lazor gun in its chest appeared above Sora . The green haired girl smiled and continued :

" Ike , Craze Valkyrie , break Tabitha's final shield ! "

" Heh , time to get down to buisness ! " Tabitha said smiling . " Shield trigger , I cast Grudge Gathering and destroy Craze Valkyrie ! "

" Impossible... "

" Oh , but it is possible , my dear ! And now I evolve Mad Romanoff into Darkness Romanoff , the Enlightened ! "

A giant knight wearing a black armor with red cape and weilding four giant blue guns appeared behind Tabitha and roared .

" Darkness Romanoff's effect will make you discard the last two cards from your hand ! " Tabitha said smiling . " And now , Darkness Romanoff , double break her shields ! "

Sora took cover as Darkness Romanoff fired four powerful lazors which broke two of her shields . The green haired girl could hear Tabitha's wicked evil laugh .

" Hahahahahaha , you're no match for me ! " Tabitha said , but then she felt something and turned her back . " Oh well , our duel will sadly end here ! "

" Huh , what do you mean ? " Sora asked .

" See you some other time ! " Tabitha said and disappeared .

Right after Tabitha disappeared , Kokujo and the other chosen duelists appeared and ran to Sora . The green haired girl smiled with happiness , because she knew that in the end they trusted her and followed her indication to go southwards .

" Guys , you've made it ! " Sora said .

" Sora-chan , we're deeply sorry for offending you and saying those harsh words to you ! We didn't mean them , we were just too concerned about our problems ! " Tsugumi said and bowed . " Will you forgive us ? "

" Of course , Tsugumi-chan , what are friends for ? "

Kokujo stared at the giant factory which stood at the exit of the desert . It was even bigger than the chemical one and it seemed like a city or a palace . The sun was reflecting in its large metallic buildings and you could feel an unpleasant smell of petroleum .

" Amazing... I've never seen anything like this in my entire life ! " Kokujo exclaimed .

" To think that Rezo was able to create such a wonder . " Subaru added .

Then some large and sharp spikes came out from the sand sorrounding Kokujo and the chosen duelists . They were all shocked of what happened . A single step and they would end up in those deadly spikes .

" Look , someone's coming ! " Sora said and pointed to the factory .

A flying silver object was approaching them and in a few seconds it was floating in the air near them , but not above the spikes . It was Rezo's helicopter . Also , a car with a sharp drill in front of it appeared from the factory and stopped under the helicopter . A clone came out of the helicopter and jumped near the chosen duelists , on an area where there were no spikes . It was the same clone which Rad had to face at the emerald beach . A dueling table came out of the sand immediately .

" Well well , if it isn't the chosen duelists caught in my deadly trap ! " Rezo exclaimed . " Luckily for you , there's one way out , and that's to duel my clone . It's good that Sora is at the dueling table , right ? "

" Tsh , spare us the irony , Rezo ! " Kokujo said .

" Heh , fine then . Sora , the chosen nature duelist , here's the condition of your duel : if you break the last shield of my clone , then the car will fire its drill and this time your friends won't be able to move around and save themselves , because they'll die in my spikes ! And if that's not all , if you lose , then spikes will come out of the ground and kill you all ! "

" So either way it's not benefic for us ! " Tsugumi said .

" Exactly ! Now , enough blabbering and get on to your duel ! " Rezo demanded .

" Tsh , fine... " Sora murmed .

" SHIELDS UP ! " both Sora and the clone shouted .

Ten shields rose up in the air as the duelists set their cards on the table . The duel between Sora and the clone began .

" I summon Torcon ! " Sora said .

" I summon God Lupia ! " the clone said .

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain a mana ! Now , Torcon , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Transmogrify and destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe ! Now I shall replace Bronze-Arm Tribe with the next creature from your deck ! "

The next card from Sora's deck was Skysword , the Savage Vizier , which was a creature . The green haired girl smiled and said :

" Thank you ! I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain one more mana and one more shield ! "

" Tsh , my turn , I summon another God Lupia ! " the clone said . " And now , my first God Lupia , suicide with Torcon ! "

" My turn , I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! And now I also cast Faerie Gift and make the next creature I summon cost 3 mana less ! " Sora said smiling and then showed a shiny card . " I evolve Skysword into Fighter Dual Fang and gain two more mana ! "

The same red caped tiger like beast with big fangs and weilding two enormous swords appeared behind Sora and roared . The clone got scarred , but couldn't make any step because of the spikes .

" Ike , Dual Fang , double break his shields ! " Sora ordered and Dual Fang slashed two of the clone's shields .

" Sh-shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send Dual Fang to your mana zone ! " the clone said and Sora's Dual Fang got sorrounded by a green aura and disappeared .

" Heh , thanks for the mana ! "

" Tsh , you're gonna pay for that , girly ! God Lupia's effect makes my Gods cost 1 mana less , so I summon Shine Valkyrie , Heavenly God ! "

A golden dragon like creature weilding a shiny scepter made of gold appeared behind the clone and roared .

" Shine Valkyrie is a 4000 powered God and when linked with another God , I may tap one of your creatures ! " the clone said .

" Heh , your Gods are no match for me ! " Sora said as her hand glew with a powerful green light . " Behold the power of the nature civilisation ! "

Sora drew her next card with her glowing hand . The card shined powerfully and suddenly trees appeared out of nowhere in the desert to evreyone's amazement .

" I am Sora , the chosen nature duelist ! " Sora said and placed the card she drew in the battlezone . " I SUMMON DIRUGA VEJIDA , GREEN DIVINE DRAGON !!! "

A giant and long dark brown dragon with enormous claws and a colored head similar to parrot's feathers appeared in the sky and roared . Evreyone was amazed of what was going on . Sora actually summoned the chosen nature creature .

" Diruga Vejida , the chosen nature card... " Rezo spoke amazed .

" Diruga Vejida is probably the most powerful creature ever , having a power of 23000 ! " Sora said smiling . " Also , he's a quatro breaker , meaning that he breaks four shields ! And whenever Diruga Vejida is destroyed , he goes back in my deck instead ! "

" Fantastic... " the clone said while staring at the giant dragon . " A-anyway , this thing won't stop me ! I summon Emerald Pharaoh , Earth God ! Godlink ! I unite Shiny Valkyrie and Emerald Pharaoh to become one God ! Now this God has 10000 power and I'll tap your Diruga Vejida ! Ike , God Lupia and Shiny Valkyrie Emerald Pharaoh , break her shields ! "

Sora took cover as three of her shields got broken by the clone's creatures . The green haired girl took the cards into her hand and then stared at her opponent . She first gave the impression of the approach of her defeat , but then she smiled and spoke :

" My turn , I summon Kirino Giant and evolve him into Xenon Da Vinchi , Master of Space ! "

" Wohoo , it looks as if Sora's gonna win ! " Rad cheered .

" Don' t be too happy about it . " Subaru replied .

" Yeah , if she'll break the clones final shields... "

" Then Rezo will throw that drill ! " Kokujo intrerrupted Tsugumi .

" And you'll be doomed ! " Rezo spoke letting his pleasance be felt in his voice .

Sora looked at her friends scarred , but then turned back . She knew that there was no turning back . She had to win the duel . Her only hope was that her friends would find a way to avoid the drill . Sora closed her eyes as she tapped the Xenon Da Vinchi card and said :

" Xenon Da Vinchi , break his final shields ! "

The clone took cover as his final shields got broken . Then Rezo got an evil grin on his face as he pressed a button . The drill was fired from the car and it aimed for Kokujo and the other chosen duelists . Sora heared a scream but she couldn't look . Tsugumi was the one which screamed because she got scarred . But Kokujo jumped in order to avoid the drill and so did the others and none of them got hurt . When Sora opened her eyes she saw that evreyone was ok .

" Phew , that was a close one , guys ! " she said smiling .

" Heh , don't worry , we can take care of ourselves ! " Kokujo replied smiling .

Rezo hit the chair from his helicopter while his anger grew higher and higher . Once again he had failed in killing the chosen duelists . Sora then looked at the clone which was helplesly begging for mercy . The green haired girl then spoke :

" Diruga Vejida , finish him off , totomeda ! "

The giant dragon made a loud and powerful roar which shook the whole desert . Then the dragon flew towards the clone and hit him with its big tail . The clone flew in the air bleeding and landed in the spikes getting killed .

" You got away with it , chosen duelists , but next time , I assure you , next time you'll be mine ! " Rezo said and flew away with his helicopter .

The spikes from the ground disappeared as well as the dueling tables . Sora packed her cards and walked back to her group where she was greeted with cheers .

" Wow , that Diruga Vejida was awsome , Sora-chan ! " Tsugumi said .

" You've really kicked some ass there , Sora ! " Rad added .

" Hehe , thanks , guys ! " Sora said and smiled .

" Are you done goofing around ? We have a mission to finish , so let's go already ! " Kokujo said and started walking towards the factory .

" We're coming ! " Sora replied .

Kokujo and the chosen duelists continued their journey as the sun which made the day hot began to disappear in the west .


	44. Rezo's oil factory

The sun was setting behind Kokujo and the chosen duelists . The group was approaching the factory which was situated at the exit of the desert . The factory's buildings were enormous and the stairs were leading to platforms which were at least three levels above the ground .

" Wow , this place is gigantic ! " Subaru exclaimed .

" Man , just the thought of climbing those stairs make my hands hurt . " Edo cried .

" Oh , stop acting like a girl , will you ? " Rad spoke disgusted .

" Meh , kids... " Kokujo said bored and started climbing the stairs .

The chosen duelists took Kokujo's example and began climbing the stairs . But little did they knew that only a few towers away , in the control room was none other than Tabitha . The witch was sitting cross armed on a chair and watching evreything through cameras . She then saw Rezo's helicopter approached her tower . Tabitha pressed a button and a gate opened . The helicopter landed in the tower through that gate .

" The chosen duelists killed another clone , right ? " Tabitha asked .

" Yes , they did . But this time I shall not let them get away with it ! " Rezo said and got out of the helicopter . " Through this factory we've managed to extract all the oil from this planet , right ? "

" Yes , and it's all deposited in these buildings . What are you planning to do , Rezo ? "

" Oh , you'll see . "

Rezo walked to a computer and pressed some buttons . Images with the oil capacities in buildings appeared on the screen . Rezo smiled and then turned to another screen where he saw Kokujo and the chosen duelists climbing .

" This is your end , enemies of my kingdom ! " Rezo said and pressed a button .

An earthquake suddenly appeared in the whole factory and shook it up . Kokujo and the chosen duelists were holding on tight to the stairs .

" Guys , are you alright ? " Kokujo shouted .

" Yes , we're fine , we won't let go of the stairs ! " Rad also shouted .

Tsugumi's hand then slipped and she was about to fall , but Subaru caught her hand fast .

" Tsugumi , don't let go ! "

" Subaru... " the girl replied and stared happily at the boy which saved her . " Yes , I won't let go ! "

Subaru tried to pull Tsugumi to him , but it was hard due to the earthquake . Tsugumi didn't knew what was wrong with her . She was scarred because of the earthquake and the risk that she could die , but she was also happy because Subaru was the one which saved her life and she wished that that moment could be eternity .

Sadly , there was no time for day dreaming . Big pipes came out of each building from the factory and all aimed at Kokujo and the chosen duelists .

" This is it , your destruction is at hand ! " Rezo said while staring at them through the screen . " There is no way they could survive this ! "

In the next moment all the oil from the factory fell through those pipes towards the chosen duelistsand Kokujo . They all screamed while holding on tight of the stairs as the oil fell on them like a waterfall . Tabitha couldn't believe what Rezo was doing . He was actually wasting all the factory's oil on the chosen duelists .

" Rezo , are you really so desperate to kill them ? " Tabitha asked .

" Yes I am ! These brats have passed through all my obstacles and they've reached this far . Plus I'm so cautious that I'd never let my enemies get near my hideout . Just look at the distance , Tabitha ! After this factory they have to pass the haunted city and walk a bit more on foot and voila... they've found my hideout ! I cannot allow that . They have to die here and now ! "

The Red Priest stared back at the screen hoping to see that his enemies had drowned in the oil . The pipes had finished pouring all the oil and now evreything which sorrounded the factory was covered by oil . It was a giant black oil pool .

" Hahahahaha , there's no possible way for someone to survive that ! " Rezo laughed .

" I wouldn't bet all my money on that , Rezo , look ! " Tabitha said and pointed to a screen .

Rezo and Tabitha turned their sights to a screen and to Rezo's shock saw that Kokujo and the chosen duelists had finished climbing the stairs and reached the factory .

" Man , now that's what I call a dirty situation . " Edo said while taking the oil off his clothes .

" Man , my hair got filled with oil . How will I clean this ? " Subaru cried .

" You're the one to complain ? At least you have black hair . What about mine which is blonde ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Man , so much oil . I could use it as fuel for my rocket . " Rad said .

" Please stop acting like kids , we have a mission here ! " Kokujo said and began walking in the factory .

" Did you guys notice that Kokujo always has the last word ? " Sora asked .

" Yeah . " the other chosen duelists answered .

Rezo was staring angrily at his enemies as they were approaching his tower . He had to find a way to get them away from it . Then the idea flashed in his head : he would get some traps ready for his enemies and they would surely die in them . Rezo started pressing buttons and activated all the possible traps in the factory .

First of all , Kokujo and the chosen duelists had to cross a small bridge which would lead them to the most important part of the factory . Under the bridge was the black oil and the bridge was composed of four yellow platforms .

" Hm... something doesn't seem right about this bridge . " Kokujo said .

" What's wrong with it ? It feels normal . " Edo said and stepped on the bridge .

The bridge started shaking towards evreyone's shock . Then the platform on which Edo stepped fell in the black oil . Edo would have fallen with it if it wouldn't have been for Kokujo which pulled him back at time .

" That's what's wrong with it . " Kokujo said . " I'll jump fast to to the other side and then try to find a way to bring you guys too . "

Kokujo jumped like a fast lightning on the ramins of the bridge which of course fell in the oil right after he had run to the other side . The chosen duelists waited a few minutes for him and then he returned with a rope . They used the rope and they managed to get to the other side of the factory .

Now Kokujo and the chosen duelists were walking on a small path and then two guns came out of the ground . The guns aimed for them and in the next second they fired oil .

" OIL ? Out of all the possible projectiles in the world you chose to fire oil at them ? " Tabitha spoke frustrated .

" Well I didn't have any other thing left and besides it's an oil factory . " Rezo said .

Tabitha slapped her face because of Rezo's incompetence . At such an attack no one would ever die . The witch turned her sight back to the camera and saw that the gun's oil was pushing Kokujo and the chosen duelists towards a platform . Now she understood it , Rezo was planning something else .

Once Kokujo and the chosen duelists stood on the platform , Rezo pushed a button and the platform went down to a lower level . They felt as if they were going down , but they didn't knew why because they were too busy rubbing the oil off their eyes . Once the platform arrived at its destination , they finally cleaned their faces and saw a big slide with oil on it leading to the pool of oil .

" Heh , who would be that stupid as to fall down on that slide ? " Edo said .

" You ! " Rezo said and pressed a button .

A fan appeared behind them and when it turned on , it had such a powerful blow that Kokujo and the chosen duelists were pushed in front and fell on the slide all the way towards the oil . The slide was slippery because of the oil on it . No matter how hard they tried , they couldn't stop their fall . In the end they landed in the black oil .

" OH MY GOD , WE'RE GONNA DIE ! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE DROWNED IN MOTOR OIL ! " Edo yelled while splashing around .

" Um...Edo..."

" What is it , Kokujo ? Can't you see I'm busy trying to save my life ? "

" Edo , the oil ain't that deep . See for yourself ! "

" Fine , but you'll pay if I die . "

Edo holded his breath and sank in the oil . His feet touched the ground in two seconds meaning that the oil was only a few centimeters higher than his own height . Seeing that it wasn't a big danger , Edo swam back to the others .

" Ok , so what now ? " Edo asked .

" We'll have to find a way to go back to the factory . We won't let Rezo kick us out of there without giving him a taste of his own medicine ! " Kokujo said and began swimming .

They all swam back to the factory and to their luck they found a long green pipe which lead to a platform . It was easy for them to get out of the oil and climb on the pipe . But as they were cleaning the oil off their clothes , Rezo pressed a button and a giant spiky block came out of the factory and moved on the pipe towards them .

" Oh , crap , how are we gonna avoid that ? " Kokujo asked .

" I don't know , but I hope that we'll pass this spikey situation . " Edo said sweating .

" We really have no time for retarded jokes now , Edo ! " Rad said angry .

" Oh , sorry... "

" At my count , we'll all jump and run before more of these things come . " Kokujo said . " One , two , three... NOW ! "

They all jumped and started running away as fast as they could . Just then they noticed that the spike block was coming back to chase them . It seemed as if Rezo was controlling it . But even if he was doing that , it was too late , because Kokujo and the chosen duelists had reached the platform . Once they were all on the platform , they started moving up and the spike block hit the wall and blew up .

The platofrm stopped at the next level and our heroes were shocked of what they had found . Behind them was a big wall . Under them was the oil pool . In front of them were only two paths , but the left path had lids with big fires coming out from them and the right path which had big spikes . None of the paths was good for them , because both represented death threats .

" Impossible... " Tsugumi said and fell on her knees . " We're trapped... "

" No , there has to be a way out ! " Subaru replied . " I can't believe that this is really our end ! "

" HAHAHAHAHA ! I DID IT ! " Rezo laughed maniacally . " THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WAY FOR THEM TO GET OUT ! THIS IS THE END OF KOKUJO AND THOSE CHOSEN DUELISTS ! HAHAHAHAHAHA ! "

It seemed as if Rezo had finally won . There seemed to be no way out for Kokujo and the chosen duelists and because of that , they were all depressed .

" This is it , Rezo will drain this planet of its resources and take over the Universe . " Sora said .

" I still can't believe that such a pathetic trap will stop our journey... " Rad added .

Edo then looked up and was shocked of what he saw . The brown haired boy smiled and then spoke to the others :

" Guys , here's our way outta here ! "

" Huh ? Where ? " Kokujo asked .

" Those yellow pipes above us . We could climb on those using our hands and pass over this obstacle . "

" You know what , Edo ? You're not stupid for nothing . " Rad said .

" Should I take that as a compliment ? "

" Enough chit chat , let's start climbing ! " Kokujo said .

Kokujo was the first to jump . He caught the pipe with his right hand and then offered Edo his left hand . Ed did the same and so did the rest . In a few minutes they were all passing the obstacles by climbing those pipes .

Rezo hit the computer screen angrily because of that . Once again he had been outsmarted by his enemies . Tabitha got bored as she was watching Rezo having another one of his fury accesses .

Back at our heroes . They were all approaching the ends of the pipes and to their luck ,the spikey and fiery paths were finishing . Right after those two paths , another slide with oil on it awaited them . But they saw that this one was leading down towards three purple platforms which were united .

" Well , evreything seems safe . Let's climb down ! " Kokujo said .

" You mean let's have fun while jumping and falling on the slide . " Edo replied .

" Whatever... "

Kokujo let go of the pipe and fell on the slide . Edo smiled and yelled a 'talihoo' and afterwards jumped from the pipe on the slide . Obviously , the others followed them . While falling on this slide , Edo kept screaming that he was the king of the world or that falling on that slide with slippery oil was fun . The others were annoyed by his behaviour , but decided to shut up and let him be .

They all landed on the platforms and this time it was a nice landing . Edo laughed loudly and said :

" Anyone up for another ride ? "

Rezo saw where they were and decided that it was time to face them . He pressed a button and the three platforms separated themselves from eachothers and all of them began moving through the giant pool of ocean . One platform was empty , the other had only Edo on it and the last had the rest of them . Rezo then turned to Tabitha and spoke :

" You go back to our hideout and bring Shagrath with you ! I need you both to bring special absorbers and suck all this oil in them ! "

" Ok , when should we come back ? " Tabitha asked .

" Once I finish this fight , regardless of who wins . " Rezo said and left .

Our heroes were now sitting on those platforms doing nothing . The platforms were moving slowlyaway from the oil factory as the sun was still setting .

" Edo-kun , can you jump from that platform to ours ? " Subaru asked .

" I can't , the distance is too big . I guess we'll just have to wait until we reach shore . " Edo replied .

Suddenly , a silver submarine appeared between the empty pltform and the platform on which Edo was lying . The submarine was piloted by none other than Rezo .

" Rezo ! " evreyone exclaimed .

" Hehehe , nice to meet you once again , Kokujo and chosen duelists ! " Rezo replied and opened a door of the submarine .

A clone jumped out of the submarine through that door and landed on the empty platform . Then a dueling table appeared on the clone's platform and one on Edo's platform .

" Chosen water duelist , you'll have the honor of facing my clone today ! " Rezo said .

" Huh ? Me ? But why ? " Edo asked sweating .

" Because you're the only one on thatplatform , idiot ! Anyway , for the condition of your duel : each time one of your shield is broken , I'll attack your friends using my submarine and believe me , it won't be a pleasure to see what my submarine can do ! "

" Tsh , whatever , bring it on ! " Edo said and put his deck on the table .

" You've signed your ticket to hell ! " the clone replied and put his deck on the table as well .

The duel between Edo and the clone began . Their shields rose up in the air as they drew their five cards . The clone decided to start .

" I charge mana and end ! " the clone said .

" I charge mana and summon Aqua Guard ! " Edo said .

" I summon God Lupia ! "

" I summon Akashic Third , the Electro-Bandit ! "

" I summon Fuuma Bajir , Soul Weapon ! "

" I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! "

" Heh , then I summon Heavy , Dragon God ! " the clone said smiling as a grey bird like dragon with bright colored wings appeared behind him and roared . " When I summon Heavy , I'll destroy one of my creatures , draw a card and then you'll also destroy one of your creatures ! I destroy Fuuma Bajir ! "

" I destroy Aqua Guard ! " Edo said .

" Also , since my Fuuma Bajir got destroyed , I'll destroy your Aqua Super Emeral as well ! "

" Oh no... my blockers ! "

" Hahaha , let's see you defeat me now , chosen water duelist ! " the clone laughed .

" Hmph , I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards ! " Edo said .

" It will be over soon ! " the clone said . " EVOLUTION VORTEX ! I EVOLVE GOD LUPIA AND HEAVY , DRAGON GOD INTO DEATH PHOENIX , AVATAR OF DOOM ! "

A giant phoenix made of dark fire appeared out of nowhere behind the clone and roared . Edo got scarred and made a few steps back as the clone ordered the giant creature to attack .

" IKE , DEATH PHOENIX , THROW TWO OF HIS SHIELDS TO THE GRAVEYARD ! "

Death Phoenix roared and fire a powerful beam which destroyed two of Edo's shields . The shield shards united into cards which fell into the graveyard . The cards were Qurian and Natural Snare . But Edo didn't worry about losing a shield trigger . He was much concerned about his friends . Rezo smiled as he pressed some buttons and his submarine dived in the oil .

" Uh oh... " Kokujo and the chosen duelists said .

Suddenly , a metallic worm with a sharp spike for a head came out of the oil and aimed for Kokujo and the four chosen duelists . They all ducked and the worm missed them and fell back in the oil . Then a lazor gun came out from the oil and aimed for them as well .

" IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR ! " the gun yelled and fired three lazors .

It was hard , but they all managed to dodge the lazors . When they were expecting more , the lazor gun went out of bettery and fell back in the oil . Then Rezo's submarine came up and an excited Rezo spoke :

" Where are they ? Are they dead ? "

" Oh , you mean us ? We're all fine , Rezo ! " Kokujo said smiling .

" Curses ! " Rezo said and angrily hit his chair with his fists .

" Anyway , I think it's my turn . " Edo said and drew his next card . " I summon Skell Eye , Savage Mecha King and end ! "

" Heh , you'll soon be finished ! I summon Garzack , God Destroying Dragon ! " the clone said and a giant dark metallic dragon appeared him and roared . " Ike , Death Phoenix , throw two more shields to the graveyard ! "

This time the shields which Edo lost were Cuty Heart and Armored Iced Claw Mephist . Rezo smiled and once again dived in the oil with his submarine .

" Here we go again... " Rad said .

" Not quite... Guys , let's jump in the oil and swim under the platform . Let's see if the idiot will manage to hit us ! " Kokujo said .

They did as he said and now they were all under the platform swimming . Then the metallic worm came out once again and fell back in the oil . Afterwards the lazor gun came out and fired three lazors into thin air . Once the lazor gun fell back as well , Rezo's submarine came out .

" Did they die ? " Rezo asked .

" Hello , Rezo ! " Kokujo said and jumped on the submarine .

" How'you doin' Rezo ? " Rad said and also jumped on the submarine .

" I love silver stuff ! " Subaru said and jumped on the submarine .

" I also love silver stuff ! " Tsugumi said and jumped on the submarine .

" What a nice view it must be ! " Sora said and jumped as well on the submarine .

" WILL YOU GUYS FRIGGING GET OFF MY F*CKING SUBMARINE ? " Rezo yelled with all his powers .

" Ok , let's go guys ! " Kokujo said .

Kokujo and the chosen duelists jumped from Rezo's submarine back on their platform . Edo laughed at what they had done and wished that he would have been with them . The brown haired boy then turned back to the dueling table and spoke :

" My turn , I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one mana ! Then surprise ! "

" Huh ? You have a surprise ? " the clone asked .

" Yes , I cast Crest of Mother ! I send Bronze-Arm Tribe to my mana zone and then summon Bagnaborne , Divine Green Dragon from my mana zone ! "

" What the... "

" Heh , didn't like it , right ? Now I attack Death Phoenix with Akashic Third , the Electro-Bandit ! Now I'll reveal the cards from my deck until I reveal a creature and Akashic becomes the creature which I reveal ! "

The creature which Edo revealed was Bagnaborne , Divine Green Dragon which had a power of 9000 . Akashic 'became' Bagnaborne , so both him and Death Phoenix died .

" Tsh , at least you'll discard all your cards cos of Death Phoenix ! " the clone said .

" It's a price which I have to pay . " Edo replied while losing the cards from his hand . " Ike , Skell Eye , break his shield and I'll take Crystal Zweilancer from my deck to my hand ! "

" You bastard ! You'll pay for that ! I summon Necrodragon Dobolzark and take Metal , Dragon God from my deck to my hand ! Ike , Garzack , break his final shield ! "

" Here we go again... " Kokujo said bored .

" Hehehe . " Rezo laughed and was about to dive .

" Hey , Rezo , instead of diivng like an idiot and throwing those things at us , why don't you just stay here and throw them ? " Subaru asked .

" Yeah , you'll consume less energy that way . " Rad said .

" Hm... good idea ! " Rezo said and pressed a button .

Out of Rezo's submarine came the metal worm which jumped at them . They obviously ducked and the worm fell in the oil . Then the lazor gun came out and this time it was piloted by Rezo .

" This time I'll get you ! " Rezo said .

" IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR ! " the gun screamed and fired three lazors .

This time the lazors almost caught them , but once again they dodged them . Rezo got angrier than ever . How could they be able to not be hit by what he threw at them ? It seemed as if all his attempts to kill them were useless .

" Heh , are you done having fun ? " Edo asked . " Because it's my turn to have fun ! Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Garzack back to your hand ! "

" Tsh... " the clone murmed as he took the card back to his hand .

" My turn , I evolve Aqua Surfer into CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER ! "

The sun then set a little earlier and as the sky turned dark , the moon's light became more and more powerful . The light fell upon the platforms and the oil pool . In a few seconds a giant golden centaur with two big spears as hands came out of the oil pool and walked behind Edo's platform towards evreyone's amazement .

" Meet the chosen water card , the King of all Oceans , Crystal Zweilancer ! " Edo said . " And now it's time to show you who I really am ! I am Edo Kanda , the chosen water duelist ! Ike , Crystal Zweilancer , triple break his shields ! "

" Oh crap... " the clone said scarred as three of his shields got slashed by Crystal Zweilancer .

" Attack as well , Bagnaborne , and with his effect I'll summon Cuty Heart from my mana zone and send your Dobolzark back to your hand ! "

" WHAT ? "

" Ike , Bagnaborne , break his final shield ! "

" Sh-shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Skell Eye ! " the clone said trembling . " M-my turn , I summon Bloody Dragoon and cast Proclamation of Death ! "

" Heh , I destroy Bagnabonre ! " Edo laughed and then turned serious . " My turn , IKE , CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER , SHOW HIM THE POWER OF THE WATER CIVILISATION ! TOTOMEDA ! "

Crystal Zweilancer's eyes shined as he charged two water beams in both his spears and then the giant golden centaur fired them both towards the clone . The clone was blown in the air by all the water and in the end it landed in the pool of oil and drowned there .

" Tsh , I'll get you next time ! " Rezo said and dived in the oil with his submarine .

The group group cheered Edo for his victory . Once again they had triumphed against the forces of Rezo .

" Great work , Edo-kun ! " Subaru said .

" That Crystal Zweilancer of yours realy rocks ! " Tsugumi added .

" It seems as if you really have potential ! " Sora said .

" Heh , I can't believe that you're at last useful ! " Rad laughed .

" Um...thanks for the compliments , guys , but HOW ARE WE GONNA GET OFF THESE PLATFORMS ? " Edo yelled .

" Would you prefer to be swimming in the oil ? " Kokujo asked .

Then they noticed that the oil's capacity was becoming lower and in a few minutes the platforms stopped moving . When they looked down , they saw that all the oil was gone . Then they turned their looks towards the factory and saw that Tabitha and Shagrath had sucked all the oil using their special absorbers . They both gave them mean looks and then disappeared .

" Ok , it seems that we're once again on foot . " Kokujo said .

" Look , guys , there's a city a few kilometers from here ! " Tsugumi said and pointed towards some lighted buildings which were at a big distance from them .

" Who knows , we might find a good place to rest for this night . " Subaru said .

" And to eat ! " Edo added .

" Some things just never change . And to think that I was beginning to admire him... " Sora said .

Kokujo and the chosen duelists continued their journey towards the misteryous city they saw . Even if they didn't knew for what did Rezo need that oil , they still had to continue their journey . They had to defeat the Red Priest and his minions no matter what .


	45. The haunted town

It was a full moon night and even if there were no clouds , thunders could be heard and lightnings could be seen above the dark and misteryous city which was situated only a few miles to the west from Rezo's oil factory . Kokujo and the chosen duelists arrived at the entrance of that strange city and were watching the sight with fear . The lights from the buildings were all off and there was a chilling wind coming from the city which made them feel as if they were in a graveyard .

" Guys , you sure you want to stay here tonight ? This place is giving me the creeps . " Tsugumi said trembling .

" Come on , it doesn't look that scary . " Kokujo said and walked into the city .

" Kokujo's right , we can't just sleep outside here tonight . " Rad replied and walked as well followed by Edo and Sora .

" I don't have a good feeling about this . " Tsugumi said and covered her shoulders with both her hands .

" Is something the matter , my dear ? " Subaru asked and came close to her .

" Oh , I just have this strange feeling that something bad is going to happen if we sleep here tonight . It's not Rezo or his minions , I feel that we might have another enemy awaiting for us . "

" I understand your concern , but don't worry , I'm right here if you'll ever need me . Just stick close to me and it will all be fine .

" Gee , thank you , Subaru , you're so kind ! "

" Hehe , anything for my angel ! " Subaru replied and gave Tsugumi a small hug . " Let's go now , shall we ? "

" Yes , let's go ! "

The two followed the others by entering the city . They wandered through the empty streets of the city which seemed to be abandoned due to the fact that most of the buildings were dirty , had their windows broken and some light bulbs were lightning weakly in some rooms . Kokujo was leading the group as always , followed by Rad , Edo and Sora . Subaru was walking behind the first three along with Tsugumi which couldn't help the strange feeling she had .

For a few moments nothng happened . They just wandered in the city searching for a place where they could sleep for the night . Tsugumi wasn't feeling that good though . She felt dizzy , as if she was trapped in some kind of hypnotizing spell . She stopped talking to Subaru for a few moments making him even more worried .

Suddenly Tsugumi left the group and walked to a building . Her friends noticed that and stopped from their walking . They watched her as she stopped in front of the building and stared down at something .

" Tsugumi , what's the matter ? " Subaru asked .

The girl didn't answer . She layed down and picked up something with her right hand .

" Did she find something ? " Rad asked .

" She's acting kinda weird... " Sora replied .

" Let's go see what has she found . " Edo said and started walking to her along with Subaru .

Subaru put his hand on Tsugumi's shoulder , but the girl still didn't say anything . She just turned to him and to evreyone's shock they saw that she was holding a skull !

" Ah , Tsugumi ! " Subaru said shocked .

" W-what are you doing with that thing ? " Edo added discusted .

" I..I don't know... " the girl replied and seemed as if she was awaken from a dream .

Evreyone was as amazed as she was . How could she do such a thing and not be cuncious of it ? Now it seemed that Tsugumi's fears were right , something was definetly not right there .

Just as they finished staring at that skull and Tsugumi really snapped out of it , a ghostly figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the building . They were all shocked by the ghastly presence as if it was Rezo along with an entire army . Once Edo saw the ghost , he fainted and fell on Rad's feet .

" First Tsugumi turns into a skull picker and now Edo gets scarred off his pants because of a simple ghost ! " Rad said sweating and yelled . " GET OFF MY FEET , YOU IMBEICL ! "

" Tsh , Sora , what kind of ghost is this one ? " Kokujo whispered to the green haired girl and approached her .

" It seems to be the owner of the skull . " Sora whispered back . " I think that it tried to make contact with Tsugumi through this skull so that he could show us something . "

The ghost made a sign to the chosen duelists telling them to follow and then disappeared in the dark building .

" Should we go ? " Subaru asked .

" As if we had any other choice... " Kokujo replied and walked towards the building .

Subaru stared a bit at Kokujo and then turned to Tsugumi which had dropped the skull from her hands . He embraced her from the back to warm her body and spoke :

" You sure you wanna go ? "

" Y-yes... this ghost has used all its methods to call us , so I think that we should at least listen to what it has to say . " Tsugumi said and freed herself from Subaru's embrace .

Subaru and Tsugumi followed Kokujo in the dark building . Sora was about to do the same , but then she turned back and saw Rad slapping Edo's cheeks trying to wake him up . The green haired girl sweated and spoke to the red haired boy :

" Give up , you know that when he's really shocked and faints you can barely make him open his eyes ! "

" Tsh , this guy has always been a pain in the neck ! " Rad said and put the sleeping Edo on his back . " I guess I'll have to carry him until he wakes up . "

" You two are so cute ! " Sora said blushing .

" Not another word , yaoi freak , or you'll get it ! " Rad spoke coldly and entered the dark building followed by Sora .

The group walked through a dark hall whose air was so cold and wet that it seemed as if it had just rained there . Since it was so dark , the only way they could be sure that they were together was by talking . That way they would notice if someone had went the wrong way .

" Guys , you sure that we're doing the right thing ? I mean why should we trust a ghost ? " Subaru asked .

" Because this ghost is the only thing which we know that might not be on Rezo's side . " Kokujo said .

" He has a point there . And even if the ghost was sent by Rezo , we'll be prepared to fight it ! " Sora added .

" Look , guys , I see a light ! " Tsugumi said a pointed to a door which was almost closed and from which some tiny light was coming out .

" That might be our way out of this corridor , let's go ! " Kokujo said and ran towards the light followed by the others .

In a few seconds they were in front of the door . Kokujo pushed the door and opened it revealing a strange loom which was lighted by a lamp . They had seen that there was also a light switch , but it was turned off .

" That's weird , why are the lights turned off ? " Kokujo said and turned on the switch .

Lots of neon began shining and suddenly lots of scheletons fell from the ceiling . All of them were hanged up by big iron chains . That was when Edo woke up and got off Rad's back .

" What's the matter ? " Edo asked .

" S-see for yourself ! " Rad said and pointed to the scheletons .

" Uh oh , I think it was better if I had remained unconcious... " Edo said sweating .

The door had shut and locked itself . Before they could even do something about it , the ghost which had greeted them at the entrance of the building appeared in front of them .

" What's going on here ? I want some explanations ! " Kokujo said .

The ghost didn't say a word . It just stared at Tsugumi as if it wanted to attack her . The girl got scarred by the ghost and ran into Subaru's arms trembling . In the next moment the ghost flew fast and entered her mind . The blonde girl fell on her knees with her hands on her head .

" He's showing me... " the girl murmed .

" What ? What's that ghost showing you ? " Subaru asked .

Tsugumi didn't say another word after that . Now she was concentrating on what was the ghost showing her . In her mind there were images of lots of people being murdered , brought back to life and then murdered again in the cruelest ways possible .

" Who are they ? " she asked .

" These are the inhabitants of planet Earth . " the ghost said and suddenly appeared behind Tsugumi . " We were living our peaceful lives until when Rezo came and took over the world . We were thinking that once that maniac had achieved his goals , he would leave us alone , but he didn't ! Once he remade the Earth after his will , he created this city in which he sent all humans present on Earth then . Here we've been killed in the worst ways possible and Rezo casted a curse on us which made our souls remain here and experience this pain again and again and again... "

" How horrible ! " Tsugumi exclaimed . " And to think that this is all because me and my friends had failed in defeating Rezo back then... "

" Do not regret , chosen light duelist ! You still have this second chance in defeating the Red Priest . Do not waste it ! "

" I will not , sir , I promise to you and to evreybody on Earth that me and my friends will fight with all our efforts and defeat Rezo ! The Red Priest will pay for evreything he had did to you ! "

" Good , you're free to go ! " the ghost said .

Tsugumi opened her eyes and looked around her . The chosen duelists and Kokujo were around her , but there was no sign of the ghost .

" What happened to you , Tsugumi ? " Subaru asked .

" The ghost meant no harm , he just wanted to show me how he and evreybody on Earth had been suffering because of Rezo . " the blonde girl answered .

" Tsh , a waste of time ! Like knowing how they've suffered would help us defeat Rezo . " Kokujo spoke coldly and walked to a wall .

Kokujo tapped the wall's bricks hoping to find a way out of the room . All the bricks seemed the same , but then something happened . His right hand seemed to push one small brick into the wall . Suspecting that it was an exit , Kokujo kept pressing until the brick had fallen into the other side of the wall . That was when a side of the wall collapsed and revealed a secret stairway leading to the upper floor .

" Guys , look what I've found ! " Kokujo said .

" An exit ! " Edo exclaimed .

" We're out of this cursed pla... " Rad said but suddenly stopped . " What's that noise ? "

Evreyone turned and saw that the room was being flooded with a large quantity of water . The water was falling fast from the other three walls .

" Oh crap , let's get outta here ! " Kokujo said and began running upstairs .

The group followed Kokujo fast before the water could reach them . They kept climbing the stairs until they found a dead end , but there was no way out of the building . They then ran at the windows , but all of them were locked and could not be breaked , no matter what they threw at them . The water was approaching fast and in a couple of minutes they would've drowned if they didn't get out in time .

" That's it , we're doomed ! " Edo said and fell on his knees .

" As much as I hate to admit it , he's right ! " Sora added and also fell on her knees .

" We mustn't give up hope yet ! " Kokujo said and tried to break a window with a chair .

" He's right , we can't turn back now ! " Rad added and helped Kokujo by attacking the same window with a baseball bat .

Subaru stared at Rad and Kokujo which were desperately trying to break the window so that they could escape . The black haired boy then turned to Tsugumi and spoke to her :

" When the ghost showed you those things about people being killed , did it also show you a way to get out of this building ? "

" No , but it did tell me then when the time would come , I will be helped by them . " Tsugumi said . " I wonder what that meant... "

Suddenly a shiny ball of light came down from the skies and entered the building . The ball descended towards Tsugumi and Subaru which were staring amazed towards it .

" I can't believe it , it looks like the same ball of light which reopened the door of my closet and saved me from being trapped into hell ! " Tsugumi said .

" But wasn't that ball of light your Never Ending Hero deck ? " Subaru asked .

" Yes , it was , but I wonder if this one is also another one . "

The ball of light flew into a wall and opened it revealing another stairway which leaded to the roof . Evreyone stared at the miracle that had just happened .

" Amazing ! " Edo said .

" We don't have time to be shocked , Edo , the water has reached our feet ! " Kokujo said and ran towards the stairs .

" He's right , let's go ! " Rad added and ran as well .

In a few moments they had all reached the roof and practically escaped the danger of being drowned in the flooded building . Edo stared down and was amazed to see that the building was pretty high . Tsugumi on the other hand took the light ball in her arms and stared at it . The light suddenly disappeared and revealed a Never Ending Hero deck box on which was written 'For Rad' and a White Knight deck wrapped in a pink ribbon with a note on which was written 'For Tsugumi' .

" Eh ? What kind of silly joke is this ? " Rad asked sweating .

" It seems as if we have some friends up there . " Tsugumi laughed and looked at the White Knight cards . " Cool , these creatures will work fantastic in my deck ! I just need to do some changes . "

" Heh , Tsugumi , how about we update our decks here and now ? "

" Good idea , Rad-san ! "

Tsugumi and Rad took out their cards and began working on their decks while Kokujo and Subaru were having a small chat and Sora was trying to make Edo feel less height sick .

" Rezo's hideout is at a few miles distance from us . " Kokujo said . " I can sence his evil aura from here ! "

" Do you have any plan for when we'll reach it ? " Subaru asked .

" Momentarily no , but I want you to concentrate , Subaru ! I don't want you to react like you did last time and lead us once again to fail ! "

" I won't , Kokujo-kun ! This time I will remain calm no matter what happens ! "

" Good , because now the final hope of the whole world is at our hands ! We can't afford to die by Rezo's hand no matter what ! "

" Understood... "

The two darkness duelists stared at the moon for a few minutes . Then the silence was breaked by Rad and Tsugumi which had finished updating their decks . The two got up and walked to Kokujo and Subaru .

" We're done , so what should we do now ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Well , I suggest we.. " Kokujo said but then he got intrerrupted by a strange sound .

The whole group looked up in the sky and saw a silver helicopter descending from the heavens . It was none other than Rezo ! The helicopter stopped descending at a meter above the building's roof . Out of the helicopter jumped a clone and landed in front of Kokujo and the chosen duelists . It was the same clone which Sora had faced back at Rezo's chemical factory .

" Good evening , my dear enemies ! " Rezo greeted them .

" Tsh , spare us the fake manners , Rezo ! " Kokujo replied .

" As you wish . Now who dares to face my clone ? "

" I will ! " Tsugumi said and stepped forth .

Two dueling tables came out and the players put their decks on them . Then Rezo pressed a button and two missles came out of his helicopter and destroyed two parts from the roof . Now two big pits were separating Tsugumi from her friends and the clone from the other side of the roof .

" The condition of this duel is simple , chosen light duelist . If your final shield is broken , then I will fire another missle which will destroy the portion of roof on which your friends are standing and they will either be killed by the explosion , fall off the building and die or get drowned in the flooded building ! Hahahaha , my victory is near ! "

" We'll see about that ! Shields up ! " Tsugumi said and raised her five shields .

" Shields up ! " the clone said and did the same .

The duel between Tsugumi and the clone began .

" I cast Faerie Life and gain a mana ! " the clone said .

" I summon Endra Pappi ! " Tsugumi said .

" Heh , I summon Underworld , the Greatest God ! "

A giant red and green robot appeared behind the clone and roared .

" That God doesn't scare me ! " Tsugumi said and drew her next card . " Time to try some of these new cards , I summon Leonidas , White Knight Spirit ! Leonidas is a 6000 powered blocker and since he's an Angel Command , Endra Pappi lets me draw a card for summoning him ! "

" Play time is over , girly , I summon Chemical , God of Sublimity ! I'll draw two cards and discard Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! And now godlink ! I unite Chemical and Underworld creating Chemical Underworld , the Greatest God of Sublimity ! " the clone said and a creature made of dark blue crystal appeared out of nowhere and united with Underworld , creating Chemical Underworld . " Hahahaha , Chemical Underworld is a 8000 powered double breaker which untaps evrey time he wins a battle ! Ike , Chemical Underworld , double break her shields ! "

Tsugumi took cover as two of her shields got broken by the giant creature . The girl waited until the shield shards united into cards and then she took them into her hand .

" My turn , I summon Asylum , the Dragon Paladin ! Since Asylum is both an Angel Command and a Dragon , Endra Pappi lets me draw 2 cards ! "

" Like that creature would do you any good... Anyway , I cast Natural Snare and send Leonidas to your mana zone ! " the clone said smiling . " Ike , Chemical Underworld , double break her shields once again ! "

Tsugumi took cover once again as her shields got broken , but this time she smiled . The shield shards united into cards fast and the girl said :

" Thanks ! Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers ! I now summon Light Divine Dragon Sebuns for free ! Also , Endra Pappi lets me draw a card ! "

" Heh , no matter how many dragons you summon , you have one shield left while I have my powerful God ! Nothing can stop me now , chosen light duelist ! " the clone spoke victoriously .

" That's what you think ! " Tsugumi said and showed a shining card . " EVOLUTION VORTEX ! "

" What the... impossible ! How could she... "

" I evolve Asylum , the Dragon Paladin and Light Divine Dragon Sebuns into SWORDFLASH GALAXY , SUPER CHAMP ! " Tsugumi yelled and a giant dragon with a shiny silver armor weilding lots of swords and guns descended from the heavens behind Tsugumi . " Meteorburn ! I send Asylum to the graveyard and use Swordflash Galaxy's both meteorburn effects which means that I may untap it after it attacks and this turn it doesn't leave the battlezone ! "

" Uh oh... " the clone said sweating .

" Ike , Swordflash Galaxy , triple break his shields ! " Tsugumi ordered and the giant creature slashed three of the clone's shields .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy... Endra Pappi ! "

" Heh , Swordflash Galaxy's effect didn't let you destroy it ! " Tsugumi said smiling . " Meteorburn ! I send Light Divine Dragon Sebuns to the graveyard and Swordflash Galaxy can untap once again after it attacks ! "

" What the ? No fair ! " the clone whined .

" Swordflash Galaxy , break his final shields ! And now untap , my creature ! This is the end for you , Swordflash Galaxy , totomeda ! "

The giant creature fired beams from all its guns and the clone was blown away and fell in the flooded building drowning . Rezo murmed something which none of them heared and then flew away with his helicopter . Once he was gone , the roof came back to normal . Tsugumi was cheered by her friends while Kokujo walked to the edge of the roof staring at Rezo's helicopter which was disappearing in the dark night .

" Way to go , girl ! " Sora said while tapping Tsugumi's shoulder .

" That Swordflash Galaxy of yours rocks ! " Rad added .

" I'm proud of you , my love ! " Subaru said .

" Why thank you , guys , it's so nice of you ! " Tsugumi spoke happily . " I'm glad that I could help , but in my personal opinion , if all of Rezo's minions are THAT easy , I think we'll defeat that red witch in no time ! "

Suddenly a strange pink portal appeared out of nowhere in front of them . They all stared at it surprised of what was going on .

" What's this thing doing here ? " Rad asked .

" Um... it's sitting in front of us ? " Edo said .

" Wow , really intelligent answer... " Sora said sweating .

" Guys , can't you hear it ? " Kokujo said and approached his ear to the portal . " It's like someone's calling us . "

" Kokujo's right , I can also hear it ! " Sora said .

" How can we be sure that it's not another one of Rezo's tricks ? " Subaru asked .

" The ghosts weren't part of his tricks , so I guess that a mere portal ain't either . " Tsugumi said . " And besides , what do we have to lose if we go in ? "

" She's right , so , shall we go ? " Kokujo asked .

" After you ! " the five chosen duelists replied smiling .

They all laughed of the small funny situation and then Kokujo took the lead as always . Once they all entered the portal , it closed so that no one else may follow them .

Meanwhile at Rezo's hideout . Rezo's helicopter arrived in a couple of minutes at his secret headquarters . The Red Priest ran immediately towards the small witchcraft laboratory where Tabitha and Shagrath were casting spells on the gold and the oil they had stolen to make them compatible with the other spell ingredients .

" What's the matter , Rezo ? " Tabitha asked .

" Did smething happen , my Lord ? " Shagrath added .

" Kokujo and the chosen duelists have just killed another clone ! I've got only one clone left and if that's not enough , they're now at the haunted city ! " Rezo spoke worried .

" This means that tomorrow they'll be here ! " Tabitha said sweating . " This is definetly not working according to our plan ! "

" Do not worry , my dear witch ! " Rezo said with an evil grin on his face . " Before the sun rises I will set out all the heavy artilery from human weapons to the deadliest magic lazors this world has ever seen ! With such a defence as mine , Kokujo and the chosen duelists will never enter this castle , no matter what ! Hahahahahahaha ! "


	46. The underground hidden temple

Kokujo slowly opened his eyes only to see a strange purple color . He thought that he was dreaming , so he closed hs eyes , but then felt that he was stting on something really cold . This time he rubbed his eyes and got up .

Kokujo looked around and saw that he was in a cave with its walls painted purple and with lots of strange symbols and statues all over the place .

" What is this place ? And more important , where are the others ? " Kokujo asked himself .

The long haired boy began walking through the strange cave hoping to find some answers . Its atmosphere and objects seemed to remind him of something he had seen before , but he couldn't remember exactly what .

After a few minutes of walking , he had finally found a door in that cave . Kokujo walked to the door and first listened to it so that he knew what he should do . To his surprise he heared Edo , Subaru , Tsugumi , Rad and Sora laughing and having fun .

" Huh ? What's going on there ? Why are they having fun... WITHOUT ME ? " Kokujo spoke frustrated and fastly opened the door .

The five chosen duelists were all gathered around a table along with some middle aged men dressed in temple robes . They were having a nice warm breakfast while chatting with those men .

" What is this ? King Subaru and the idiots of the round table ? " Kokujo asked sarcasticly .

" I'm a king ? " Subaru asked with shiny eyes .

" WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT ? " Rad yelled and got up from his seat .

" Calm down , Rad , he was just joking . " Sora said while drinking a cup of herbal tea . " Come , Kokujo , have a seat ! "

" Yeah , these guys are the last survivors of the Duel Masters Temple which means that they're on our side ! " Subaru explained .

" Okay then... " Kokujo said .

The long haired boy sat on a seat and began eating what was on the table . So far evreything seemed ok until one of the apprentices of the Temple got up and said :

" Ok , kids , I think it's time for you all to know the reason why we called you here . "

" And it should be a good one OR ELSE ! " Kokujo threatrened them .

All the Temple apprentices sweated while looking at Kokujo's grim and angry facial expression . The chosen duelists , who had finished their food , moved their chairs closer to eachother and started listening to what the apprentices had to say .

Meanwhile at Rezo's hideout . Tabitha and Shagrath had finished getting all the ingredients for their grand spell ready . Now all they needed to do was to wait for the moment when they should return to their castle from space in order to begin casting the spell . Rezo on the other hand was sitting near all the computer screens waiting for the moment when Kokujo and the chosen duelists would approach even a bit the castle .

" Come on , just one step and KABOOM ! Come on , COME ON ! GAAH ! It's frigging lunch time and they haven't arrived yet ! What's taking them so long to walk by foot from that haunted town to this place ? The distance is not long at all ! "

" Probably they're still sleeping , Lord Rezo . "

" Yeah , right... Tell me , Shagrath , what sane minded hero sleeps until noon knowing that his enemy is really close to him and he has a world to save ? "

" Ok , I think that he's becoming obsessed with killing those chosen duelists ." Shagrath whispered to Tabitha .

" Tell me about it... " Tabitha whispered back .

Back at the Temple . The apprentice had finished explaining what he had to say and now he was sitting down on his seat drinking a glass of milk .

" So , what are you saying is that in the last three days you guys had received visions from Dorballom telling you that he demands us to be here ? " Kokujo asked .

" Yes , and he also wishes to talk to you once you finish this meal . " the apprentice continued . " The chosen duelists had been chosen by the creatures so that the menace of this world , the one which would conquer the whole planet and even change it , Rezo , be defeated once and for all using their power at maximum . And I have a feeling that this day is approaching ! "

" Tsh , if Dorballom was so desperate to talk with me , we could've chatted through my card . " Kokujo said and took out his Dorballom card and stared at it .

" Yes , but he wishes to talk to all of you at once , that's why you are here now . " the apprentice continued .

" The time is approaching ! " another apprentice said .

" He's right , we have to go to Dorballom's statue immediately ! " the first apprentice said and got up . " Come , we haven't got much time ! "

The whole group left the room and walked through the same purple corridor in which Kokujo had been in the first place . After a few minutes they had reached an altar with an amulet representing the darkness civilisation mask symbol on a table , the pictures of two powerful darkness creatures : Ballom , Master of Death and Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye and with a black book with the darkness civilisation symbol on the table next to the amulet . In the middle of this small altar was an enormous and grandiouse uncolored statue of the lord of all darkness , Dorballom , Lord of Demons . The statue was sitting victoriously on a throne made of rock and its cold stone eyes were sending them all gazes of might . Kokujo and the chosen duelists were flattered by such an amazing construction and didn't knew how to express in words their feelings .

" Let's begin ! " an apprentice said and took the book with the darkness civlisation symbol and the amulet in his hands .

" Subaru , the chosen darkness duelist and Kokujo , I need you to both put your decks near the statue ! " the first apprentice spoke gently .

Subaru and Kokujo looked at eachother and nodded . The boys took out their decks from their pockets and layed them down at the bottom of the statue's throne as if they were sacrifices brought for the mighty lord of all darkness . All the apprentices began to enchant strange prayers and incantations in an ancient language while dancing in a circle around the statue of Dorballom . Then a powerful dark ray came out of the ground and hit the statue .

Meanwhile at Rezo's hideout . Tabitha had senced that ray and recognized it immediately . The witch got up from her seat and walked to Rezo saying :

" We've got trouble ! "

" What's wrong ? "

" I sence a powerful darkness ray coming a few meters under us . If my suspicions are right , then someone is performing a ritual to summon Dorballom into our world ! "

" D-Dorballom ? I know exactly who could be capable of this ! " Rezo said and got up frm his seat . " If what you said is true , then... "

" Kokujo and the chosen duelists are in someone underground passage planning to attack us from below . Pretty smart of them . " Tabitha said .

" We have no time for this ! " Rezo said and walked to his helicopter where his last clone was waiting . " Tabitha , open a portal and lead me to the place where they are ! I've got a little surprise for them ! "

Tabitha closed her eyes and tried to find out where exactly where their enemies .

Back at the Temple , the dark ray was now sorrounding the statue and evreyone could hear it making strange noises . In a few minutes the aura disappeared and to evreyone's amazement , Dorballom was sitting on the stone throne .

" D-Dorballom... " Kokujo spoke .

" Greetings , my friends ! " Dorballom said . " Time is running out , Rezo has finished draining this planet of its resources and soon he'll be leaving back to his castle from space to use the planet's resources for his evil deeds . "

" No ! There must be a way to stop him ! " Sora said angrily .

" There is a way to defeat him and this is the chosen duelists ! "

" Huh ? " all the five chosen duelists murmed surprised .

" You have the five chosen cards in your posession and you shall be the ones which will bring Rezo's downfall ! Recently , Tsugumi's and Rad's decks had been updated , so I feel necessary that the decks of those loyal to me should be updated as well ! "

" He means us . " Subaru said and turned to Kokujo which didn't answer .

" Kokujo , Subaru , I will now update your decks in the way I consider the best . " Dorballom continued . " Kokujo , your deck will become a mono-darkness Reaper deck with all the support cards it needs ! Subaru , your deck will remain a darkness-water deck , but with much more Demon Command and drawing support and some Reaper cards which I consider that might be useful for you ! "

Both boys nodded and then Dorballom turned to their decks and fired a white beam from both his eyes . The beam's power turned the cards from Kokujo's and Subaru's decks to what Dorballom intended to give them . In a few seconds the job was done and the two had brand new decks .

" Subaru . "

" Yes , Dorballom ? "

" Go look at your Dorballom card ! "

The black haired boy went through his deck and then to his surprise he saw that his Dorballom card wasn't a silver one anymore , it was a normal card ! This meant that he now also had a special connection with Dorballom like Kokujo also had .

" Oh my God , it's too good to be true ! " Subaru said smiling .

" What is it ? " Kokujo asked and then saw what was in Subaru's hands . " You have a normal Dorballom card ? "

" Isn't it great , Kokujo-kun ? "

" Y-yeah... " Kokujo said with half of his mouth .

Deep down inside him , Kokujo was jealous for the fact that now Subaru also had a normal Dorballom card like him . Kokujo felt as if he wasn't special anymore due to the fact that now Subaru could also communicate with Dorballom through that card .

" I must go now , my friends ! Good luck on defeating Rezo ! " Dorballom said and disappeared , the statue being the only thing remaining .

Just after that happened , another pink portal opened above the statue . The apprentices got panicked , because they knew that that wasn't their doing . Kokujo and the chosen duelists stared amazed at the portal as something was coming out from it . That something was Rezo's silver helicopter .

" Rezo ! How did you find us this time ? " Kokujo asked .

" It was easy to track you down once you guys used those stupid incantations to summon Dorballom temporarily in our world ! Now you will regret not having kept him more ! " Rezo said smiling .

A clone jumped out of the helicopter and landed in front of Kokujo and the chosen duelists . It was the clone which Rad had faced back in the mine .

" Tsh , this clone will be... "

" Stand back , Kokujo-kun , this one's mine ! " Subaru said and approached the clone .

" WHAT ? I want to face that clone ! " Kokujo yelled .

" You keep your energy for Rezo ! "

" Tsh... "

" Watch out , Subaru , I've faced this clone and he's pretty ruthless ! " Rad said .

" Don't worry , I think I can handle this clone with my new cards ! " Subaru said smiling while putting his deck on the dueling table which just rose from the ground .

Rezo then pressed a button and two big drills came out of his helicopter .

" Chosen darkness duelist , the condition of your duel is that any time your shields are broken , I will begin digging in this cave and sharp stalactites will fall from it . You and the clone will be protected by an iron umbrella , but your friends won't be ! "

" Heh , like I'd let that clone break any of my shields ! "

" We'll see about that ! " the clone replied .

" SHIELDS UP ! " both shouted .

The duel between Subaru and the clone began .

" I generate Ascendant Wing – Faerie Accela and end ! " the clone said .

" I summon Bloody Squito and end ! " Subaru said .

" I summon God Lupia ! "

" I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! "

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one mana and then cross God Lupia with Faerie Accela ! Ike , God Lupia , break his shield and Faerie Accela's effect will give me one more mana ! "

" Maxval , block God Lupia ! My turn , I summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy my Deathraios and your Bronze-Arm Tribe ! Heh , you have no more creatures left ! What will you do now ? "

" Don't be so overconfident , chosen darkness duelist ! I summon Orbital , the Supreme God ! " the clone said and a dragon made of black rocks and magma appeared behind him and roared .

" Tsh , I summon Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness and put five cards from my deck to my graveyard ! " Subaru said and put five cards into his graveyard which were Terror Pit , Aqua Surfer , Jenny Dismantling Doll , Hard Demon of Inferno Biragias and Hanzou Menacing Phantom . " Since I have 3 Demon Commands in my graveyard , Black Lucifer's power will grow with 3000 more and thus he will now have 9000 power ! "

" Heh , play time is over ! I summon Underworld , the Greatest God ! Godlink ! I unite Orbital and Underworld creating Orbital Underworld , the Greatest Supreme God ! "

A giant red and green robot appeared behind the clone and united with Orbital creating Orbital Underworld .

" Hahahaha ! Orbital Underworld is a 9000 powered triple breaker and whenever he attacks you will discard a card from your hand ! If that's not enough , each time he wins a battle , he will untap ! "

" Grr... " Subaru murmed .

" Let's see you block now ! Ike , Orbital Underworld , triple break his shields ! "

The creature attacked and Subaru discarded a card from his hand which was Olzekia , General of Decapitation . The black haired boy took cover as Orbital Underworld fired a powerful lazor and three of his shields got broken .

Rezo grinned and then pressed a button from his helicopter which made the drills start spinning . He flew with his helicopter into the ceiling and the drills started digging . An earthquake shook the Temple and in a few seconds stalactites were falling . Subaru and the clone were protected by the metal umbrella , but Subaru's friends and the apprentices weren't . Once they saw the stalactites falling towards them , the apprentices first pushed Kokujo and the other chosen duelists to shelter under some tables and then used their small spiritual power gianed through meditation to push the stalactites away from them .

After a few minutes of drilling , Rezo came back with his helicopter .

" Did they die ? " Rezo asked excited .

" Nope , we're perfectly alive ! " Kokujo said and got out from the table along with the chosen duelists .

" Grr... what does it take you to die ? Is it that hard for you to even get hurt ? "

" When it comes to your traps , yeah ! " Rad said and laughed along with his friends .

" That's it ! Clone , finish Subaru off once and for all ! "

" As you wish , Lord Rezo ! It's your turn , chosen darkness duelist ! "

" Tsh , shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Orbital Underworld back to your hand ! "

" Heh , I send Underworld back and keep Orbital ! "

" My turn , I summon Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper ! " Subaru said smiling as a six headed demon made of bones appeared behind him . " Ike , Black Lucifer , destroy Orbital ! And now I'll use Bell Hell De Gaul's effect and shuffle my deck ! If the next card I reveal is a non-evolution Demon Command , I may summon it for no cost ! " Subaru said while shuffling his deck and then he revealed the next card which was Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade . " Perfect ! I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race God ! "

The only God from the clone's hand was Underworld which he discarded and also lost a shield which was Terror Pit . The clone stared angrily at his graveyard and then back at Subaru .

" This is not over ! I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe , God Lupia and Underworld , the Greatest God ! " the clone said .

" Heh , time to show my real force ! I evolve Gal Volf into Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons ! " Subaru said smiling as a giant gray skinned goat demon with two heads and lots of hands appeared behind him and roared . " Ballom Emperor's effect will destroy all your creatures and now attack , Bell Hell De Gaul , double break his shields ! Black Lucifer , break his final shields ! "

" Sh-shield trigger , I cast Hell Scrapper and destroy Maxval ! " the clone said sweating .

" Good , but not enough ! Ike , Ballom Emperor , finish him off , todomeda ! "

Ballom Emperor roared and then created a powerful lazor ball which he casted on the clone . The clone couldn't rezist and burned in a few seconds . That was it , Rezo was out of clones . The Red Priest observed his defeat once again and then he pressed a button and his helicopter entered the pink portal which immediately closed itself .

Subaru received his well deserved cheers from his friends while Kokujo stared at Dorballom's statue wondering if the creature did the right thing when he gave Subaru that card .

" Nice duel you put up there ! " Rad said .

" You were really impressive ! " Sora added .

" I'm proud of you , my friend ! " Edo said with manly tears falling from his eyes .

" I must say , your small Reapers are also awesome ! " Tsugumi laughed .

" Gee , thank you all for the compliments ! " Subaru said smiling .

" You deserve them , chosen darkness duelist ! " the first apprentice said .

" Yes , today you've just proven us that Dorballom decision to update your decks was more than wise ! " the other apprentice said .

" Anyway , how are we gonna return to our journey towards Rezo's hideout ? " Kokujo asked .

" There's no need for you to return , we can send you directly to that place ! " the first aprentice said .

All the apprentices gathered in a small circle and enchanted another strange ancient incantation and in a few moments another pink portal appeared out of nowhere in front of Kokujo and the chosen duelists .

" This portal will take you to Rezo's hideout for the final showdown ! " the first apprentice said .

" I just don't know how to thank you for evreything you've done for us ! " Subaru said smiling and approached the apprentice .

" You can show your greatfulness by defeating Rezo and making this world what it once was . "

" You got it , I will do so ! "

" Thanks for evreything and see you soon ! " Kokujo said and disappeared in the portal .

The chosen duelists also gave the apprentices a fast good bye and ran into the pink portal following Kokujo . After they all entered it , the portal closed itself immediately . The aprentices looked at eachother and then the first one spoke :

" These kids are reckless and still need to learn a little more , but they have potential . "

" Yes , I don't doubt that they will manage to defeat Rezo ! " the second apprentice replied .

Kokujo and the chosen duelists were now heading through a space tunnel towards Rezo's hideout . They were all spiritually and physically ready for the great fight which was about to begin and they knew that no matter what , they would defeat Rezo .


	47. Found Rezo's hideout at last!

Rezo had reached his hideout through the portal in a couple of minutes . Tabitha and Shagrath were sitting in the room waiting for him . Once he had got out , he fast shouted towards them :

" Tabitha , hurry up and close this portal before it's too late ! "

" Ok ! " Tabitha replied and fired a blue beam on the portal making it disappear .

" Good , now let's pack up and get outta here fast ! "

" What's with all the hurry , Rezo ? " Tabitha asked .

" Yeah , my Lord , why must we leave so soon ? " Shagrath added .

" Why ? Why ? Because Kokujo and the chosen duelists are being helped by some surviving apprentices of that cursed Temple and we all know that they have the power to open portals . If we don't hurry fast , they'll be here in no time and it's curtains for all of us ! "

Without giving further explanations , Rezo walked at the witchcraft tables and began gathering all the books and ingredients from them and putting them in bags . Shagrath went to help him with that while Tabitha threw a beam in the air and brought a giant cilinder in which she put all the oil they had gathered from the planet . Then she created a giant purse in which she put all the gold they had drilled from the mine . Once she had finished this , she sharnk them to the size of a normal bottle and purse .

In a couple of minutes they were all ready . Rezo and Shagrath had packed up all the magic stuff from the room except for the bowl which Tabitha had shrank and put in her pocket .

" Ok , Rezo , we're ready to go ! " Tabitha said .

" Good , now let's... "

Just then a pink portal opened in front of the three villains . They stared amazed at it as six figures were approaching it . In a matter of seconds those figures got out .

" Oh no , no , no ! " Rezo spoke worried .

" Rezo , you're not going anywhere ! " Kokujo shouted and jumped from the portal in front of the Red Priest blocking his way .

Behind Kokujo appeared the five chosen duelists . The portal had disappeared once they were all out . Kokujo and Rezo stared in eachother's eyes with big hate . That was it , the battle for the fate of the Earth was about to begin .

" After this long journey I finally tracked you down , snake ! " Kokujo said .

" Indeed , you and your friends kept advancing and defeating my clones these past days until it has come to this . I must say that I never expected you all to go THIS far ! "

" You've underestimated us , Rezo , and now you will pay for that and evreything you've done ! " Kokujo continued and took out his glowing deck . " Rezo , I challenge you to a duel ! "

On Rezo's face an evil grin appeared revealing his sharp white teeth . The Red Priest snapped his hands and out of the darkness a tall boy about Kokujo's age with blue eyes , long blonde hair and a beauty mark on his face under his left eye jumped in front of Kokujo . It was the vassal !

" Did you guys miss me ? " the vassal asked smiling .

" Tsh , like an indigestion ! " Subaru answered .

" Back off , I'm here for your master , not you ! " Kokujo said and tried to pass him , but the vassal stood in his way .

" I think you don't get it , mister Kyoshiro , so I'll have to explain it to you . If you wish to face Lord Rezo , then you'll have to go through me first ! And no , you won't be allowed to send the chosen duelists to fight me instead . You will be the one which will face me ! "

" HeheheheheAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! " Kokujo laughed maniacally . " It feels so refreshing to finally be able to do an evil laugh after all these days of walking ! Fine then , vassal , I will make my warm up on you and then Rezo is next ! "

Two dueling tables appeared from the floor . Kokujo and the vassal took out their decks and put them on the tables . For a few minutes they both looked at eachother fiercefully and waited for the moment when one would decide to begin the duel .

" Good luck , Kokujo-kun ! " Subaru shouted .

" Show him who's the boss ! " Rad shouted as well .

" Destroy him once and for all , vassal ! " Rezo ordered .

The two duelists had finally raised up their five shields and drew five cards in their hands . The duel between Kokujo and the vassal had begun . The atmosphere in the room was tensioned . Both sides were excited about the outcome of the match .

" I summon Deathproof , Shadow Reaper ! " Kokujo said . " Deathproof's effect turns all my Reapers into slayers ! "

" I summon Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! " the vassal said .

" I summon Zamaru , Treasure of Darkness ! Since all the cards from my mana zone are darkness cards , Zamaru now has 4000 power and when he attacks I may discard a card from your hand ! "

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana ! Ike , Emeral , break his shield ! "

" Heh , I summon Crooked Digger Reaper ! Ike , Deathproof , suicide with Emeral and Crooked Digger Reaper's effect will let me draw a card because a Reaper was destroyed ! Ike , Zamaru , break his shield and discard a card from his hand ! "

The vassal discarded Cyber Brain and then he took cover as one of his shields got broken . He waited until the shards united into a card and then he took it to his hand .

" My turn , I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain one more mana and one more shield ! " the vassal said smiling . " Bronze-Arm Tribe , break his shield ! "

" I summon Dark Zekia , Reaper of Death ! This creature's effect will let me reveal cards from my hand and for each evolution creature revealed I will make one of your creatures lose 2000 power ! " Kokujo said and revealed Death March , Reaper of Death and XENOM , the Reaper King which were in his hand . " I will make your Bronze-Arm Tribe and Skysword each lose 2000 power and die ! Ike , Zamaru , break his shield and discard the last card from his hand ! "

The vassal discarded Aqua Super Emeral from his hand and then took the card from the broken shield to his hand . The blonde boy then smiled and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Crooked Digger Reaper to your hand ! My turn , I cast Natural Snare and send Dark Zekia to your mana zone ! Aqua Surfer , break his shield ! "

" Heh , you may have broken my shields , vassal , but now it's time for my comeback ! " Kokujo said smiling and showed a shining card . " I summon Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper ! "

A giant six headed demon made of bones appeared behind Kokujo and roared . The vassal made a few steps back sweating .

" AHAHAHAHAHAHA ! It's time to show you what my Reaper deck can really do ! " Kokujo laughed . " Ike , Zamaru , destroy his Aqua Surfer ! And now I'll use Bell Hell De Gaul's effect and shuffle my deck and reveal the next card from it ! If it's a Demon Command , I may summon it for free ! "

Kokujo shuffled his deck and then put it back on the table . Evreyone was staring at it excited waiting for Kokujo to reveal the top card of the deck . After a few seconds Kokujo revealed it and it was Bell Hell De Bran , Battle Reaper which was a non-evolution Demon Command .

" Hah , I summon Bell Hell De Gran , Battle Reaper ! " Kokujo said smiling .

" My turn , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bell Hell De Gaul ! " the vassal said and lots of demonic hands grabbed Kokujo's Bell Hell De Gaul and smashed it to bits .

" Hehehe , you're blcoked ! There's nothing you can do anymore , vassal ! "

" What do you mean ? "

" Watch and learn ! Grave Evolution , I summon Death March , Reaper of Death ! And I also evolve Bell Hell De Bran into XENOM , the Reaper King ! "

The room got darkened by a black cloud from which a giant dark blue demon with no face and giant bat wings which was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head appeared .

" AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! XENOM is a 13000 powered triple breaker which makes you discard a card from each shield he broke this turn ! There is no possible way you can defeat me now ! " Kokujo laughed while the vassal sweated . " Ike , XENOM , triple break his shields ! "

" Shield trigger activate ! " the vassal said smiling . " I cast Heaven's Gate and summon Milzam , Spirit of Miracles ! Milzam's effect will add 5 more cards on my last shield and all 6 cards count as the same shield ! Also , shield trigger activate , I summon Locomotiver and make you discard your last card ! "

Kokujo stared angry at the vassal as he discarded Olzekia , General of Decapitation .

" Heh , it seems as if your plan has backfired , right , Black Death ? You idn't manage to make me dsicard anything while I made you discard your last card ! " the vassal said smiling . Now my turn , I cast Natural Snare and send Death March to your mana zone ! Ike , Milzam , break his final shields ! "

Kokujo took cover as his final shields got broken . The long haired boy got sorrounded by the shield shards which were now floating in the air .

" Oh no , Kokujo has no more shields ! " Subaru said sweating .

" And the vassal has that shield with 6 cards thanks to Milzam ! " Tsugumi added .

" He's doomed ! " Rad said .

" You're finished , Kokujo Kyoshiro ! Locomotiver , totome... "

" Heh , not so fast , vassal ! " Kokujo said smiling as the shield shards united into two cards and one of them started shining .

" Impossible... "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Locomotiver ! "

" Tsh , you're just stealing for time ! I'm gonna win next turn anyway ! "

" That's what you think ! I cast Hand of the Reaper and destroy Milzam , Spirit of Miracles ! Seems like your victory will have to wait a little longer , vassal ! "

The vassal murmed a little insult inside his mouth and then drew his next card . He showed the card and spoke :

" I summon Aqua Skydiver and end ! "

" Your end is near ! " Kokujo said as his hand glowed with a powerful purple light .

Kokujo drew his next card which started radiating with the same purple light as his hand . The boy then placed that card on his XENOM card and yelled :

" I EVOLVE XENOM INTO DORBALLOM , LORD OF DEMONS ! "

Lightning struck XENOM and the demon turned into a red winged white skinned goat demon with six hands and six golden tentacles which ended in Ballom heads . It was none other than the lord of all darkness , Dorballom !

" I-impossible... it's Dorballom ! " the vassal said and stared scarred at the giant creature .

Rezo , Tabitha and Shagrath stared scarred at the giant creature which was giving them all hateful gazes . They all knew that Dorballom represented a menace to them , not only because it was the chosen darkness card , but also because he could appear in the human world without being summoned through a duel , meaning that he could represent a possible threat if they wouldn't be ready for hm .

" Dorballom will destroy all your non-darkness mana ! " Kokujo said and stared at the vassal's dueling table where all the mana cards flew to the graveyard except for two darkness ones . " I end my turn ! "

" M-my turn , I charge mana and end ! " the vassal said trembling .

" My turn then , I summon Death March , Reaper of Death and end ! "

" I-I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana ! "

" Heh , play time is over ! " Kokujo said smiling . " Grave evolution , I summon another Death March , Reaper of Death ! Ike , Zamaru , break his final shield ! "

The vassal took cover as the shield containing of his cards got broken into hundreds of pieces . The shield shards sorrounded him and he stood still to not get cut by them . The shield shards slowly turned into six cards which he took in his hand and then smiled .

" Shield trigger activate ! I cast Terror Pit to destroy Death March and then I cast Natural Snare and send your other Death March to your mana zone ! I also summon Locomotivaer ! And now to make things even cooler , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn my other two cards into shield triggers , so I summon two Necrodragon Bryzenaga for free ! "

" Is that all ? " Kokujo asked bored .

" What do you mean ? "

" Look at my battlezone , fool ! "

The vassal was shocked to see that Kokujo's Dorballom was the only creature which could still attack that turn . And he couldn't do anything to stop him because he didn't get the right shield triggers . The vassal looked at Rezo which had a mean look on his face .

" Forgive me , Lord Rezo , I've failed you ! " the vassal spoke with a sad voice .

Rezo didn't say anything to encourage him . He just stood there gazing at him with his cold eyes . Kokujo then tapped his Dorballom card and spoke :

" Ike , Dorballom , finish him off , totomeda ! "

Dorballom created a giant lazor ball with his six hands and made it grow bigger and bigger . In the next moment he casted the ball upon the vassal which stood there and accepted his death . After the ball's explosion faded away , there was nothing left of the vassal . Kokujo had won !

" Woohoo , great job , Kokujo-kun ! " Subaru cheered .

" We're so gonna kick Rezo's ass now ! " Rad cheered as well .

Rezo looked at Kokujo , then at the chosen duelists and then at Tabitha and Shagrath . When evreyone was expecting Rezo to finally accept Kokujo's challenge and fight , Rezo shouted :

" Now ! "

In the darkness a small red light with the shape of an X shined . A woman voice then spoke :

" Time for some action ! "

Evreyone heared a really loud metallic noise which would've deafened them if it was a little more louder . Then out of the darkness a giant flying fortress came out and on its top was none other than Xanagazu !

" Look , guys ! " Tsugumi said and pointed towards the giant vehicle .

" It's Xanagazu ! " Subaru exclaimed .

" I bet that you've all got SHOCKED of my surprise appearence , right ? " Xanagazu spoke pleasantly .

" Heh , time to get outta here . Let's go , you guys ! " Rezo said and ran with his luggage towards the giant flying fortress followed by Shagrath .

Tabitha on the other hand casted a spell which formed a barrier between them and their enemies . Afterwards she ran towards the fortress as well . Kokujo hit the barrier with his fists desperately .

" Rad , think you can go back fast and bring your rocket ? " Sora asked .

" Yeah , you expect me to go all that way back to get my rocket ? You must be nuts ! " Rad said sweating .

The engines of the flying fortress began to work . A giant hole apeared in the ceiling and the fortress began to ascend to it . Subaru then looked in the right and saw a stairway leading to a tower of the castle .

" Guys , let's climb those stairs fast ! " Subaru shouted . " That might be our only way to the roof ! "

" He's got a point , let's go ! " Kokujo said and began to run .

The flying fortress was moving pretty fast upwards to exit the castle . Kokujo and the chosen duelists were climbing the stairs which were leading to the roof of a tower from the castle . The stairs were in a spiral position and they could see the sun's rays enter through the opened door of the roof . The climbing was long , but after lots of minutes of running they at last had reached the roof of the tower only to notice how the flying fortress flew off from the castle .

" Darn , we'll never be able to stop Rezo now ! " Rad said and hit the wall with his fist .

" Then was our whole journey pointless ? " Sora asked . " Did we travel all this far only to notice how Rezo escapes us one more time and carries out his evil plans ? "

Suddenly , they all heared an engine . They turned their heads and saw to their amazement that Kokujo's UFO had been repaired at last . A door opened and doctor Root appeared victoriously .

" Doctor ! " Edo shouted .

" You've come just in time ! " Tsugumi shouted as well .

" I know , kids . Sadly the UFO's weapons hadn't been repaired yet so I can't risk following that flying fortress ! " Root said .

" What ? " Kokujo yelled .

" But I did repair Rad's rocket and all of its weaponry has been updated ! "

Root snapped his fingers and the UFO's hangar door opened and Rad's rocket appeared in front of them . Rad stared proudly at his precious machine and said :

" Wow , doctor , it looks cooler than ever ! "

" I knew you would like it . " Root replied smiling .

The UFO approached the castle so that Rad could enter his rocket . Once the red haired boy was in it , he pressed the 'start' button and the rocket's engines were alive once again . Rad pressed more buttons and the rocket began flying once again in the air . After a few seconds ride , the rocket returned to the castle and its door opened .

" Hop in , guys , we have a Red Priest to catch ! " Rad said smiling .

" Rezo should start praying for his life , cos we're coming ! " Kokujo replied and entered the rocket .

The other chosen duelists also entered the rocket and then Rad closed its door . Doctor Root looked at them all and said :

" I'll be secretly following behind you in case you need me . "

" Good , see you soon , doc ! " Kokujo said .

" Fasten your seat belts , guys , this baby's gonna cut the skies with its speed ! " Rad said smiling . " Next stop : Rezo's flying fortress ! "

Rad's rocket flew like the wind in the sky following the track of Rezo's flying fortress . Doctor Root stared at it thinking how much did the chosen duelists and even Kokujo grew up because of this experience . He felt like a father which was proud of his children . But his daydreaming didn't last long , because he also had to follow them . Doctor Root closed the UFO's door and ran to the control room .

" Ok , it's all or nothing . If we won't stop Rezo this time , the world will be lost forever . May God help us ! " Root said and started the UFO's engine .


	48. Deadly duel in the sky

The weather was more than nice that day . It was a nice spring day with not too much sun or too many clouds . It was acceptable , not too hot and not too cold .

In the sky you could see a red rocket with painted flames moving fast through the clouds . The rocket was piloted by Rad and had Kokujo and the other chosen duelists as its passangers . Kokujo was sitting on the co-pilot's seat while Sora , Edo , Tsugumi and Subaru were sitting on the floor behind them .

" The sky looks nice today . " Rad said .

" Yes , nice to kick the hell outta Rezo ! " Kokujo said and laughed .

The rocket's speed began to increase and in a matter of seconds they had tracked Rezo's flying fortress on the radar . They were approaching it pretty fast .

Meanwhile at Rezo's flying fortress . Tabitha and Shagrath were doing the final edits on the ingredients for their grand spell which they would cast once they arrived at the castle from space . Suddenly Xanagazu appeared in front of them .

" What do you want ? " Tabitha asked her .

" Kokujo Kyoshiro and the chosen duelists are approaching our fortress with big speed . What should I do ? Lord Rezo told me just to increase the fortress's speed but I fear that they will catch us sooner or later . " Xanagazu said .

" Tsh , I'll tell you exactly what you must do ! " Tabitha replied smiling .

Meanwhile at the control room of the flying fortess , Rezo was sitting on a chair in front of a giant computer screen watching the fortress advance towards his castle from the Earth's orbit . The Red Priest was having a small glass of wine and while the dark red liquid was falling on his mouth towards his neck , he was thinking of how his plan would be a great success .

" To think that in just a few days I just took over the world , recreated the planet and drained it of all its important resources ! And soon , after Tabitha and Shagrath finish their spell , I can begin my new quest and take over the universe ! Hehehe , soon nothing will ever stand in my way ! " Rezo spoke in his mind while finishing his glass of wine .

Then Xanagazu suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the control room behind Rezo . She stared at the Red Priest for a few seconds thinking of how pathetic he had become from the powerful wizard he once was . Then she snapped out of her thoughts and spoke to him :

" Lord Rezo , I have something important to communicate to you ! "

" What is it , Xanagazu ? Can't you see I'm busy ? " Rezo lied because he was too bored to listen to whatever she had to tell him .

" I'm afraid that this is somethin important regarding the chosen duelists . "

" What ? What is it ? "

Xanagazu then took out her helmet and said :

" Turn around , Lord Rezo , and I'll show you what's the whole thing about ! "

Rezo then turned and was shocked when his eyes met Xanagazu's . The woman got an evil grin on her face as she fired a red beam from her eyes into Rezo's . The Red Priest's eyes slowly turned red and he lost the control of his body .

" Listen , Rezo , I have a mission for you ! You must go and finish off Kokujo Kyoshiro and the chosen duelists before they'll reach our fortress ! " Xanagazu ordered .

" Yes , master ! " Rezo murmed and then a red aura appeared around his body .

Rezo's body began floating in the air and then Xanagazu snapped her fingers and a hole appeared in the ceiling . Rezo flew out of the hole and headed towards Rad's rocket . The ceiling then came back to normal and Xanagazu put her X helmet back on her head . She then laughed a bit and said :

" Hehehehe , with the powerful Rezo in my command , the chosen duelsits and Kokujo don't stand a chance against us ! "

Back at Rad's rocket . Evreything seemed to be normal so far . Rad was driving calmly , Kokujo was admiring the sky and the other chosen duelsits were making fun of Rezo and laughing .

Just then the radar detected an unidentified flying object . Rad got alarmed by that and kept looking in the sky thinking that Rezo had sent some UFO to attack them . Suddenly they heared a crash on the rocket and they all began to panic .

" What's going on ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Did we hit something ? " Subaru asked as well .

Rad then pressed a button and a computer screen came out of the ceiling and showed an image of Rezo sitting on the rocket .

" More like something hit us... " Rad said sweating .

" It's Rezo ! " Kokujo said and got up from his chair .

Evreyone was shocked to see that Rezo was sitting on their rocket . They couldn't believe that after all the running away he had finally decided to come and face them . But Sora had noticed that Rezo's eyes were red and she senced that he was being controlled by someone .

" Guys , this isn't the real Rezo ! " Sora said .

" What do you mean ? Is he a clone ? " Kokujo asked .

" No , Rezo is being possessed by someone ! I think that you shouldn't go out and face him , Kokujo , because we don't know what the risks might be ! "

Sora then walked towards the rocket's door and was about to open it , when Rad stopped her saying :

" Wait ! You don't really think that I'm gonna let you go out there , now do you ? "

" Why not ? "

" It's too dangerous for you to go all by yourself ! I'll come with you ! "

Rad then pressed a button and turned on the auto-pilot so that the rocket would continue its journey to the flying fortress . Then Rad got up from his seat and walked with Sora towards the rocket's door .

" You guys stay here and don't worry , no matter what happens , don't run out of the rocket ! " Rad said while Sora opened the door .

" Wish us luck . " Sora said .

Sora then grabbed Rad and threw him up by the rocket's exit and he flew in the air and landed on the rocket . Then Sora jumped and did same . Kokujo ran and closed the door . He looked up to the ceiling and spoke :

" Good luck , guys ! "

Rad and Sora stared at Rezo , whose red evil aura was more and more visible . From the look of his red eyes you could guess that he was possessed . Sora senced a great evil and thought of running away , but they had a mission to do , so she took out her deck instead .

" Rezo , I challenge you to a duel ! " the green haired girl said .

" I also challenge you ! " Rad added and also took out his deck .

Rezo looked at the two and smiled . The Red Priest then took out his deck and a red aura sorrounded it and created an exact copy of it . The Red Priest to the second deck in his other hand and spoke :

" Chosen fire duelist and chosen nature duelist , your fates are at my hand ! "

Two dueling tables appeared in front of Rezo and two other dueling tables appeared in front of Rad and Sora . They all put their decks on them and stared at eachother for a few seconds . Then Rezo gave the tone of the begining saying :

" Shields up ! "

Ten shields sorrounded Rezo while five shields appeared in front of Rad and another pair of five in front of Sora . The double duel : Rezo VS Rad and Rezo VS Sora began .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Rezo said .

" I summon Pop Rubin ! " Rad said .

" I summon Dark Division , Demonic Eye Beast ! "

" I summon Cocco Lupia ! "

" Heh , Mad Deck Evolution ! " Rezo said and revealed 3 cards from his deck which were Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse , Inaba Geeze the Explosive and Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike . " I evolve Inaba Geeze into Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God and send those two spells to my graveyard ! I end my turn ! "

" Why isn't he attacking ? Is he up to something ? " Rad thought and then showed card saying . " I summon Bolmeteus , Samurai Dragon ! "

" Heh , I cast Volcano Charger and destroy Pop Rubin and then I summon another Bloody Squito ! Now meteorburn ! I send Inaba Gezze to my graveyard and attack with Mad Romanoff ! I shall cast Volcano Charger from my mana zone for free and destroy your Cocco Lupia as well ! Ike , Mad Romanoff and Dark Division , break his shields ! "

Rad took cover as his shields got broken . He sweated because Rezo's rush was pretty ruthless , but he couldn't give up yet . He had to defeat Rezo with all costs .

" My turn , I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures ! Ike , Samurai Dragon , attack and I'll put one of my sihelds in the graveyard and destroy Mad Romanoff ! Bolmeteus , Samurai Dragon , attack and kill his Dark Division ! "

Rad smiled , because he was now in advantage . The only creatures which Rezo had left were those two Bloody Squitos while he still had that Bolmeteus , Samurai Dragon of his . Sora's duel against Rezo was also good . She had six shields and Sanfist , the Savege Vizier along with Skysword , the Savage Vizier into her battlezone . Rezo on the other hand had only Dark Division in his battlezone and four shields left .

" My turn , I cast Primal Scream ! " Rezo said and put the next four cards from his deck which were Miraculous Meltdown , Terror Pit , Inaba Geeze the Explosive and Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike . " I return Inaba Geeze to my hand and now I summon Inaba Geeze ! "

" Heh , my turn , I summon Kirino Giant which makes all my Giants cost 2 mana less , so I also summon Kishima Giant ! " Sora said smiling . " Ike , Skysword , break his shield ! Sanfist , break his shield ! "

Rezo took cover as he got two of his shields broken , but then the Red Priest smiled , his cold evil smile giving Sora the creeps . Rezo took the cards in his hand and said :

" My turn , I summon Fernando the 7th , Emperor of Mystic Light for only 2 mana because I have 9 spells in my graveyard ! And since Dark Division makes all my Romanoff creatures cost 1 mana less , I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye for only 6 mana ! "

_A _giant horned knight wearing a dark lord armor with red cape and weilding two giant guns appeared behind Rezo and roared .

" With Romanoff's effect I will put Darkness Romanoff , the Enlightened to my graveyard ! And also Inaba Geeze makes all my Knights speed attackers ! " Rezo said grinning .

" Oh no ! " Sora spoke shocked .

" Ike , Romanoff the 1st , attack and I'll activate Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike from my graveyard which will make all your creatures lose 5000 power and die ! Romanoff the 1st , double break her shields ! "

Sora took cover as Romanoff the 1st fired a powerful lazor from one of his guns and took down two of her shields . She took fast the cards in her hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare from my mana zone to my shields ! Also , shield trigger , I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! "

" Fernando the 7th , double break her shields ! " Rezo continued .

Sor atook cover once again as two of her shields got broken . This time she got a smile on her face which made Rezo lose his confidence .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Super Spark and tap all yuor creatures ! " Sora said and Rezo got an angry expression on his wicked face . " Also , shield trigger , I cast Natural Snare and send Fernando to your mana zone ! "

Sora then drew her next card , charged mana and showed what card she was going to use now saying :

" I summon Torcon ! "

A blue wolf like creature weilding a long necklace made of seeds in its right hand and a golden shield in its left hand appeared behind Sora and roared .

" And now I evolve Torcon into Fighter Dual Fang ! " Sora yelled .

The blue wolf got sorrounded by a green aura and grew in height turning into a giant blue tiger beast with big fangs and weilding two enormous swords .

" When Dual Fang is summoned , I get two more mana ! " Sora said . " Ike , Dual Fang , suicide with Romanoff now ! "

Fighter Dual Fang roared and jumped on Romanoff the 1st attacking him with his swords . Romanoff didn't give up that easy and also shot Dual Fang with his lazor guns . In a couple of seconds both creatures blew up .

So far it seemed as if Sora and Rad would defeat Rezo . Both had a pretty good situation compared to Rezo . Now it was Rad's turn at his duel with the Red Priest .

" My turn , I summon Flameburn Dragon and destroy your Bloody Squito ! " Rad said and Rezo's Bloody Squito blew up . " Ike , Endra Pappi , break his shield ! And now I activate Magmadragon Jagalzor's turbo rush and turn all my creatures into speed attackers ! Ike , Jagalzor , double break his shields ! Flameburn Dragon , break his shield ! Hah , you have only one shield left , Rezo ! "

" Heh , shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Magmadragon Jagalzor ! " Rezo said smiling as two demonic hands came out of nowhere and smashed Rad's dragon . " My turn now... Grave Evolution ! I evolve Bloody Squito from my graveyard into Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God ! Godlink ! I unite Mad Romanoff and Chester Romanoff creating Mad Chester ! "

" Oh no... "

Rad sweated and made a few steps back as Mad Chester appeared in front of him and roared at him evily . Rezo then put the Dark Lucifer which he evolved into Mad and the Bloody Squito which he evolved into Chester to the graveyard and said :

" Meteorburn ! I cast Volcano Charger from my mana zone and destroy Endra Pappi ! Then I also cast Terror Pit from my graveyard and destroy Flameburn Dragon ! Mad Chester , break his final shields now ! "

Rad took cover as his final shields got broken . The shield shards united fast into two cards which he took in his hand . He stared at them disappointed , because they were no shield triggers . The boy then drew his next card and said :

" My turn , I summon two Ultimuse , Spirit of Divine Law ! "

If Rad thought that he was in trouble , Sora was about to be in the same situation . She had lost all her shields and creatures while Rezo still had two shields left and Mad Romanoff in the battlezone .

" Ultimate Evolution ! I evolve Mad Romanoff into Darkness Romanoff , the Enlightened ! " Rezo said grinning and a giant knight wearing a black armor with red cape and weilding four giant blue guns appeared behind him and roared . " Darkness Romanoff's effect will make you discard the last two cards from your hand ! "

" Heh , thanks ! " Sora said smiling as she discarded two Sanfist , the Savage Vizier and due to their effect , they were put in her battlezone instead of her graveyard .

" Ike , Darkness Romanoff , todomeda ! " Rezo ordered and the giant creature fired lazors from all its four guns .

" Block it , Sanfist ! " Sora ordered and one of her Sanfists moved in front of the lazors and got destroyed by them . " My turn , I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain one more shield ! "

Both Rad and Sora were in desperate situations . If Rezo had found a way to destroy their defenses , then they were doomed . They both stared at the Red Priest sweating and waiting for him to do his turn . Rezo drew cards from both his decks , stared at them a bit and then grinned . The Red Priest did a maniacal evil laugh like never before which made Rad's and Sora's hearts beast faster and faster while the sweat was falling on their hot skin .

" You're both doomed ! " Rezo growled and then showed Rad a shiny card saying . " Super Infinite Grave Evolution ! I take all the creatures from my graveyard and evolve them into Rock Romanoff , the Wicked God ! And now godlink ! I unite Rock with Mad and Chester creating MAD ROCK CHESTER ! "

Rad was amazed of the giant creature which had appeared in front of his eyes . Never in his life had he seen anything so terrifying like this .

" Mad Rock Chester is a 17000 powered triple breaker which when attacks I may use its meteorburn and cast as many darkness or fire spells from my mana zone or graveyard as I want ! "

" Oh crap... " Rad said and stared scarred at the giant creature .

" Meteorburn ! " Rezo said . " I send Bloody Squito and Dark Division to my graveyard and first cast Grudge Gathering from my mana zone to destroy an Ultimus and then I cast Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike from my graveyard to destroy the other Ultimus ! "

Rad layed his head down with a shadow covering his eyes . He had been defeated .

" I also have something cooking for you , Sora ! " Rezo said and turned to Sora showing her antoher glowing card . " I evolve Darkness Romanoff into ROMANOFF KAISER NEX , THE SUPER ENLIGHTENED ! "

A giant golden dragon weilding four long swords and four lazor guns appeared above the rocket and the sky turned red . No-one had ever seen this creature before , but they could all feel its enormous power radiating through the air .

" Romanoff Kaiser NEX is a 25000 world breaker which means that he breaks all the opponent's shields in an instant and he's also the most powerful creature this game has ever seen ! " Rezo said and got a triumphant look on his face while he stared at Rad and Sora which were more than amazed of his creature . " Romanoff Kaiser NEX's effect will destroy your Sanfist and Skysword and will also put two of your mana cards into your graveyard ! "

" I'll just need to get a good card in my last shield and then we'll be saved . " Sora thought .

" But this is not all ! " Rezo said and also showed another glowing card . " Mad Deck Evolution , I summon Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God ! "

" Oh no... " Sora said scarred .

" Ike , Mad Romanoff , break her final shield ! "

Sora took fast the card from her final shield to her hand and was disappointed to not get anything which could help her in that situation . That was it , she had also lost to Rezo .

" Rad , what should we do now ? " Sora asked .

" We lost , there's no turning back , Sora , but let's at least save our friends ! " Rad said and pressed a button from the belt of his pants .

In the next moment Kokujo , Edo , Subaru and Tsugumi got sorrounded by a giant sphere which immediately flew out of the rocket towards the flying fortess . The four yelled and tried to convince Rad and Sora to come with them , but it was too late . All they could do was notice how Rezo finished them off .

" MAD ROCK CHESTER AND ROMANOFF KAISER NEX , TOTOMEDA ! " Rezo shouted and both creatures fired such powerful beams that a gigantic explosion was created .

All that Kokujo , Edo , Subaru and Tsugumi saw was how the explosion sorrounded Rad's rocket and a big space around it . They were shocked . Their dear friends had disappeared in the flames of that powerful explosion . After a few minutes , someone appeared from the powerful flames of the explosion . They hoped to be one of their friends , but as they looked better , they saw that it was Rezo ! Tsugumi panicked once she saw him and hugged Subaru yelling that she didn't want to die . Kokujo stared angrily at Rezo and was about to challenge him , but the Red Priest passed them and flew back to the flying fortress .

Meanwhile at the control room of the flying fortess , Xanagazu was sitting down on Rezo's chair relaxing . Tabitha and Shagrath entered the room and she turned to them .

" We've finished the work . " Tabitha said .

" Good , what are you planning to do now ? " Xanagazu asked .

" If you girls wouldn't mind , I would like to go ahead to the castle and get things ready for your arrival ! " Shagrath said .

" Fine , you may go ! " Tabitha replied .

Shagrath took an elevator which descended from the control room to a small launch pad . There he walked to the edge of the path and looked up to the sky . He noticed that there was still a pretty long way back to the castle , but it wouldn't take him too much time to get there . Suddenly two giant bat wings came out from his back and then he jumped from the launch pad and the wings began flopping . Shagrath reached a big speed with those wings in a couple of seconds and now he was flying fast towards the castle .

Meanwhile , Rezo returned to the flying fortress and was now sitting in front of Xanagazu in the control room . Xanagazu looked at Tabitha which nodded and then took out her X helmet and looked once again in Rezo's eyes , this time freeing him from her control . Rezo looked confused around him wondering what was going on .

" What just happened here ? " he asked .

" Nothing , we were just having a small chat and then you fell asleep . " Tabitha lied .

" Man , that was one hell of a nap... " Rezo said sweating .


	49. Battle at the flying fortress

At Rezo's castle there was a much different atmosphere now that Ichiro and Hanna were in charge of it . Instead of plotting any evil plans , the two were just sitting down and relaxing while the maids were serving them the way they wanted . Ichiro was sitting on Rezo's throne while Hanna was sitting on Rezo's bed .

" Ah , this is life ! " Ichiro said while eating a grape .

" You said it . " Hanna replied while watching a comedy channel on TV .

" Who gives a damn about what Rezo's doing on Earth ? He might as well stay there forever ! "

" Yeah , that way no-one would ever boss with us ever again . "

" And we could be the bosses instead ! "

" Hahaha , I love your style , Ichiro ! "

" You're not pretty bad yourself , Hanna . "

Then a maid entered the throne room and bowed in front of Ichiro . The boy got a bit angry because she was disturbing him and he tried to rush things up so that he could go back to his relaxing with Hanna . But little did he knew that the news the maid was bringing to him were about to change things in the castle .

" Ichiro-sama , I bring urgent news ! " the maid said .

" What is it ? Don't you see I'm busy ? " Ichiro spoke bored .

" But , sir , it's something really important ! "

" Bla bla bla , how urgent and important can it be ? "

Suddenly the doors opened and to Ichiro's and Hanna's shock , Shagrath appeared at the entrance . Both were so shocked that they fell from the throne and bed on the floor . What was that long haired demon in human form doing back at the castle ?

" Ichiro and Hanna , get up immediately ! We've got work to do ! " Shagrath ordered .

" W-wait a minute , what happened ? " Ichiro asked and got up . " Why did you return ? "

" Yeah , is something the matter with Lord Rezo ? " Hanna asked and got up as well .

" I'm gonna explain evreything , but first I need to get some stuff ready ! "

Shagrath began putting magic stuff back in Rezo's throne room and once all the objects were at their place he began painting magic circles with magic symbols inside them . Ichiro and Hanna looked at him and thought that something bad was going to happen . Ichiro thought that Rezo had been killed and Shagrath had to cast a spell which could protect them . Hanna on the other hand thought that Rezo had sent Shagrath with the purpose to destroy them both .

" So what's the reason of your return , Shagrath ? " Ichiro asked once again .

" Lord Rezo had sent me here to get the room ready for his arrival . We've managed to steal the Earth's most important resources and we've also managed to escape the wrath of Kokujo and the chosen duelists . And to make things even better , two of the chosen duelists had been killed ! "

At the sound of this great news , Ichiro and Hanna widened their eyes and made such big mouths that they could suck the whole castle with them . These were more than amazing news for them . The two laughed evily with Shagrath and then Ichiro spoke :

" Hahaha , at last ! If the chosen duelist team isn't completed , the prophecy will NEVER be fullfilled , which means that Lord Rezo will stay alive for how much he desires ! "

" This is it ! Our victory is at hand ! Hahahahaha ! " Hanna also laughed .

" Not quite , guys... " Shagrath spoke with a pessimistic tone in his voice . " Listen , I don't wanna seem skeptical , but I think that Kokujo and the remaining chosen duelists are still powerful enough to defeat us . This is why we must make sure that they never reach the castle ! And even if they reach it , if Tabitha and I have enough time to cast our spell , then we won't have to worry about them anymore ! But this requires time... "

" In other words , our victory isn't certain yet . " Hanna replied .

" Yet... " Shagrath added .

Meanwhile in the sky . The sphere in which Kokujo and the last three chosen duelists were stuck was flying straight towards Rezo's flying fortress . It seemed that Rad had planned this all along if they had to take extreme measures .

Our heroes were in deep grief . They couldn't just continue their journey without two of their friends . It was just too much for them . Tsugumi was crying on Subaru's shoulder while he and Edo were sharing grievened expressions . Kokujo , on the other hand , was just staring at the flying fortress with rageous eyes . Now he wanted all the more to destroy Rezo once and for all !

" Sora-chan , Rad-san , how could they actually die ? No , no , this must be some kind of nightmare ! Why them ? " Tsugumi sobbed and wiped off her tears .

" Calm down , my love , we all know that they wouldn't want to see you crying , now would they ? "

" Subaru's right , what they would want us to do is to avenge them and defeat Rezo once and for all ! " Edo said and wiped his tears as well .

Tsugumi then looked into Edo's eyes and Edo nodded to her . She then turned to Subaru and saw in his eyes the same fierce wish for revenge as in Edo's . The three then lifted their hands in the air and said 'For Rad and Sora !' . Kokujo stared at them with his uncaring expression on his face and then turned back at the flying fortress only to see that they were almost there . He got excited as he saw the metal bridge on which they had to jump in order to enter the flying fortress . Kokujo then spoke to his friends :

" Guys , we're almost there ! "

" Huh , really ? " Tsugumi asked and ran to the window . " Wow , what an amazing view ! "

Then a door of the fortress opened and Xanagazu appeared from the flying vehicle . She walked on the metal bridge and stared at the sphere in which her enemies were lying . Kokujo and the chosen duelists noticed her and got a little scared as she smiled at them .

" What's the matter ? Got SHOCKED by my presence ? " Xanagazu asked .

" Xanagazu ! It's been some time since we've met . " Kokujo said .

" Indeed , Black Death , and I was hoping that in this time you'd finally die already ! I've served Zakira and watched him being pathetically defeated by you and now when I'm serving Rezo , I'm seeing him desperately trying to kill you , but with no success . I wonder how much it takes for a human to defeat you . "

" Heh , no matter how much you try , I'll always come back ! " Kokujo answered grinning . " But , Xana , I also wondered something . I remember what you did while you were serving Zakira the last time and now I wonder how much will it take for you to betray Rezo as well ? "

" W-what are you saying ? " Xanagazu said sweating .

" I am saying that no matter what person you serve , Xanagazu , you'll never be loyal to anyone ! You're always playing a facade acting like a loyal servant , but deep down inside you there lies a venomous snake which is plotting to rule over its master ! "

" Sh-shut up , that's not true ! " Xanagazu yelled and then thought . " If Rezo heared what he just said , I'm doomed ! "

" I can see right through you , Xanagazu ! You're nothing but a vile little bitch which thinks that she could somehow overcome evreyone and make them dance on what she sings ! Hah , like someone would fall for your so called 'schemes'... Face it , Xana , your manipulation days are numbered ! "

That moment Xanagazu began to tremble . She made a few steps back scared of Kokujo's psychological game . He was toying her mind and desires , and it didn't feel good at all . The X lady then remembered who had the power between the two of them and spoke :

" You'll never get me ! Oh , Kokujo Kyoshiro , you've just chosen the wrong person to mess with ! "

The X on Xanagazu's helmet shined with a bright red light and four lazor guns came out of the flying fortress and all aimed at the sphere . The X lady then walked back in the flying fortress as the guns shouted 'IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR !' and fired powerful beams towards the sphere .

The chosen duelists were all scared and thought that this was their end , but Kokujo thought fast of a way to escape . He pushed his body against the sphere and a door opened allowing him to fall on the metal bridge . The chosen duelists ran fast and jumped out of the sphere just before the laser beams destroyed it . The lazor guns aimed once again for them , but this time they ran inside the flying fortress and none of them was hit .

The flying fortress looked like a real metallic labyrinth on the inside . It was really confusing for them and they didn't even know in which room was Rezo hiding .

Meanwhile at the control room . Rezo and Tabitha were watching the sky as the flying fortress was approaching the castle in space . Then Xanagazu appeared out of nowhere and bowed saying :

" Lord Rezo , I bring some bad news ! "

" What is it ? " Rezo asked and turned to her .

" Kokujo and the three chosen duelists had entered the flying fortress ! "

" What ? How could this be... wait , did you just say THREE chosen duelists ? "

" Yes , apparently the fire and nature chosen duelists were killed in an explosion while chasing our flying fortress . "

" If what you say is true , then the prophecy will NEVER be fulilled ! Hahahahaha ! With those two out of the way , I , Rezo , will finally manage to rule the Universe ! "

" Yes , but , Rezo , don't forget that the other three chosen duelists are still alive and together with Kokujo they're approaching you . " Tabitha interfeered . " Do you think that you can deal with them ? Even if the group isn't complete anymore , they're still very powerful and their rage and wish for vengeance will only grow their power . "

" You're wise , Tabitha . Indeed they will try to destroy me with their bare hands if possible . " Rezo said and then turned to Tabitha . " Go and pack up all the gold and oil and put them in a giant astral plane ! Then take the plane to the launch pad which is located under the control room ! If I descend with the elevator to the pad , then start up the engines and we'll get outta this place ! "

" Your escape plan is good , Rezo , but what makes you think that Kokujo and the chosen duelists won't catch up with you before you even reach the plane ? "

" Good idea , I'll have to think about that . In the meantime , you go and do what I told you to do ! "

Tabitha left and did exactly as Rezo told her . The Red Priest meanwhile was sitting down on his chair and planning with Xanagazu their move once Kokujo and the chosen duelists would find their way to the control room .

Lots of hours had passed since Kokujo and the chosen duelists had entered the flying fortress and were searching for Rezo . It seemed as if the flying fortress had been specially designed for people like them to get lost . They were all sticking together so that none of them could really get lost and be all alone in that place .

" Man , this is just too much for me ! " Subaru complained .

" Yeah , we've been walking for hours ! " Tsugumi added as well .

" Will you two please SHUT UP and CONCENTRATE ? How the heck do you want us to find Rezo with you two whining like old grannies ? " Kokujo spoke angrily .

" But...but... "

" NO BUTS , BOTH OF YOU ! "

While Kokujo was busy criticizing Subaru and Tsugumi , Edo was looking around and after a few minutes he had found a secret door . He slowly approached it and put his ear on it only to hear Rezo talking .

" This must be Rezo's hideout ! " Edo thought . " I've gotta call the others ! "

The brown haired boy then rushed back only to find his friends still arguing . This time he couldn't stand their childish behaviour and broke the 'party' yelling :

" WILL YOU GUYS GROW UP FOR A FEW SECONDS ? "

" What's wrong , Edo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" I'm getting tired of seeing you fight like babies while I frigging find Rezo's hideout ! "

" You found Rezo's hideout ? " Kokujo exclaimed . " Where is it ? "

" Oh , yeah , Rezo's hideout... " Edo said and sweated . " I think it was...hm..."

" Don't tell me that you already forgot where it was ! " Subaru said .

" No , it's just...I think over that way ? " Edo asked and pointed .

Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi then ran past Edo with the speed of light towards the direction which the brown haired boy had pointed . Because of their high speed , Edo fell on the floor and got his butt hurt . He fast got up whining a bit and then followed his friends asking them to wait for him .

Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi ran through some grey metallica corridors for a few seconds and in the end reached a secret door made of gold on which was written 'control room' . Kokujo then put his right hand on his chin and said :

" Now why does this remind me of something which happened 90 years ago ? "

" Memories of your past haunting you again ? " Subaru asked .

" Nah , more like a funny random scene of Toto failing at killing me and making his secret control room a secret...Those were the days . "

" Hihi , I bet . " Tsugumi laughed .

" Well then , shall we go ? " Subaru asked .

" Get ready , guys , our destiny awaits us beyond this door ! " Kokujo said and opened the door .

Towards their surprise , the control room was only a room with silver walls , big windows , a chair , a giant computer and an elevator . Rezo was sitting near his chair calmly while staring at his guests .

" Rezo ! " Kokujo said and entered the room . " At last , after all this struggle we're face to face once again ! "

" Meh , I'm surprised that you've made it before the flying fortress reached my castle from space . " Rezo replied .

Subaru and Tsugumi also entered the room , but stood behind Kokujo . Because of their experience with Rezo , they knew better than to approach the Red Priest . The rage in Kokujo's red eyes was impressing . He wished badly to make Rezo pay for the deaths of the two chosen duelists and now was his chance . The long haired boy clunched his fists and without any warning he ran towards Rezo . Subaru and Tsugumi were a bit shocked of seeing that Kokujo was actually runing towards the Red Priest without a plan .

" This time you're mine , Rezo ! There's no possible way you can escape me now ! " Kokujo spoke with an over confidence in his voice .

" Kokujo-kun , wait ! It might be a trap ! " Subaru said and ran after Kokujo .

" Subaru , wait , it's too dangerous ! " Tsugumi said and ran after Subaru .

Kokujo was approaching Rezo second by second . That was it , he could finally get his payback for all the things which he and the chosen duelists had to suffer under Rezo's regime . But just as he was about to lay his hands on Rezo , a green barrier appeared out of nowhere and Kokujo ran into it , getting hurt .

Then Edo also appeared in the control room . Seeing the situation , he was happy to realize that he was right for once .

" Hah , I told you guys that this is the control room ! " Edo spoke victoriously . " Wait for me ! "

Edo ran towards the rest , but then another green barrier appeared and he also ran into it and got hurt . The brown haired boy fell with his back on the metallic floor and wiped off the blood falling from his mouth . Both Subaru and Tsugumi sweated while seeing the situation in which they were all in .

" Are you scared because we're trapped here ? " Subaru asked .

" Actually , I'm scared of how pathetic can both Kokujo-san and Edo-san be... " Tsugumi said and sweated even harder .

Edo then got up and ran to his friends . He hit the barrier with his fists shouting that he wanted to come in with them . Kokujo did the same to the other barrier , but he was shouting that he wanted to kick Rezo's butt with his bare fists .

" You know what , Tsugumi ? I think that you're more than right... " Subaru said and sweated even harder than before .

Rezo stood cross handed and laughed at the sight of Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi caught between those barrier . The Red Priest then walked in the room a bit and finally turned once again to them and said :

" Ah , how easy have you falled into my trap ! I can't believe that out of all my clever traps you've fallen for this simple and rather pathetic one ! "

" Grr , damn you to hell , Rezo ! " Kokujo shouted .

" Oh , but there's more ! " Rezo said and pointed towards Edo .

Evreyone turned their sights at Edo which started sweating . Then a strange dark figure appeared behind him and laughed . The brown haired boy turned his head and saw that it was Xanagazu .

" Xanagazu ! " Kokujo and the three chosen duelists shouted .

" SHOCK , it's actually me ! " Xanagazu said smiling .

" What do you want ? Haven't you had enough of annoying us for one day ? " Edo spoke rather frustrated .

" Oh , my dear chosen water duelist , the frustration is about to begin ! " Xanagazu replied and snapped her fingers .

A hole appeared in the ceiling above Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi . Out of it came a laser which began moving from left to right on the ceiling . Then three small flying black objects with really sharp silver spikes came out of the hole as well and finally the hole disappeared . The objects started chasing Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi while the laser was charging itself so that it could fire its deadly beam in a couple of seconds thus bringing the iminent death of our heroes .

Edo stared amazed at evreything which was going on and then turned to Xanagazu with a rageous expression on his face .

" Release my friends at once ! They are not your toys ! " Edo spoke with a menacing voice , something really rare from a nice guy like him .

" Oh , wanna save your precious friends ? No worries , there is one way for you to save them . " Xanagazu said and took out her glowing deck . " And this is for you to defeat me in a duel , for me and the flying fortress are the same ! I am the one controlling the barriers , laser , evreything and I'm also the one which is really piloting this ship towards Rezo's castle from space ! "

" I don't care what you are ! " Edo said and took out his glowing deck as well . " I will fight with you even if it's the last thing I do in order to save my friends ! "

" Heh , so be it ! "

Two metallic dueling tables appeared out of the floor in front of Edo and Xanagazu . The two duelists put their decks on the tables and in a few seconds raised their shields and drew their cards . The duel between Edo and Xanagazu had begun .

" I charge mana and end ! " Xanagazu said .

" I charge mana and summon Aqua Guard ! " Edo said .

" I charge mana and cast Faerie Life to gain one more mana ! "

" I charge mana and end ! "

" I charge mana and summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to get one more mana ! "

" I charge mana and cast Energy Stream and draw two more cards ! "

" Heh , I charge mana and summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier which will give me one more mnana and one more shield ! Let's see now , I have 7 mana while you have only 3 mana ! Hah , let's see what will you do now , Edo Kanda ! "

" You may have more mana , but I will have more cards in my hand ! " Edo said smiling . " I cast Cyber Brain and draw 3 cards ! "

" Heh , like that would matter . " Xanagazu laughed and drew her next card . " I summon Qurian and draw one card ! And now I also summon Genius Janit of the Hidden Blade ! "

" W-what ? "

" Genius Janit will send your Aqua Guard back to your hand ! Hah , now that's a SHOCK for you ! "

" Hm... I think you have a little too many creatures , Xana ! Time to clean them up ! " Edo said and showed a glowing card . " I summon Aqua Guard and then cast Crest of Mother which will send Aqua Guard to my mana zone and replace it with Aqua Surfer ! Ike , Aqua Surfer , send her Genius Janit back to her hand ! "

" Tsh , time to get down to serious buisness ! " Xanagazu said and the X on her helmet shined with a bright red colour as she drew her next card . " I summon Amaterasu , Founder of the Blue Wolves ! Amaterasu's effect will allow me to cast a spell with the cost of 4 or less from my deck and I cast Crest of Mother ! "

" Hey , that's copying ! " Edo complained .

" Live with it ! With Crest of Mother's effect I'll send my Skysword to my mana zone and replace it with Zen , Transcendent God ! "

A giant stone statue appeared behind Xanagazu and stared with an evil look towards Edo which got scared of its sight . He knew what was awaiting for him if Xanagazu drew a certain card .

" Z-Zen... " Edo murmed .

" Hehehe , if you think this was a SHOCK , wait till I show you what else I've prepared for you ! " Xanagazu said and laughed .

Edo then heared some screams behind him . The brown haired boy turned and saw his friends which were almost caught by the spiky objects , but once they ducked and didn't get hurt , the laser began to fire its beam and come towards them .

" Guys... " Edo said while staring at them .

" Your friends shall be killed before you even know it ! " Xanagazu said smiling .

" Shut up , that's not true ! " Edo said and returned to the duel . I will never allow that ! I cast Natural Snare ! Send Zen back to the mana zone , where he belongs ! "

" Heh , like that would help you . My turn ! I evolve Qurian into Hellrush Max , the Super-Electric ! " Xanagazu said and a giant blue creature with big white wings appeared behind her and roared . " Hellrush Max is a double breaker which has Break Bonus ! And I'll show you his special Break Bonus now ! Ike , Hellrush Max , double break his shields ! "

Edo took cover as the creature broke two of his shields . He took fast the cards to his hand only to see that none of them were shield triggers .

" And now Break Bonus ! For each shield Hellrush Max broke , I'll destroy one of my other creatures and replace it with the next creature from my deck ! I'll destroy Amaterasu and Bronze-Arm Tribe ! " Xanagazu said and her creatures blew and two of the cards from her deck were put in the battlezone . " Perfect ! I first summon Grave Deal , Shadow of Pure Flame and destroy your Aqua Surfer and then I also summon Aku , Ultimate God ! "

A statue like black creature with some blue crystals on its body appeared behind Xanagazu and roared towards Edo .

" Heh , you got rid of Zen , but now Aku is here . You really must have bad luck , Edo Kanda ! " Xanagazu spoke with lots of irony in her voice .

" If I'm gonna have to face we know who , at least I'll be prepared for it ! " Edo said and drawed his next card . " I summon Aqua Hulcus and draw a card ! Then I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! "

" I think it's time to end this once and for all ! " Xanagazu said and showed a really shiny card . " I cast Earth Eternity Gate and bring Zen from my mana zone to the battlezone ! Godlink ! I unite Aku with Zen creating Aku Zen , the Ultimate Transcendent God ! "

Zen appeared once again and united with Aku , the two statue Gods becoming much more fearsome . That was it , Edo's fears became true . Now he had to face the fearsome Aku Zen combo of Xanagazu's .

" Ike , Aku Zen , break his final shields ! " Xanagazu ordered . " Also , Aku Zen will destroy Aqua Super Emeral ! "

Edo took cover as the giant Gods broke all of his shields . The brown haired boy fell on his back while the shield shards were floating in the air .

" It's no use , I can't possibly defeat that ! " Edo said . " I'm sorry , guys ! "

Xanagazu then made a really loud evil laugh . Technically she had defeated Edo , and he didn't even break any of her shields !

While Edo was lying on the floor awaiting his defeat , he heared Subaru's voice , not by his ears , but by his soul . Edo then opened his eyes and saw that evreything sorrounding him was dark . Then a strange figure made of light came to him and offered him its hand .

" Who... who are you ? " Edo asked .

" Who am I ? I'm your best friend , Edo-kun ! " the figure replied .

The strange light figure then took a more familiar shape and Edo finally managed to see that it was Subaru .

" Suby , is it really you ? " Edo said and gave him his hand .

" Not quite , it's my soul . " Subaru replied and helped Edo get up . " You see , I was knocked unconcious by one of those spiky things . "

" WHAT ? " Edo yelled shocked .

" This doesn't matter anymore , because the wound isn't fatal . What matters now is you ! You've lost your confidence once Xanagazu took out her most powerful creatures . "

" Yeah , they're just invincible ! I can't possibly find a way to actually... "

" Don't you say that , Edo-kun ! " Subaru almost shouted . " You don't have to give up now ! We're too close to victory to lose ! "

" But... "

" Never give up , Edo-kun ! I believe in you like you also believed in me back then ! I know that you really have the strength to get out of this situation ! "

" You really think so , Suby ? "

" Yes , I believe in you with all my heart ! " Subaru replied and he slowly began to disappear .

" Hey , Suby , don't go now ! " Edo said . " I'm too scared to actually do this ! "

" Look into your heart , Edo-kun ! You know that deep down inside I'm always there cheering you up and helping you ! "

Once Subaru's spirit disappeared , the darkness which sorrounded Edo also disappeared and he saw that he was back on his feet in front of his dueling table . The brown haired boy turned to his friends and saw Tsugumi and Kokujo sitting in a corner so that the spiky things wouldn't hit them and Subaru's body lying in another corner with a small scartch on its back which was bleeding . Most likely he hit his head in the barrier and that knocked him unconcious .

" Do you give up , chosen water duelist ? " Xanagazu asked .

" No , Xanagazu , I'll never give up ! If I must , I WILL FIGHT WITH YOU UNTIL THE END ! " Edo shouted and took the cards from his shields . " Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Grave Deal back to your hand ! And another shield trigger , I summon Cuty Heart and send Hellrush Max back to your hand ! "

" W-what ? Impossible ! Tsh , I untap Aku Zen and end ! "

" My turn , I summon Cuty Heart ! Send Aku Zen back to your hand ! "

" Tsh , I send Aku and Zen stays ! "

" Now I summon another Cuty Heart ! "

" WHAT THE ? " Xanagazu spoke shocked .

" Send Zen back to your hand as well ! " Edo said smiling . " Ike , Aqua Hulcus , Aqua Surfer and Cuty Heart , break her shields ! "

Xanagazu took cover as three of her shields got broken . The X lady then took those cards to her hand fast and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy a Cuty Heart ! My turn , I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier to gain one more shield and mana and then I also summon Genius Janit and return Aqua Hulcus to your hand ! This should slow you down a bit ! "

Edo then smiled as his hand glew with a powerful blue glow . The brown haired boy drew his next card and then with lots of energy in his voice he spoke :

" My turn ! I summon Aqua Guard and then I evolve it into CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER ! "

A giant golden centaur with giant spears and wearing a big sharp knight hat appeared behind Edo and stared at Xanagazu which made a few steps back trembling .

" Meet the King of all Oceans , Crystal Zweilancer ! " Edo said smiling .

" Unbelivable ! " Xanagazu spoke amazed .

" This creature will mark your end once and for all ! Crystal Zweilancer , break her final shields now ! "

Crystal Zweilancer roared and then fired two powerful water beams which not only broke Xanagazu's shields , but also hurt the X lady badly . But Xanagazu wasn't done with him . She took the shield shards which united into cards fast and spoke :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Grave Deal , Shadow of Pure Flame and destroy your Aqua Surfer ! Also , shield trigger , I summon Aqua Surfer and send your Cuty Heart back to your hand ! "

" You were a great opponent , Xanagazu , but your time is over ! " Edo said and put his hand on his last untapped card . " Cuty Heart , finish her off , TOTOMEDA ! "

The blue cyber virus with big and cute yellow eyes and pink heart inside its body spinned in the air and created a typhoon of bubbles which was casted on Xanagazu . The X lady flew in the air and hit the wall leaving a big hole . Then she fell on the ground really wounded .

While Edo was packing his cards , he saw that the barrier which was separating him from his friends had disappeared . The one which was separating them from Rezo was still there , but not for long .

" Grr , how can Xanagazu actually fail ? " Rezo spoke angrily .

" That's because we're always better than you ! " Kokujo replied . " Once this barrier is down as well , you can say good bye , Rezo ! "

Then Xanagazu suddenly got up and the X from her helmet shined once again with a powerful bright red colour . Evreyone got scared of seeing her alive . She then looked at Edo and said :

" You may have defeated me , Edo Kanda , but if I'm gonna die , then I'll also take one of your friends with me ! "

Then evreyone remembered that Xanagazu was one with the ship . With her last powers she made the laser from the ceiling activate once again and it aimed for Subaru , which was still unconcious . In a few seconds it fired its beam and there was no way it could be stopped . When evreyone thought that it was the end of Subaru , Edo ran and pushed his friend from the beam . That was when Subaru woke up and to his shock he saw how his friend was hit and burned by the laser's beam .

" Oh no , Edo-kun ! " Subaru shouted .

The laser then stopped and Xanagazu fell on the floor dead . Edo's body fell on Subaru's and the black haired boy saw that his friend was wounded badly and had some really nasty burns . Subaru fast put his friend on the ground gently and tried to wake him up .

" Edo-kun , are you ok ? Speak to me , Edo-kun ! "

" S-Suby..." Edo said and slowly opened his eyes .

" Oh , thank goodness you're alive ! "

" Suby , I fought with evreything I got , exactly like you wanted me to do . "

" You sure did , Edo-kun , you sure did . "

" But now my fight is over , Suby . My contribution to Rezo's defeat ends here . "

" Don't say that , Edo-kun ! Listen , you have to fight ! You have to fight like a real man ! "

" Hehehe , like a real man , huh ? Remember , Suby , back when we were at Rezo's castle in that war and you asked me what a real man would do if he was in your situation ? "

" Yes , but you're not in that situation , Edo-kun ! You're gonna make it , I promise ! " Subaru said and tears fell from his eyes on Edo's cheeks .

" Suby , please , don't shed a tear and don't cry ! For like you were always in my heart cheering me up and helping me , I will always be in yours doing the same thing ! You said that you believed in me , right ? "

" Right , Edo-kun , I believe in you with all my heart ! "

" Then , Suby , my dear friend , believe that I have finally found my peace... " Edo said and closed his eyes .

Subaru stared for a few moments at Edo which was now motionless . Then the black haired boy reached his head up and shouted with all his powers :

" EDO-KUUUUUUUN ! "

Subaru then cried at the body of his friend while Tsugumi also put her hands on her face and cried for their friend . Kokujo stood with a dark shadow covering his face and didn't even say a word .

" How touching... " Rezo spoke sarcastically . " Oh well , now that Xanagazu is dead , the ship can't be controlled by anyone anymore , so it's going to crush back into the planet . I'd love to stay more and play this melodrama with you guys , but I have to... "

" REZO ! " Kokujo shouted and ran to the barrier . " NOW YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR , YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD ! "

Kokujo began to hit the barrier with both fists and the hits were really powerful . Rezo was scared to see the barrier was losing more of its power with each hit Kokujo gave it .

" I'd better get outta here before something bad happens ! " Rezo said and ran to the elevator . " See you later , losers ! "

The elevator descended with Rezo to the launch pad where Tabitha was . The witch had evreything ready like Rezo asked her . She was now sitting in the astral plane ready to launch it into air . Rezo got out of the elevator fast and entered the plane .

" What just happened up there , Rezo ? " Tabitha asked .

" Both Xanagazu and the chosen water duelist died . And since Xanagazu was the one controlling the ship... "

" Uh oh , we'd better get outta here ! " Tabitha said and started the engines .

After mourning Edo for a couple of minutes , Subaru got up and walked to Tsugumi . The girl was still crying , but Subaru took her head in his hands and gently wiped off her tears saying :

" We must continue our journey ! Edo-kun would surely want us to finish what he had started . "

" Yes , but I just can't keep going on like this , Subaru ! All our friends had been killed by Rezo ! It's just too painful ! " Tsugumi said .

" No , Subaru's right , we must continue our journey ! We'll fight until the last one of us dies ! " Kokujo said . " Subaru , take Edo's body with you ! If we'll ever have time , we'll give him a much more honorable burial . "

" Yes , Kokujo-kun . " Subaru said and took his friend's body in his arms .

Then the last barrier had finally disappeared . Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi walked to the elvator and entered the machine which took them down to the launch pad . There they saw Tabitha's astral plane launching and Rezo was in it .

" Rezo ! " Kokujo shouted and ran out of the elevator .

" Hahahaha , see you in hell , Black Death ! " Rezo laughed and waved to Kokujo while the plane flew out of the flying fortress . " This is it , nothing can save them now ! They'll all crush on Earth with the flying fortress ! "

Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi stared at Tabitha's astral plane which was disappearing in the high clouds without being able to do anything . That was it , they were trapped inside that ship and there was no possible way they could stop Rezo or save themselves .


	50. Final destination: Rezo's castle

The flying fortress began to slowly lose altitude , thus falling back on planet Earth . The last survivors on it were now desperate for their own lives . Kokujo was walking in circles thinking of a way to escape the ship . Tsugumi was panicking once again , but this time no one was giving her confort . Subaru had put Edo's body on the floor and stared at it with his saddened wet eyes . The smile on his red face with dark burns on his cheeks was breaking Subaru's heart . He couldn't stand the simple thought that his friend was dead , let again have his corpse in front of him .

" Edo-kun , you just can't die ! It was I the one which should've been hit by that laser , not you ! " Subaru said and then once again tears fell on Edo's face , this time on his burns . " You've said that this was your contribution for the fall of Rezo , but you could have done much more , Edo-kun ! It will be too hard to go on without a dear friend such as you ! Where will you be when Kokujo-kun will be triumphing against Rezo ? How will you know the joy and pain in our hearts ? Where will you be , my dear friend ? "

" Subaru , let it go... " Kokujo said with a saddened voice and put his hand on Subaru's shoulder . " He ain't coming back , just let it go... "

" I wouldn't be so sure of that ! " a familiar voice spoke .

The three then turned their backs shocked only to see Kokujo's UFO near the flying fortress and doctor Root sitting at its entrance . All of them were extremely happy to see that he had finally come after them to save them .

" Come , kids , we have no time to waste ! " doctor Root called . " And bring Edo's body with you ! "

Subaru fast took Edo's body in his hands and together with Tsugumi and Kokujo jumped off the launch pad and entered the UFO . Doctor Root closed the door as they all entered and the UFO began moving fast in the sky following Tabitha's astral plane .

Meanwhile at the control room of the flying fortress . Xanagazu's body suddenly moved a bit and slowly she got up . It seemed that she had survived even the duel's outcome , but her wounds were terrible . Her armor had many holes and blood was coming out from her chest and stomach . Her helmet was broken and lost its X form and there was some blood coming out even from her head .

Xanagazu walked slowly to the chair on which Rezo sat . She looked around and saw that evreyone was gone . Then she remembered that they all thought she was dead and left the ship . Smiling , she looked around her and then spoke hardly :

" T-these wounds could just heal in one day... I hope . "

Xanagazu then reactivated the flying fortress and stopped it from falling . Now the gigantic ship was once again flying in the sky . Xanagazu looked at the window and admired a couple of birds which were flying free in the sky .

" Now I can fly like them .Where should I go ? What should I do ? I'm free ! " she thought .

The flying fortress flew a few kilometers , but then stopped . Xanagazu didn't have enough energy to make it move anymore . She had drained her strength on that and it also caused the wounds from her chest and stomach to widen and bleed even more .

" D-Damn it... My body won't listen to me . The wounds have widened again . I don't have the power anymore to heal them . " Xanagazu said and put her hands on the wounds hoping to at least slow down the bleeding .

Xanagazu looked around the cold metallic room in which she was . All her life had been exactly like the room was and now , when she finally was free to start a new life , her life was about to end .

" It's quiet... No one is around . This is how my life will end ? "

Then she felt a shadow above her . Xanagazu looked up and saw a flying pyramid near her flying fortress . She got up from her chair and slowly walked to the window and saw that on the top of the pyramid was a boy with blue eyes and long blonde hair which was dressed in a white uniform .

" Impossible , it's him... " Xanagazu said .

The woman walked to the elevator and descended to the flying pad . There she walked slowly and greeted the mysterious boy which jumped off the pyramid and landed in front of her . Xanagazu smiled and said :

" I can't believe it , it's actually you , White ! Where have you been all this time ? I thought you were dead . And why haven't you aged ? "

Xanagazu then couldn't resist anymore and fell on her knees . White stared at her with mercy in his eyes . He knew that she had been through alot and that now this was her pityful end .

" Me and Toto had been turned young once again along with Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi . " White answered . " In all this time , I and Toto just stood back and watched evreything that happened in the pyramid . When Rezo sacrificed his powers to change the world after his own will , me and Toto just flew away from the planet with the pyramid and waited until his plan was finished . And even after that we still sat back and watched evreything . This until I've seen what has happened to you... "

" Heh , so you came in order to save me ? Am I really that worth of your pity ? " Xanagazu asked and layed her head down with a sad smile on her face .

" Just because me and Toto had sat back and watched evreything , this doesn't mean that he didn't have strange expeirences as well ! One night Alphadios came to me and restored me the Light Saber saying that it will help me when the moment came . "

White then moved his right hand in the air and a sword made of pure yellow light appeared out of nowhere in it . White pointed his sword at Xanagazu smiling . The Light Saber was the sword which was able to rescue people from death or bring the dead back to life . Obviously that was White's plan , to save Xanagazu . But when he aimed to her , he saw that even more blood was falling from her chest and stomach .

" The wounds are way too deep and her body is damaged too much . The Light Saber cannot save her . " White thought .

" Trying to save me , huh , White ? " Xanagazu asked and raised her head up looking at him . " It's so nice to know that from all the cursed human beings on this planet at least one cared for me once . All my life I've been either despised or used . I was an unwanted baby born prematurely . My parents tried to abort me , but didn't manage to . Obviously they didn't even care of me as a baby . They hired a fat ugly maid to take care of me until I was about six . They never smiled to me even once . All the times they visited me , they either insulted me or beated me up . At the age of nine they sold me to a mad scientist which began making lots of experiments on me . He intended to turn me into the perfect cyborg woman , but he did one mistake . He armed me with this purple armor and different small weapons . When he let me out to test my ability to weild weapons , I killed him and ran away . My sight had been changed due to his experiments and evrey time I looked at a human , I could mind control him or her . But sadly , too much mind controlling lead to terrible headaches , so I stopped using this procedure and started wearing an X helmet . I wandered almost evrey city from China looking for food and trying to survive . Then one day Zakira found me . He asked me if I wanted shelter and a new home and I accepted . That's how I began dueling and made friends .Evreything was perfect until Zakira turned into a power hungry maniac and began to act as if we were his servants . The new Zakira was a real tyrant ! My freedom was then stolen and I tried evreything to get it back , but I just couldn't escape his grasp . You know the rest , White , so I guess I should tell you what happened since Rezo brought me back to life . From the first moment I saw Rezo , I knew that my freedom would once again be taken away from me . All this time I served him with loyalty and I was always fearing that if I would try something suspicious in order to escape he would use his magic and torture me in unbelivable ways . And even now , when he's just a mere human , I still feared him because of Tabitha and Shagrath which were always near him and were always doing what he said . Hell , I even began to take orders from Tabitha ! That was when I realized that even if Rezo was killed I would just become the servant of a new tyrant ! All my life I've always obeyed others willingly or unwillingly . I've never known what was real freedom... until now . "

Xanagazu then stared at the sky behind White . The wind was blowing and birds were flying . She was happy to see them all free and she knew that she would soon become like them . White then spoke to her with a sad tone in his voice :

" Are you leaving ? "

" Yes , that was all . " Xangazu said and raised her head up as the wind blew powerfully on her . " In the end , I at least got to see you , White... "

Xanagazu was blown by the wind and flew towards a wall of her fortress , but her body disssolved in the air before it could even touch the wall . White sighed and then walked back in Toto's pyramid which began to fly away . White was greeted by Toto , which had evreything ready for a party .

" Welcome back , White-sama ! I feel sorry for poor Xanagazu . Was she suffering while she died ? "

" She was smiling... " White spoke with sorrow in his voice . " Let's just go back at our place and watch what Kokujo and the others are doing ! We'll not interfeere until I say so ! "

" As you wish , White-sama . " Toto said and pressed some buttons .

White's pyramid disappeared into the mighty clouds of the sky while Xanagazu's flying fortress fell and crashed on the Earth along with her memory . This was the end of the only servant of Zakira and Rezo which hardly fought to obtain her own freedom .

Meanwhile at Kokujo's UFO . Doctor Root walked with Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi to the hospital room of the spaceship . There a surprise awaited Kokujo and the last two chosen duelists . On two beds from that room were sitting Sora and Rad . Their bodies were filled with burns , but they were even worser than Edo's since they were in an explosion .

" What ? Rad and Sora ? But how ? " Kokujo asked .

" When Rezo had triumphed over Rad and Sora , a giant explosion was caused on Rad's rocket . But this doesn't mean that the rocket was completely destroyed . " Root said smiling . " I found the rocket falling and fast caught it and put it inside the UFO . On it were lying these two which were almost dead . I immediately took them to tihs room and connected them to all the revival machines . Now they're stable and I'm trying my best to bring them back . "

" Then , doctor , could you please do the same with Edo-kun ? " Subaru asked while putting Edo's body on a bed .

" Of course I will ! From what I see , his body isn't as damaged as theirs , so he might have more chances of survival . " doctor Root said and began connecting Edo to the revival machines .

Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi walked outside the hospital room and waited for doctor Root in the hall . Subaru and Tsugumi looked at the sky from the window while holding eachother's hands . Kokujo , on the other hand , preferred to stare at his deck , especially at his Dorballom card , while waiting for their arrival at Rezo's castle . After 15 minutes , doctor Root came out of the room . Subaru and Tsugumi rushed to him immediately .

" Are our friends ok , doctor ? " Tsugumi asked .

" They are all stable now and free from major dangers . "

" Will they survive ? " Subaru added .

" That depends on them . " Root said with a dark shadow covering his eyes . " I've did evreything that could've been done . Now they have to fight on their own to survive ! "

Kokujo then put his deck back in his pocket and walked to doctor Root . The long haired boy and the doctor stared in eachother's eyes for a few minutes . Then Kokujo nodded and doctor Root turned to Subaru and Tsugumi and spoke :

" In the meantime , you have a mission to accomplish ! "

" Doctor... " Subaru said surprised .

" We can't just slack off while Rezo is taking over the Universe , now can we ? " doctor Root said and began to walk away .

" D-doctor , wait for us ! " Tsugumi said and followed him .

The group walked with doctor Root through the corridors of the UFO until they reached the control room . There doctor Root sat on a chair and pressed some buttons on the keyboard of a computer with a giant screen . The screen then opened and they saw an altitude map on which there were 3 points .

" Ok , kids , this is the altitude map . Here , at the left is our UFO . A little upper , at the right , is Tabitha's astral plane . And on the top of the screen , in space , is Rezo's castle . " doctor Root explained . " Tabitha's astral plane is moving with the speed of at least 2000 kilometers per hour , so it is impossible for this UFO to catch with her . "

" Then how will we catch up with them ? " Subaru asked .

In that moment Kokujo grinned . Doctor Root smiled as well and said :

" We have a trick up our sleeve ! "

" What do you mean , doctor ? " Tsugumi asked .

" When I bought this UFO as a Christmas present for you guys , I was joking around ! " Kokujo said and walked at the computer as well . " This ship's also got fast engines as well ! They're not as fast as Tabitha's plane , but they're still something . " Kokujo continued and then pressed some buttons and the UFO's engines appeared on the screen . " You see , guys , this ship's engines full speed is at 1800 kilometers per hour , but with a little help from doctor Root we managed to grow the limit to 1900 kilometers per hour . "

" Yes , and I also thought of adding some parts of Rad's rocket engines to boost up our speed and... " doctor Root said , but Kokujo intrerrupted him .

" Forget it , doctor , those engines are as good as dead ! What we'll do is making this baby break its own speed limits ! "

" ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND , KOKUJO ? "

" What's the matter , doctor ? "

" If we do this , then the ship will most likely explode because of the engine's pressure ! We can't take such a risk , it's just too dangerous ! "

" But Rad's engines are as good as rusty trash ! This is our last chance , doctor ! Or would you prefer to sit back and watch Rezo winning once again ? "

" Fine , we'll do as you say then . Afterall , if we fail , we're as good as dead ! "

" That's how I like you , doctor ! " Kokujo said smiling . " Subaru , Tsugumi , let's go ! We have a plane to catch ! "

" What do you mean , Kokujo-kun ? " Subaru asked .

" The UFO won't be fast enough to outrun Tabitha's plane . We'll have to get out of the UFO and jump on the plane in a matter of seconds ! "

" But how will we travel to Rezo's castle ? "

" We'll just cling on the plane , that's our only option . " Kokujo said and began walking . " Come , we must be prepared ! "

" I'll announce you when you must jump ! " doctor Root said .

The trio was now heading towards the door through which they entered the UFO in the first place . On the windows they could see the sun setting , bringing once again the dark veil of night upon a world which was cursed by the Red Priest .

" It's gonna get dark outside pretty soon . " Subaru said while walking .

" Don't worry , we'll catch Tabitha's plane before the moon rises ! " Kokujo replied .

" It's not that , Kokujo-kun , I'm more worried about us ! "

" Subaru's right ! By night a witch's powers are much bigger than in daytime ! What if Tabitha has some traps waiting for us ? " Tsugumi said .

" Meh , then we'll have to face evreything they throw at us ! It's simple . "

" I so doubt it , Kokujo-kun... " Subaru replied sweating .

The three duelists then stopped in front of a metallic door which also had two windows . They could now see the coulds moving faster in the sky meaning that the UFO had increased its speed . Doctor Root was doing what Kokujo had told him . He was trying to make the UFO pass its own speed limit and reach 2000 kilometers per hour . Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi had their hearts pounding faster and faster while they were waiting for the UFO to catch up with Tabitha's plane . The tension was so high and they weren't even sure if they would jump as far as to catch the plane . If they even missed it , they would've suffered a terrible death by an abysal fall back on the planet .

Doctor Root was also looking at the altitude map while increasing the UFO's speed . They were now approaching Tabitha's plane . Doctor Root then took a microphone and spoke to Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi through the speakers :

" We're almost there , kids . You may open the doors and get ready to jump , but jump only when I tell you to ! "

" Ok , guys , this is it , the moment we've all been waiting for ! " Kokujo said and looked into Subaru's and Tsugumi's eyes .

" Don't worry , we're gonna make it ! " Subaru said .

" Yeah , we'll defeat Rezo for sure this time ! " Tsugumi added .

The three nodded and then Kokujo opened the door . A powerful wind blew against them , but they weren't scared . The wind was the cause of the UFO's speed . Kokujo then took his head out of the spaceship and vaguely saw an astral plane moving fast towards the exosphere . He then put his head back in the UFO and spoke to Subaru and Tsugumi :

" The plane's closer than we even imagined ! If this baby manages to defeat its limits , we'll be able to jump ! "

The UFO was now at its maximum speed of 1900 kilometers per hour . Doctor Root was sweating while pressing buttons on the computer . He was about to quit evreything because he was scared that the ship would blow up . Then Kokujo's words struck his mind and that was what gave him courage . The doctor put his hand on a black level and stared at the screen which showed the UFO's speed .

" It's now or never... AAAARGH , FLY , BABY , FLY ! " doctor Root shouted and pulled the lever .

The UFO's speed increased even more . It finally managed to pass its own limits and had reached 2000 kilometers per hour . In a few seconds it reached Tabitha's astral plane . Rezo and Tabitha both got shocked when they saw the UFO with Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi in it .

" Impossible ! How can they still be alive ? " Rezo said scared .

" Forget about that , the problem is what are they doing here ? " Tabitha replied .

Kokujo gave them an evil smile which scared them both . Then the long haired boy jumped from the UFO and landed on the left wing of Tabitha's plane . Subaru and Tsugumi did the same and also landed on that wing . All of them stood like sticked with super glue on that wing so that they wouldn't fall while the plane was flying . Tabitha then opened the plane's window and created a lazor ball in her hand .

" Hehe , nice view , right , Tabby ? " Kokujo said sweating .

" It sure is a nice view , Kokujo . Of you falling in the abyss of hell that is ! " Tabitha said and aimed her ball towards them .

Tabitha then threw the lazor ball and Tsugumi screamed . Evreyone that that was their end , but then something happened . A lazor came from the UFO and destroyed Tabitha's lazor ball . The blonde witch then turned angry at the spaceship and spoke :

"Grr... Root ! "

" You got that right , Tabitha ! " doctor Root spoke through the speakers . " You won't be able to harm those kids while I'm here ! And don't you even dare to attack me , because this UFO is equipped with the worst lazor guns humanity had ever seen ! "

" Tsh , then I see I have no other choice but to bring them with us to the castle . "

" Are you nuts ? " Rezo asked shocked .

" Don't worry , I have a plan ! " Tabitha whispered and then went back to piloting the plane .

Tabitha's plane kept flying , now with the trio on its left wing , towards their destination . In a few minutes they had finally reached Rezo's castle from space . Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi had managed to put their air masks fast on their faces so that they wouldn't die in space due to the lack of air .

" I can't believe it , that thing is actually in space ! " Tsugumi spoke amazed .

" With the Proof of Duelmaster's power what can you expect ? " Kokujo replied .

Tabitha then put an evil grin on her face . The witch pressed a button and her astral plane flew even faster than Root's UFO . In a couple of seconds Tabitha's plane entered Rezo's castle . Doctor Root stared shocked at what was going on .

" Darn , I knew I shouldn't have trusted that witch ! " doctor Root said and began pressing buttons . " If I must , I'll blow up the whole castle in order to save those kids ! "

Then a giant purple barrier in the for of a sphere appeared around the whole castle . Obviously it was made by Tabitha in order to protect the castle from doctor Root's attacks . The doctor then stopped from pressing the buttons and walked back to the hospital room where Rad , Sora and Edo were still lying unconcious .

" This is it , the final battle has officially begun ! " doctor Root said . " May God help us all ! "

Once they entered Rezo's castle , Kokujo , Subaru and Tsugumi jumped off Tabitha's plane fast and ran into the first dark corridor they could find . Tabitha's plane landed safely in a parking area where she and Rezo were greeted by Shagrath , Ichiro , Hanna .

" Welcome back , Lord Rezo ! " the three minions spoke and bowed .

" Let's all go back in my throne room ! I have a couple of orders to give to you ! " Rezo said and began walking .

Tabitha used her magic and easily lifted and transported all the gold and motor oil with them in Rezo's throne room . There the Red Priest sat once again on his throne and watched Tabitha and Shagrath preparing more magic circles , spell books and ingredients for the spell he had waited for so long to be casted . Then the Red Priest turned his attention towards Ichiro and Hanna .

" Ichiro . "

" Yes , Lord Rezo ? "

" Your father along with the chosen darkness and light duelists are right now in this castle ! "

" WHAT ? " Ichiro shouted .

" You desire revenge , right , Ichiro ? " Rezo asked smiling .

" More than anything else ! "

That was when Rezo took out his scepter which had the Proof of Duelmaster on it . The blue jem began to shine as the Red Priest used its power to create a magical mirror through which Ichiro saw Kokjo walking through the castle's corridors along with Subaru and Tsugumi .

" Father ! " Ichiro spoke with hate and malice in his voice .

" The path is splitting in two at the end of that corridor . Both paths will lead them to the throne chamber , but one is shorter and the other is longer . Let's see on which path will Kokujo go . " Rezo said .

As the Red Priest said , the trio had reached the point where the corridor was splitting in two . They stood there a few minutes thinking how to make the best split and the conciquences which would result of that splitting . Kokujo thought that it would be better if he went alone , because he was used to it . Also , Subaru and Tsuugmi worked much better as a team . So they decided that Kokujo would go all by himself on the left side while Subaru and Tsugumi would go together on the right side .

" Yes ! Kokujo went on the shorter way ! " Rezo exclaimed . " Ichiro , get ready , because soon you're gonna face your father ! "

" Yes , Lord Rezo ! " Ichiro said and walked towards a corner of the room .

Hanna stared at Ichiro with sadness in her sight . She knew that with that , Rezo had awaken in Ichiro a flame which had disappeared from his heart as he and the rest left on Earth . While she and Ichiro were bossing around in the castle , she had known Ichiro's other side . He was a kind and gentle boy which loved nothing but to boss around , slack off and duel . Now he had to face his own father once again only for revenge . She would've wanted to go to Rezo and ask him to stop all that , but then she remembered that it was all a part of Rezo's plot , so she stopped .

" Ichiro... why must you suffer like this under Lord Rezo ? I wish I could somehow heal your pain . " Hanna whispered and secretly wiped off the tears from her eyes .

Rezo then got up from his throne and walked to Tabitha and Shagrath which were still preparing evreything for the grand spell . The Red Priest stopped in front of the two and spoke :

" A great battle will begin here soon . How about you guys move your whole ritual objects somewhere else ? "

" Good idea ! " Tabitha said . " You'll find us on the roof if you need us ! "

Suddenly Tabitha and Shagrath disappeared into thin air with all the magic circles , spell books , bowls , ingredients , gold and oil . Rezo then walked back to his throne and sat on it thinking .

" Once Tabitha and Shagrath finish casting that spell , I will get my powers back and then with the power of the Proof , I will become a force of nature ! My powers will be like those of a demi-god and no one will possibly stop me ! And soon , very soon , I will conquer the whole Universe and reing over it forever ! Hehehehe , nothing shall stand in my way ! "

Hanna sighed and walked away from the throne room . She just couldn't stand watching Ichiro doing the will of the Red Priest when she knew that the boy did have a heart . The blue haired girl climbed the stairs towards the roof of the castle .There Tabitha and Shagrath were still preparing the things for the spell which would restore Rezo's powers . Tabitha was the first to notice Hanna reaching the roof and walking towards them with a saddened face .

" What's happened , dear ? " the witch asked .

" Oh , nothing , I just wanted to come and help you guys get the whole thing ready . " Hanna replied .

That was when Tabitha and Shagrath both senced something . It was a force of the good which was so strong that it would stop them from casting the spell . Tabitha then decided that Hanna would become useful by preparing their ritual while they were gone to destroy that force .

" We have to go and take care of something , so you can help us by getting the stuff ready , dear ! " Tabitha said and gave Hanna a list with what she had to do . " Don't forget , the magic circles must have all the signs I drew on the back of the list and the twelve zodiac signs ! "

" O-ok ? " Hanna said sweating .

" Come , Shagrath , we have a force of good to crush ! "

" It's them , right , Tabitha ? "

" Yes , Shagrath , that goodie-two-shoes couple , Subaru and Tsugumi ! "

Tabitha and Shagrath then disappeared into thin air leaving Hanna to continue their ritual preparing .

Meanwhile at Subaru and Tsugumi . The two kept walking through the corridor which was barely lighted by some torches . The corridor was discusting them the more they walked on it . The bricks were of a dark green color which gave a tone of insecurance . The windows were either filled with dust or broken . And there were even human skulls on the floor ! It seemed as if no one even lived in that castle . The truth was that since Ichiro and Hanna were in charge of the castle , the maids only had to serve them and didn't give a damn of the castle .

" What a creepy place ! " Subaru said .

" You can say that again ! " Tsugumi replied .

" Wait , someone's coming ! "

Subaru stood in front of Tsugumi and both stared at the darkness which was in front of them . They were hearing footsteps and could sence an utterly evil presence approaching . Then in the next moment a hand appeared out of that darkness and caught Subaru by his neck . The hand pushed the black haired boy against the wall . Tsugumi watched the whole even horrified and then turned her head and saw Shagrath coming out of the darkness . The hand which was holding Subaru's neck obviously belonged to him .

" What an unfortunate thing that you have to face me and my supernatural powers ! " Shagrath spoke to Subaru smiling . " Soon we will add the final piece to our puzzle and then you brats and the whole world as you know it will be ours ! "

Then Tabitha also appeared out of the darkness with a smile on her old witch face . The blonde witch then waved her hands , and to Tsugumi's and Subaru's shock , she created a cage in which Subaru was caught while he was still strangled by Shagrath's hand .

" At long last you two are at our mercy ! " Tabitha said smiling . " For too long has your love stood against our evil ! Now it is time to put an end to it AND UNLEASH ALL THE UNLIMITED EVIL THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN , HAHAHAHA ! "

" I guess that it is time for me to get rid the world of you once and for all ! " Shagrath said and entered the cage .

Subaru trembled as Shagrath let go of his neck and stood in front of him . The evil black metal demon then jumped on Subaru and in front of Tsugumi's eyes bit his stomach . Subaru screamed out his pain while Shagrath was pouring the venom from his teeth inside his stomach and practically his own body .

" No , you're hurting him ! Stop it ! " Tsugumi yelled and ran towards the cage .

Shagrath then let go of Subaru , which fell on the floor almost paralysed , and turned towards Tsugumi . The demon then spat fire from his mouth towards the girl . Tsugumi stopped running believing that that was her end , but then a shiny golden aura appeared around her and protected her from Shagrath's hellish flames .

" Tsh , her love is begining to awake her heavenly powers once again . " Tabitha spoke discusted . " It's no use , Shagrath , you can't hurt her ! "

" Hehehe , like that matters . I have injected a large quantity of poison in Subaru ! His whole body has already started to paralyse ! In a few hours he will paralyse to his own death and that will be the end of the chosen darkness duelist , hahahaha ! " Shagrath said laughing .

Tsugumi then ran to the cage and tried to break up the bars with her own strength . But her strength wasn't enough , because that was a magic cage created by Tabitha's wicked evil powers . Subaru wasn't completely paralysed and could see his love fighting to free him . The black haired boy then spoke to Tsugumi saying :

" Tsugumi , save yourself... "

" No chance ! " the girl replied .

" I'm serious , it's too late for me ! "

" I'm not leaving here without you , no way ! "

Subaru then noticed two tears falling from Tsugumi's eyes . Those tears touched the metallic bars and the cage slowly began to disappear . Shagrath and Tabitha watched the whole thing terrified .

" How can a mere mortal make your magical cage disappear ? " Shagrath asked Tabitha .

" She's not a mere mortal , Shagrath ! She has inherited powers from her ancestors , heavenly powers which can activate only when she knows the love of a man , powers which can defeat mine ! " Tabitha said and spitted on the floor . " Curse this girl ! "

Tsugumi took Subaru in her arms fast and ran away from the two . She kept running through that cold corridor with the boy which she loved dying in her hands and with a big pain in her heart . She didn't knew where to go , what to do or how to get out of that mess . She only knew that she had to be far away from Tabitha and Shagrath .

That was when she got pulled inside a room by someone . She was about to scream , but then she saw that inside that room were only normal wemen dressed as household maids .

" Who are you ? " Tsugumi asked .

" We're the maids of this castle . " said a girl with her hair brown and arranged as a pony tail and which was wearing a black dress with a white short on it . " My name is Mizuna . You must be the chosen light duelist ,Tsugumi , right ? "

" Um... yeah , it's me . "

" I was between the few maids which stood awake and heard your cries when Rezo killed you back then . He's become an extremely merciless man ! "

" You can say that again... Anyway , could you find a way to save Subaru ? "

Tsugumi layed Subaru on the floor and took his hand in hers . She was shocked to see that it was freezing .

" Oh no , he's freezing ! " Tsugumi said and began to shake Subaru's body . " Subaru , you have to stay with us ! Say something ! Can you hear me ? "

" Don't worry , we'll do our best to heal him ! " Mizuna said and then turned to her fellow maids . " Girls , this guy needs medical treatment ! Hurry , we can't afford to lose him ! "

The maids gathered around Subaru with lots of medical bags . Each of them took out some new healing technology . They had used electric shockers to revive his heart , automatic operators to close the wound in his stomach , special needles to suck out a big part of the poison from his body and bandages made from a special material to heal the rib fractures which he got when Shagrath had forced him against the wall .

In the meantime , Tsugumi and Mizuna were chatting while waiting for Subaru to be healed .

" So , Mizuna , how did you get into Rezo's service ? "

" We were all special trained maids from the Neo Japan hotel from Tokyo . Many weeks before Rezo began his conquest for world domination , we were visited by the Red Priest . He had offered us a place as servants in his castle , but he didn't offer us payment . He had told us that being in the service of a world ruler was enough . Obviously we all refused his offer , but he then teleported us all with our equpment to his castle and forced us to serve him . In time he had also brought his so called vassals to serve as his personal soldiers . The vassals were just a bunch of no-good slackers which only knew how to duel good . They were nothing compared with us ! When Rezo had recreated the world and left back to the planet , we were left to serve Ichiro and Hanna . The good thing was that they were not acting as tyrants with us . No , they treated us much better and the only things we had to do was serve them and clean their mess ! They never asked us for a fully clean castle , nor for polished armors or stuff like that . Hell , they even gave us the freedom to sleep in the vassal's or Xanagazu's rooms ! Evreything was perfect until Rezo had returned to the castle ! Now he had ordered us to stay locked in this room until he said that we may leave . I don't know about the others , but I think that I'm gonna change sides here ! You , Subaru and Kokujo have the power to defeat Rezo , I know it ! So , what do you say , Tsugumi , will you accept our help ? "

" Your story was amazing , Mizuna-san , but I'm afraid that I'll have to reject your help ! " Tsugumi said . " Don't take it personal , I'd love to have you girls fight be our side , but here there are magic powers in stake and no normal humans should fool with magic ! "

" You speak as if you're not normal , Tsugumi-chan . "

" No , I'm not normal , Mizuna-san ! When me and Subaru share our love , something beyond anyone's expectations happens ! I don't know exactly what's that something , but I feel that it's a power which can defeat Rezo and his minions if used right ! "

" I so hope that you speak the truth , Tsugumi-chan . "

The other maids then called Tsugumi and Mizuna . The two walked back to them and saw a shirtless Subaru which had his stomach and the left side of his chest bandaged .

" We've done evreything we can . His survival will depend on his own strength from this point ! "

" Thanks , girls ! " Mizuna said and then turned to Tsugumi . " Go and stay with him ! He now needs you more than ever ! "

The maids then retreated to her beds and began to rest . All that work for healing Subaru had exhausted them .

Tsugumi sat on her kness near Subaru . The boy was breathing hard and his face was covered with sweat . Tsugumi searched her pockets and took out a pink handkerchief . With it she wiped off the sweat from Subaru's forehead and that was when Subaru finally opened his eyes . Tsugumi retreated her hand fast and said :

" Sorry , I didn't wake you up , did I ? "

" No... " Subaru said and turned his head the other way . " Tsugumi , tell me something . Were you crying ? "

" Back at the hall ? Yes , because I thought I was going to lose you , I thought you were gonna die ! "

" You shed tears for me... cried for me... Tsugumi , if it's not too much trouble , may I lie on your lap ? "

" Huh ? Okay... "

All the maids were now sleeping . Subaru and Tsugumi were the only ones awake . The night was hiding their intimate moment from the rest . Subaru was resting with his head on Tsugumi's lap while the girl was rubbing his hair gently .

" How are you feeling ? Better than before ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Yes . Tsugumi , your scent is beautiful and your body is so warm . I would love to stay like this forever . " Subaru said with tenderness in his voice .

" Subaru , I... "

Tsugumi then noticed that Subaru had fallen asleep . It seemed that the boy had finally got rid of the poison and was now resting his body in order to recover . Tsugumi then spoke in her mind in order to not wake anyone up :

" Subaru , you've been through a lot . You've fought for your friends , for the world and for me . You have suffered so much instead of others and always sacrificed yourself for them . My love , your suffering will end here ! From now on I will fight for you ! Yes , I will fight against Rezo and his minions ! For your , no , for our sake ! "

That was when the doors of the room blew up . Tsugumi pulled Subaru with her close to the maid's beds . All the maids woke up and were shocked to see that Tabitha and Shagrath had found the lace where Tsugumi was hiding with Subaru .

" Well , would you look at this . The maids are conspiring with the chosen duelists against Lord Rezo ! " Shagrath said smiling .

" All this time when Rezo gave you a shelter , that's how you repay him ? " Tabitha spoke angrily .

" Like we even asked for this shelter . He made us come here against our own will ! " Mizuna replied . " Tell your 'Lord' Rezo that we're not serving him anymore ! "

" Ungrateful girl ! After I'm done with these two , you're next ! " Tabitha said and approached Tsugumi .

Tsugumi sorrounded Subaru with her arms trying to protect him . She gave Tabitha a gaze filled with hate , but the witch didn't care .

" Don't you even dare come close to him ! Do you hear me ? " Tsugumi said .

" Heh , it seems that your powers won't save you anymore , girly ! " Tabitha replied . " It's time to finish you both once and for all ! "

Suddenly , to evreyone's shock , Subaru got up on his own . The black haired boy then turned to Tabitha and Shagrath and revealed one of the scariest faces he had ever made . His eyes were shining with the desire of blood revenge , his teeth were almost harp and the grin on his face was making him look almost as if he was a demon !

" Subaru ! " Tsugumi exclaimed happily .

" Did you really think that your pathetic venom can kill me ? ANSWER ME THAT , SHAGRATH ! " Subaru shouted and stared at Shagrath with psycho like eyes .

" W-what's gotten into him ? " Shagrath asked sweating . " Has the poison gotten to his head or what ? "

" And you , Tabitha , did you really think that your pathetic magic tricks can stand against me and my dear Tsugumi ? " Subaru continued and now was staring at the witch with his psycho eyes . " If you want , I'll show you a REAL magic trick ! "

" Uh oh , I really don't know what's gotten into him , Shagrath ! " Tabitha said sweating as well . " Tsugumi was supposed to have heavenly powers , not her lover ! He's only supposed to stimulate her and... "

" Heh , do you think that I need that to get rid of you ? " Subaru asked and approached the two , still staring at them with his psycho face . " I'll just TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB WITH MY BARE HANDS ! "

Tabitha and Shagrath then yelled and ran away scared . Subaru chased them a bit , but then stopped and returned to the maid's room . All the girls were staring at him .

" Subaru , what's gotten into you ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Oh , nothing , I just played a little psycho to scare those creeps away ! " Subaru replied . " I must say , it worked out pretty well , hehehe... "

" Hahahaha , you're a good actor , Subaru-kun ! " Mizuna laughed . " Ok , guys , if there's anything we can do to help you... "

" Yes , go ! Run away from here as fast as you can ! "

" But , Subaru-kun , we're in space ! How do you expect us to escape the castle ? "

" Mizuna-san , you and the other maids have to run around the castle until you see a UFO . When you see it , signal it and it will come to you . There's a friend there which will help you all . "

" Ok , Tsugumi-chan . "

The maids then packed up all their stuff and got ready to leave . But before they left , they bowed to Subaru and Tsugumi and thanked them for all they had done for them .

The couple then continued its journey to Rezo's throne chamber . After a few minutes , Tabitha and Shagrath appeared once again in their way .

" How long do you think that we'd be fooled by you and your acting ? " Tabitha spoke frustrated .

" I must admit , you got me there , kid . " Shagrath added . " But now it's time for us to finish you once and for all ! "

" Just try ! " Tsugumi said and took Subaru's hand in hers . " The power of our love will destroy all your pathetic attempts to destroy us ! "

" Grr... she' right ! " Tabitha said . " Fine , then we have one option left . "

" As if we didn't know . " Subaru replied .

They all took out their decks and four dueling tables appeared from the floor . They put their decks on them , raised their five shields , drew their five cards and thus the double duel began . It was Tsugumi VS Tabitha and Shagrath VS Subaru .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Tabitha said .

" I summon Endra Pappi ! " Tsugumi said .

" I summon Inaba Geeze , the Explosive ! "

" I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law and draw a card thanks to Endra Pappi ! "

" Heh , I summon God Gut ! With God Gut's ability I'll discard Space-Time Man and take Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God from my deck to my hand ! "

" Don't be too overconfident , Tabitha ! I summon Petrova , Channeler of Suns and choose the race Angel Command ! Now all my Angel Commands have 4000 more power ! Also , Petrova can't be chosen by you except for the cases when it must be attacked or blocked ! "

" Grr... Don't be too overconfident , girly ! Mad deck evolution ! " Tabitha said and revealed three cards from her deck which were Reaper – Atomic Destroyer , Primal Scream and Dark Lucifer , Demonic Eyed Gunman . " The two spells go to my graveyard and I evolve Dark Lucifer into Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God ! Meteorburn ! I send Dark Lucifer to the graveyard and cast Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse from my mana zone for free ! Heh , this spell's effect will destroy Endra Pappi and revive my Space-Time Man ! Ike , Mad Romanoff , break her shield ! "

" Block and destroy it , Ultimus ! " Tsugumi said smiling . " You're not as tough as I expected ,Tabitha ! "

Meanwhile at Subaru's and Shagrath's duel .

" I generate Demonic Protector ! " Shagrath said .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Subaru said .

" I summon Bloody Dragoon ! "

" I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! Now all my darkness creatures will cost a mana less ! "

" Heh , that trick won't work on me , kid ! I cross Bloody Dragoon with Demonic Protector and end ! "

" I summon Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil ! "

" Time to get things movin' here ! " Shagrath said smiling . " I summon Necrodragon Zekira and destroy my Bloody Dragoon ! Demonic Protector lets me draw a card because Bloody Dragoon had been destroyed and now I cross Zekira with Demonic Protector ! "

" Trash Train lets me draw a card as well ! " Subaru said . " Now my turn , I summon Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness and put the top five cards from my deck to my graveyard ! "

The cards which went to Subaru's graveyard were Aqua Surfer , Corpse Charger , Ballom , Jenny and Hanzou . Subaru then smiled and said :

" Heh , since Ballom , Master of Death and Hanzou , Menacing Phantom are Demon Commands , Black Lucifer now has 8000 power ! Also , since Ballom is an evolution Demon Command , when Black Lucifer is destroyed , I may return Ballom from the graveyard to my hand and Black Lucifer won't be destroyed ! "

" Nice trick ya got there , kid ! " Shagrath replied . " But it's nothing compared to what I'm gonna do to you ! I cast Corpse Charger to return Bloody Dragoon from the graveyard to my hand ! And also , Corpse Charger goes to my mana zone instead of graveyard after cast which means that I get one more free mana which is enough for me to do this ! I summon Bloody Dragoon once again ! Necrodragon Zekira , break his shield ! "

" Block the attack , Bloody Squito ! Also , Trash Train lets me draw a card ! Heh , your attacks are nothing against what I'm cooking for you , Shagrath ! "

Back at Tsugumi's and Tabitha's duel .

" I cast Heaven's Gate and summon two Aldora , White Knight Spirit for free ! " Tsugumi said . " Aldora is a 15500 powered blocker and a triple breaker which can attack you and your shields only if I summon a blocker in that turn ! Let's not forget about Petrova , which is giving 4000 more power to my Angel Commands which means that both my Aldoras now has 19500 power ! "

" Power isn't evreything in this game , you know . I cast Primal Scream ! " Tabitha said and put the top 4 cards from her deck to the graveyard , the cards being Magic Shot – Critical Destroyer , Chester Romanoff , Horrid Worm and Terror Pit . " I'll return Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God to my hand and end ! "

" Heh , good , but not enough , Tabby ! I summon Dragon Spirit Ulferus and cast a shield trigger spell for free from my hand ! I cast Impact of Heavenly Violence which will destroy your Bloody Squito and place your Space-Time Man to your shields ! Ike , Petrova , break her shield ! "

" Tsh , my turn , Grave Evolution ! I evolve Bloody Squito from my graveyard into Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God ! Meteorburn ! I send Bloody Squito to my graveyard and cast a spell Terror Pit for free to destroy one of your Aldoras ! Chester Romanoff , attack Petrova now ! "

" Block it , Aldora , and destroy that creature ! "

" Inaba Geeze , break Tsugumi's shield now ! "

Tsugumi took cover as Tabitha's creature broke one of her shields . When she took the card to her hand , she smiled . Subaru also smiled when he drew his next card and both Tabitha and Shagrath were shocked of seeing their confident faces .

" My move , I summon Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! " Subaru said . " Olzekia's effect will destroy one of my creatures and two of yours ! I'll destroy Lucifer , but return Ballom from the graveyard to my hand and keep Lucifer ! "

" Hmph , I destroy my Necrodragon Zekira and Bloody Dragoon ! Demonic Protector lets me draw a card ! " Shagrath said .

" Vortex Evolution ! I evolve Aldora and Ulferus into Bolpheus Heaven , Holy Super Dragon ! " Tsugumi said . " With Bolpheus's effect I'll cast Invincible Aura for free and gain three more shields ! I now attack with Bolpheus Heaven and put one of my shields to the graveyard ! Now I'll activate another effect of Bolpheus and destroy your Inaba Geeze and God Gut ! Ike , Bolpheus Heaven , triple break her shields ! Petrova , break her shield ! Heh , you have only one shield left ! "

Tabitha took cover as three of her shields got broken by Tsugumi's creatures . It seemed that the good guys actually were better than the bad ones . But Tabitha and Shagrath didn't want to give up that easy . Shagrath drew his next card and spoke :

" My turn , I summon Ghoul Ginus , the All-Destroying Fear Lord and take one of my shields to my hand without using its shield trigger ! Now I will destroy your Black Lucifer for good ! "

" Trash Train lets me draw a card and now it's my turn ! " Subaru said . " I cast Eureka Charger to draw a card and gain one more mana ! Then I cast Corpse Charger to return Bloody Squito from the graveyard to my hand and get once again a mana ! And now I summon Bloody Squito ! "

" Heh , why don't you attack me , Subaru ? Are you afraid ? "

" You don't fool me , Shagrath , these tricks won't work on me ! "

" Fine , then I guess that this will work ! I evolve Ghoul Ginus into Nine Dragon Spirit Dran Kilios ! Now since I've evolved a Dragon into this guy , I'll destroy your Trash Train ! Ike , Kilios , double break his shields ! "

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! My turn , I summon Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper and end ! "

" Still afraid to attack me , Subaru ? Fine , I won't try to get you rid of your fears ! I summon Dark Jios , Dark Dragon Lord ! Ike , Kilios , attack ! Now Dark Jios's effect will make you choose one of your creatures and destroy it ! "

" I destroy Maxval ! "

" Double break his shields , Kilios ! Hahahaha , who's the weak one now ? "

Subaru layed his head down . It seemed that the tables had turned and now Shagrath was the one winning the duel . Tsugumi would've wanted to support him , but she was having her own problems as well .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Grudge Gathering and destroy Bolpheus Heaven ! " Tabitha said smiling .

" Oh no ! " Tsugumi said and stared at her giant creature which blew up .

" If you think that's something , wait till you see what I've prepared for you ! I summon Sir Virginia , Mystic Light Insect and take Chester Romanoff from the graveyard to my hand ! Also , since Chester Romanoff is an evolution creature that shares a race with Sir Virginia , I'll summon him for free ! Grave evolution , I summon Chester Romanoff ! Meteorburn ! I cast Evolution Burst – Death and Reverse for free from my graveyard and revive Inaba Geeze , the Explosive ! Ike , Chester Romanoff , destroy her Petrova now ! "

Tsugumi sweated as she drew her next card . To her disappointment it wasn't a good card , but she decided that she was going to use it .

" My turn , I summon Leonidas , White Knight Spirit and end ! "

" That's all you can do after you pulled out your aces ? I'm disappointed of you , girly ! Anyway , time to finish this off ! I summon Romanoff the 1st , Lord of the Demonic Eye and put Terror Pit in my graveyard ! Inaba Geeze makes all my Knights speed attackers , so I attack with Romanoff , cast Terror Pit and destroy your Leonidas ! "

Tsugumi layed her head down as well . She was left out of creatures and couldn't do anything to defend her six shields .

" Ike , Romanoff the 1st , double break her shields ! " Tabitha ordered and Romanoff fired his guns and broke two of Tsugumi's shields .

Tsugumi took cover as her shields got broken by Romanoff . The girl thought that this was her end , but then she felt something shining above her . She looked up and saw that one of her shields had already turned into a card which was shining . That card gave Tsugumi's hopes back to her . She took it fast and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers ! "

" WHAT ? " Tabitha yelled shocked .

" So , shield trigger activate , I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law ! "

" No , I won't let you toy around with me ! This is my chance to break your shields and I will not lose it ! Ike , Chester Romanoff , break her shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Light Divine Dragon Sebuns ! "

" Inaba Geeze , break her shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Saint Bolshack , Spiritual Dragon ! "

" Sir Virginia , break her shield ! "

In that moment the shield shards stood in the air and floated around Tsugumi . The blonde girl smiled and that smile gave Subaru the confidence he needed . The shield shards slowly united into a card , and when the card was completed , Tsugumi took it in her hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate... I evolve Ultimus into White Knight HEAVEN , Lord of Spirits ! "

A giant blue robotic angel with white wings appeared behind Tsugumi and stared at Tabitha which was trembling . That image inspired Subaru whose hand glew with a powerful purple glow .

" Your time's up , Shaggy ! "

" What the... " Shagrath said surprised .

" Draw ! " Subaru said and drew his next card . " My turn , I evolve Olzekia into XENOM , the Reaper King ! "

_A_ giant dark blue demon with no face and giant bat wings which was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head appeared .behind Subaru . Shagrath made a few steps back amazed .

" This is the power of our love ! A power which will never be destroyed by you ! " both Tsugumi and Subaru spoke to Tabitha and Shagrath .

" I think we've underestimated these kids . " Tabitha said while staring at HEAVEN .

" We're doomed . " Shagrath said while staring at XENOM .

Tsugumi and Subaru looked at eachother for a moment and smiled . Then both of them nodded and turned back to their dueling tables .

" HEAVEN's effect will send your creatures to your shields ! " Tsugumi said smiling and watched Tabitha's creatures disappearing and giving her 4 new shields . " But it doesn't matter , since I'll break them anyways ! Ike , HEAVEN , triple break her shields ! "

Tabitha took cover as the giant angel fired three lazor beams and broke three of her shields into pieces .

" Saint Bolshack , break her final shields ! " Tsugumi ordered and the red dragon dressed in a shiny angel armor flew through Tabitha's last 2 shields breaking them into pieces as well .

Tabitha had now lost all of her shields . She stood there sorrounded by her shield shards . Shagrath was about to run to her , but he also had his problems .

" XENOM , triple break his shields now ! " Subaru ordred and XENOM opened a hole in his giant body and fired a powerful beam which broke three of Shagrath's shields . " And that's now all , Shagrath ! Break Bonus ! Since XENOM broke your shields , you'll have to discard a card for each shield he broke ! "

" Oh crap... " Shagrath said sweating while he lost the cards which he had just gained from his shields . " This is definetly not good ! "

" Bell Hell De Gaul , break his final shield ! That's it , next turn you're finished ! "

Subaru and Tsugumi both stood victoriously in front of Tabitha and Shagrath . The power of love had triumphed against the forces of evil . But when Tsugumi was ready to finish Tabitha off , the witch threw an evil laugh and so did Shagrath . The evil laughs scared both Subaru and Tsugumi and they realized that it wasn't over .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast TERROR PIT ! " both Tabitha and Shagrath shouted .

" Oh no ! " Tsugumi said shocked .

" Impossible ! " Subaru added .

" Destroy her Light Divine Dragon Sebuns and prevent her from finishing me off ! " Tabitha said and lots of demons hands came out of nowhere and caught Tsugumi's golden dragon destroying it .

" Also , destroy his XENOM ! " Shagrath said and the same demonic hands grabbed Subaru's demon and smashed it to bits .

Now Subaru and Tsugumi made a few steps back scared . Shagrath and Tabitha got evil smiles on their faces and they stared at the two . It was clear now that the tables had turned once again in the favor of the evil . Both Shagrath and Tabitha drew their next cards and then spoke together :

" You're doomed ! "

Subaru and Tsugumi froze like statues at the hearing of these words . It seemed that the worse was about to start . The atmosphere in the hall was more tensioned than ever . Then Tabitha showed the cards she was going to use and said :

" Grave evolution , I summon Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God and Worm Gorwaski , Masked Insect ! Ike , Worm Gorwaski , break her final shield ! "

Tsugumi took cover as her final shield got broken by Tabitha's creature . The card from her final shield was Heaven's Gate , but she didn't have any blockers to summon . That was it , she had lost . Shagrath also showed the next card he was going to use and said :

" I evolve Nine Dragon Spirit Dran Kilios into Superior Draconic Phoenix Dolzabard ! Photo E , since I've tapped in my mana zone cards which are both Tyranno Drake and Brave Spirit , I'll break one of your shields for free and you can't use any shield triggers this turn ! "

" What ? " Subaru said shocked as one of his shields got broken and he saw that it was Terror Pit .

" Ike , Dolzabard , break his final shields ! "

Subaru took cover as Shagrath's giant dragon flew through his last shields breaking them . The black haired boy took the cards to his hand and saw that they were Aqua Surfer and Inferno Sign . But he couldn't use any of these shield triggers because of Dolzabard's effect . That was it , he had also lost .

Subaru and Tsugumi looked once again at eachother . This time they were both saddened , but Subaru then said :

" My love , we've both been through so many . "

" Subaru... "

" We've fought so hard , but it seems that this is where our battle ends . And a death with you near me would be the best death ever ! "

" My dear , I feel exactly the same ! " Tsugumi replied . " In the end , at least we'll be together in death ! Nothing will keep us apart ever again ! "

Subaru and Tsugumi walked from their dueling tables and grabbed eachother's hand . Then they turned to Shagrath and Tabitha ready to accept their fate .

" Chester Romanoff , the Wicked God , totomeda ! " Tabitha ordered .

" Dark Jios , Dark Dragon Lord , totomeda ! " Shagrath ordered .

Both creatures fired powerful beams which mercylessly hit Subaru and Tsugumi . The two lovers held their hands tight while they were flying in the air and burning . After a few seconds both of them landed on the floor and got hurt extremely bad . Their bodies were bleeding , had multiple burns and fractures and they weren't breathing anymore . Tabitha and Shagrath admired the horrible sight for a few moments and then the silence was breaked by the blonde witch which said :

" Let's go , Shagrath , our work here is done ! "

" Heh , rest in torment , love birds ! " Shagrath said to the two .

Both of them left the bodies of Subaru and Tsugumi where they were and went back to work . With that duel finished , it was the end of the chosen duelists .


	51. Ichiro

Kokujo's corridor was a dark one . Now he couldn't see anymore and had to rely on his other sences . Even if he hadn't seen it , in his heart he knew that Subaru and Tsugumi had been defeated . But he didn't have time to think about that because he had to find and defeat Rezo once and for all . Using his hands , Kokujo managed to find his way through the corridor until he had at last seen some light . He walked towards that small light and found that it was actually an almost closed door . He tried and succeeded in finding the door's handle and then he pulled it and opened the door of the throne chamber .

Rezo's throne chamber was as old and dark as all the halls from the castle , but it also had a bed , a TV , lots of old paintings , red curtains at the windows , many tables on which his magical items were and obviously a throne . As he entered the room , Kokujo saw that Rezo was sitting on the throne . The Red Priest noticed him and said :

" Welcome to my castle , Kokujo Kyoshiro , the Black Death ! "

" Rezo , I've got you this time ! " Kokujo said and ran towards the Red Priest .

Rezo didn't move from his throne . The Red Priest awaited for Kokujo to approach him . When Kokujo was about to jump on the throne and get his hands on Rezo , someone jumped in front of his and blocked his way . The long haired boy stopped from his running and stared at the person which was standing in his way . That person had long hair like his and was dressed in a black robe .

" Get outta my way , whoever you are ! " Kokujo shouted .

" My , my , would you say a horrible thing like that to your own son , daddy ? " the person replied and showed his face .

" Ichiro ! "

" You've got that right , pops ! My long lasted revenge shall finally be fulfilled ! "

" How dare you speak like that to your father ? " Kokujo spoke frustrated .

" My father ? " Ichiro said and a dark shadow covered his face which changed into an angered almost demonic like face . " I DON'T HAVE A FATHER ! My father died in the moment he left me for the dead and didn't even come to save me ! "

Kokujo's face got covered with guilt . He then recalled the day when Ichiro had been blasted by Dorballom and fell in the depths of the sea . Ichiro also recalled the day and a flashback appeared in his mind .

_Ichiro had just made it back to the surface of the water , but his last energy was drained . All that swimming , the fall in the ocean and Dorballom's attack were too much for him . But he didn't knew that the fall in the ocean caused him lots of severe wounds and that he was drowned with too much water . _

" _Dad ? Dad... please , help me , dad ! Dad ? Da... " _

_Those were the final words Ichiro could speak . After that he closed his eyes and waited for a wave to push him back at the shore . A wave did come , but it pulled him in the depths of the ocean and this time he couldn't fight back . That was the end of Ichiro ._

The flashback ended and Ichiro got tears in his red eyes . The pain he felt was unbearable by any kid at his age . The long haired boy turned at his father and spoke with a voice which showed that he was about to cry :

" I waited for you ! I hoped you would come and save me ! I trusted you ! You were my hero ! You were my knight in shining armor ! Why , daddy , why didn't you come to rescue me ? "

" Ichiro , I am deeply sorry ! " Kokujo said and made a few steps towards his son . " I tried , believe me ! I tried to find you evreywhere , but I just couldn't find you ! Me and your mother searched for days ! But we just couldn't... "

" LIAR ! DON'T GET MOM INTO THIS ! " Ichiro then yelled with all his powers .

Rezo was enjoying the heated discussion between the father and the son . In fact , the Red Priest had even got some popcorn to eat while watching the two . But then he remembered that there wasn't time for that , so he spoke to them :

" Um... excuse me , no matter how much I love this 'lovely' family reunion , wouldn't it be more useful if you two had started to duel ? "

" SHUT UP ! CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE DISCUSSING HERE ? " both Kokujo and Ichiro yelled to Rezo .

" As father as son... " Rezo said sweating .

Kokujo and Ichiro then looked back at eachother . They knew that no matter what they would discuss , the duel had to be made . Two dueling tables appeared from the floor and they put their decks on them . They deployed their shields and drew their five cards . The duel between Kokujo and Ichiro had begun .

" I summon Deathproof , Shadow Reaper ! " Kokujo said .

" I summon Dreamig Moon Knife and put Giganima , the Reaper in my mana zone ! " Ichiro said .

" I summon Born Amigo , Undead Reaper and break one of your shields with my Deathproof ! "

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to gain one more mana and then I also summon Deathproof , Shadow Reaper ! "

" I summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy my Deathproof ! "

" Heh , I destroy my Dreaming Moon Knife ! "

" This isn't any normal duel anymore... " Rezo thought . " It's a match in which both duelists use Reaper decks which are about 90 % similar . Heh , this way both have equal chances of win . This will be one interesting match . "

Now it was Ichiro's turn . The long haired boy drew his next card , charged mana and then showed a glowing card saying :

" I summon Bell Hell De Jackson , Monstrous Reaper ! "

" Heh , like that would do you any good . I summon Bell Hell De Bran , Battle Reaper ! " Kokujo said and showed another glowing card .

" If you think that your pathetic demon is something , daddy , wait till you see this ! I summon Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper ! Now I attack with Bell Hell De Jackson and destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe ! Now his effect will allow me to take XENOM , the Reaper King from my deck to my hand ! Ike , Bell Hell De Jackson , double break his shields ! "

Kokujo took cover as Ichiro's demon broke two of his shields . He got sorrounded by shield shards as he stared at his son . Ichiro's anger could be clearly seen through evrey gesture of his . The boy was that angry , that he could barely breathe after each attack he was making . The shield shards united in two cards which Kokujo took to his hand .

" My turn , I cast Hand of the Reaper and destroy your Bell Hell De Gaul ! " Kokujo said and many white ghostly hands came out of nowhere and grabbed Ichiro's Bell Hell De Gaul destroying it . " Also , you'll discard a card from your hand ! Now Grave Evolution , I evolve Deathproof from my graveyard into Death March , Reaper of Death ! I attack with Bell Hell De Bran and destroy my Born Amigo ! Ike , Bell Hell De Bran , destroy his Deathproof ! "

" Curses , my Reapers aren't slayers anymore ! " Ichiro thought .

" Ike , Death March , attack Bell Hell De Jackson ! "

" Heh , Death March dies , but Bell Hell De Jackson has lost 4000 power ! Nice move , daddy ! "

" Why thank you , son ! Ike , Deathraios , destroy his Bell Hell De Jackson ! Now that's how you wipe off other's creatures ! "

Ichiro didn't have anymore creatures and only XENOM , the Reaper King in his hand . The boy drew his next card and then showed it to Kokujo saying :

" I summon Crooked Digger Reaper and end ! "

" Heh , we're both out of cardsin our hands and you're desperate to draw some using Crooked Digger Reaper's effect , huh ? Forget it , Ichiro , I won't let you ! I charge mana and break another one of your shields with Deathraios ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy your Bell Hell De Bran ! " Ichiro said smiling . " My turn , I summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy my Deathraios ! Also , Crooked Digger Reaper lets me draw a card ! "

" Hmph , I destroy my Deathraios as well ! " Kokujo replied with an angry look on his face . " My turn , I charge mana and end ! "

" Heh , wanna see a trick , daddy ? I charge mana and summon Triple Mouse , Decaying Savege to gain a mana ! Now I cast Crest of Mother to send Triple Mouse to my mana zone and replace it with Bell Hell De Bran , Battle Reaper ! Heh , a little deja vu , huh , daddy ? "

" Tsh , I've had enough of your pathetic tricks , Ichiro ! It is time your father thought you a lesson of good manners ! I summon Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! "

" What the ? " Ichiro spoke shocked .

" I shall destroy my Olzekia and you'll be froced to destroy your own creatures ! " Kokujo said and stared at Ichiro with a menacing look as the creatures blew up . " This is to show you what happens when you mess with your own father , Ichiro ! "

Ichiro got a little scared of his father , but that didn't hold down his hate towards him . On the contrary , it determined him even more to kill Kokujo . Ichiro then drew his next card and said :

" My turn , I charge mana and end ! "

" I charge mana and end as well ! " Kokujo replied .

" I'll never let him defeat me , never ! " Ichiro thought and then did his turn saying . " I charge mana and end ! "

" Heh , still thinking that charging mana would stop you from seeing the thing I've gotten ready for you ? Think again , Ichiro ! I charge mana and end ! "

Rezo stood bored and watched the two charging mana . The duel was now becoming boring and that was because none of them did any important moves . His popcorn had also been finished . Rezo was considering of leaving the two have their fun , but he had to stay there and watch Kokujo die at the hands of Ichiro .

" I summon Giganima , the Reaper ! " Ichiro said .

" Heh , you've stopped charging mana ? How pathetic ! I charge mana and end ! " Kokujo said and looked proudly at the 10 mana cards he now had .

" Tsh , you'll never change ! It's time I showed you what it means to be a real Black Death , daddy ! Grave Evolution , I summon Death March , Reaper of Death and with Giganima's effect I return Crooked Digger Reaper from the graveyard to my hand ! I now summon Crooked Digger Reaper and with Giganima's effect I also return Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper from the graveyard to my hand ! Ike , Giganima and Death March , break his shields ! "

" Heh , shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Crooked Digger Reaper ! " Kokujo said smiling . " Now it's my turn ! Grave Evolution , I summon Dorgedos , the Reaper Drake and Death March , Reaper of Death ! Ike , Dorgedos , suicide with his Death March ! Also , my Death March destroys your Giganima ! "

Ichiro then stood still doing nothing . All his creatures had been destroyed thanks to Kokujo's comebacks . A dark shadow was covering his angered face . Then a strange wind blew through his long hair messing it up as his hand glew with a really powerful purple light . The boy then drew his next card and spoke towards his father with anger in his voice , almost as if he was about to scream at him :

" Now you've gone too far ! It's time to accomplish the mission for which I was brought back and finish you once and for all ! "

Ichiro then placed his XENOM into his mana zone . Kokujo was confused of seeing that , but then he realized what was going on .

" Mana Galaxy Vortex ! " Ichiro said and showed a really shiny and familiar card . " I summon Supernova Death Dragerion ! "

Then a giant dragon looking creature with a red eyes , long blue wings , short claws and long head appeared behind Ichiro and roared . Kokujo stared scared at the magnificent looking creature , as if a ghost had come back to haunt him . It was indeed a ghost , the ghost of Zakira which was working through Death Dragerion and which was making Ichiro's hate towards him grow bigger and bigger .

" Death Dragerion... " Kokujo murmed .

" Yes , the creature which you feared the most back then ! Now your very own son is using it against you ! "

" You're right , my own son is using this monster... "

" Heh , it is time to put an end to your misery ! " Ichiro said and put a cardunder Death Dragerion into the graveyard . " Meteorburn , I send Ballom , Master of Death which I've evolved into Death Dragerion to the graveyard and make your Death March lose 3000 power and die ! IKE , DEATH DRAGERION , BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELD ! "

Kokujo took cover as Death Dragerion fired one of its most powerful beams ever . The beam not only broke his final shield , but also burned the short sleeves of his black coat . When Death Dragerion finished its attack , Ichiro saw that his father could barely stand on his own feet and that he had small burns on his arms .

" Hehehe , this is it ! Next turn my revenge shall be fulfiled and you'll be as good as dead ! " Ichiro laughed .

Kokujo tried to stand on his own feet and in the end got up . He looked at his son with both sad and proud eyes . But there was no tear in those red eyes . Kokujo then spoke to Ichiro saying :

" Ichiro , you're my son and I can't tell you how proud I am of you ! "

" What ? " Ichiro said shocked of his father's behaviour .

" You've managed to duel against me so well . I haven't had a tough challenge such as yours for a long time ! I'm more than happy that you've managed to leave me with no shields and no creatures ! "

Ichiro couldn't believe that his own father was complimenting him . Had he grown so much in his eyes , despite his behaviour ? Ichiro stared at Kokujo , which was smiling to him for the first time since he had entered the throne chamber . Now the shield shards had finally united into a card . Kokujo reached his hand and took the card , then he showed it to Ichiro and said :

" But now it is time to put an end to this ! Shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Death Dragerion ! "

Lots of demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and caught Ichiro's creature . Death Dragerion struggled to get loose , but in the end the hands crushed it and made it blow up . Ichiro watched amazed the whole thing and then turned back to Kokujo .

" My turn , I summon Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord ! " Kokujo said .

" Father... I won't give up yet ! " Ichiro said and drew his next card , but then began to speak in his mind . " Darn , it's just another XENOM and I have no use for it since there is no Demon Command for me to evolve into it ! "

Ichiro then placed the XENOM card in his mana zone and ended his turn . Kokujo then drew his next card and placed it straight on his Belbel De Dios card saying :

" I evolve Belbel De Dios into XENOM , the Reaper King ! "

" What the... Impossible ! " Ichiro exclaimed .

_A_ giant dark blue demon with no face and giant bat wings which was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head appeared .behind Kokujo . Ichiro made a few steps back amazed . It was the creature which he couldn't summon in that duel no matter how hard he tried . Kokujo gave Ichiro an evil smile and said :

" XENOM , triple break his shields ! "

XENOM's hands got sorrounded by dark energy aura and in a few seconds he casted two powerful beams from them breaking Ichiro's last three shields . The shields regenerated into cards which went in Ichiro's hand , but then Kokujo said :

" Break Bonus , since XENOM broke three shields , you'll discard three cards ! "

The cards from Ichiro's hand then fell in the graveyard . He stared scared at his father which wasn't joking anymore . The duel was now serious and it was depending on the last card which Ichiro drew . If it was a Grave Evolution or Mana Evolution creature , he'd win the game . Otherwise Kokujo would win it . Both Kokujo and Rezo stared excited at Ichiro's deck as the boy put his hand on it and slowly drew the next card . The boy looked at the card he drew and then stared at it for a few moments . For a few moments it was silence and the atmosphere was tensioned . Then Kokujo broke the silence saying :

" What did you draw ? "

" I drew... Ballom , Master of Death... " Ichiro spoke with a lost voice .

" Tsh , Ballom is an Evolution Creature , but works only for Demon Commands . And since Ichiro doesn't have any creature in the battlezone , this means that he lost ! " Rezo spoke with an unpleased voice .

" Ichiro , you have suffered so much . " Kokujo said and looked with mercy at his son .

" Father... "

" Now it is time for me to free you from this suffering once and for all ! " Kokujo said and his hand glew with a powerful purple aura . " There's only one creature which can break the curse which Rezo and Zakira had thrown upon you ! "

Kokujo then drew his next card with big speed and in a second he fast placed it on his XENOM card . The card was none other than Dorballom , Lord of Demons . The card shined powerfully with the same purple light and then XENOM was sorrounded by that same light and slowly transformed into the gray skinned red winged goat demon with six hands and six golden tentacles which ended up in Ballom heads . After the transformation was complete , Dorballom looked down at Kokujo and Ichiro .

" The time has come , Dorballom ! " Kokujo said .

" Yes , I shall cancel Rezo's spell and the negative energy coming from Death Dragerion and thus I will free the boy ! " Dorballom said .

" Fools ! " Rezo said and got up from the throne . " If you do that then the boy won't have much time left ! "

" I'll take the responsability for what happens to my boy , Rezo ! " Kokujo growled and stared at Rezo with hate in his eyes .

Rezo realized that Kokujo was about to kill his own son only to set him free from his grasp . There weren't any other options than to rely on Dorballom's attack because he was one of the five chosen creatures and the Lord of all Darkness . Rezo trembled only at the thought of what Kokujo would do to him after he killed Ichiro .

" Ichiro , what I am about to do... "

" Do it , father , I am ready ! " Ichiro said .

" Ichiro... Here goes nothing . " Kokujo said and put his hand on the card . " Dorballom , Lord of Demons , totomeda ! "

Dorballom created a powerful lazor ball with his six hands and then he casted it upon Ichiro . When the boy was hit , Kokujo , Dorballom and Rezo could hear the screams of a demon . They then saw that demon , which was purely made of darkness , come out from Ichiro's body . The demon took fast the two Death Dragerion cards which belonged to Zakira and immediately disappeared back to hell . Ichiro floated in the air burning . The power of Dorballom's lazor was now cancelling the evil spell of Rezo which was keeping alive both his body and hate for his father .

Once Dorballom's attack was finished , Ichiro's body fell on the floor . Rezo slowly began to move from his throne towards the stairs unnoticed . Kokujo and Dorballom looked at eachother and then the giant demon said :

" It's over . "

Kokujo nodded towards Dorballom and the demon slowly began to disappear back to the creature world . Kokujo packed up all his cards and then walked to Ichiro . While he passed his dueling table , he noticed Ichiro's cards vanishing into thin air as if they never existed . Ichiro awoke and tried to get up , but couldn't . He noticed his father sitting by his side .

" Dad... is it over ? "

" Yes , Ichiro , you're finally free from Rezo's grip ! "

" Good . Daddy... you don't mind if I call you daddy , do you ? "

" No , Ichiro , I don't... " Kokujo said as tears began to wet his eyes .

" Daddy , I hope you're not mad at me . I never ever wanted to hurt you in any way ! "

" I know , son , I know . "

" You know , daddy... "

" Yes , Ichiro ? "

" I can see mommy ! "

" What ? Malice ? " Kokujo spoke shocked .

" She has come for me , daddy . She has come to take me home . "

" Ichiro... "

" Daddy , please don't cry ! Remember that wherever you are , me and mommy will always be there... " Ichiro said and finally closed his eyes .

Ichiro's heart stopped beating . Kokujo then let the tears fall from his eyes and he embraced his dead son crying .

" My boy , my sweet little boy... " Kokujo cried .

Then Ichiro's body turned into dust and disappeared . Kokujo looked up and saw that Rezo was about to run away from the room . The long haired boy got up and yelled towards the Red Priest with the biggest anger he ever had :

" DAMN IT , REZO , HE WAS MY SON ! THIS IS IT , REZO , THIS TIME I AM NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY , NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS ! "

Kokujo ran towards Rezo like a beast . The Red Priest got scared and ran on the stairs followed by the extremely angry Kokujo . With Rezo powerless and Kokujo vengeful over Ichiro's death , what would happen ?


	52. Final Showdown: Kokujo VS Rezo

Tabitha and Shagrath were almost done with the preparations for the spell. They had painted all the magic circles on the floor, gotten all the spell books open at the needed incantations, molten all the gold and mixed it with the motor oil and goat's blood in the bowl and gotten even their magic powers ready for the show. Now they were both sitting near a giant magic circle which had all the symbols of the religions of the world and of the zodiac painted inside. One symbol was missing, and that was the Cross. Hanna was sitting against a wall with her hands crossed and she was staring at the two. But deep down inside she was crying, because she knew that Ichiro had died. The blue-haired girl looked away and saw a shooting star.

"Ichiro, wherever you are, I wish you've found your peace." Hanna wished in her mind and then turned her sights back to Tabitha and Shagrath.

Meanwhile, in the castle, the maids were heading towards the main gate of the castle. Mizuna and another maid were having Subaru's and Tsugumi's bodies on their backs.

"It's good that we've went back on time to save them, right, Mizuna?" a maid said.

"Right, if it wouldn't be for us they'd be rotting right now." Mizuna replied. "Once we reach the gate we must look for that 'friend' of which Tsugumi-chan was speaking."

After a few minutes they were all in front of a giant brown gate. Two of the maids ran to a corner and grabbed a heavy key. Both of them then headed to the gate's lock with it and in a few seconds got it in. Then they both pushed but it was too hard to unlock it.

"Girls, we need some help here!" one of the maids called.

Two more maids joined them and pushed the heavy key in the right direction. In the end they managed to unlock the gate and at last they pushed it open. The maids then saw Tabitha's barrier surrounding the castle and a UFO close by.

"Look, that must be the friend Tsugumi was talking about!" Mizuna said. "Hurry, let's get his or her attention somehow!"

Meanwhile, in the eastern tower of the castle, Kokujo was still chasing Rezo on the stairs and Rezo was more scared than ever. The Red Priest dared to look back a bit while running and saw that Kokujo's eyes were more red than ever, his hair was messed up, his fists were clenched and there was drool coming out from his mouth.

"This isn't Kokujo Kyoshiro, the Black Death, anymore. This is an animal thirsty for blood!" Rezo thought. "Oh how will I get out of this mess?"

"This time, Rezo, there is no way you can escape! I WILL FOLLOW YOU EVEN IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL AS LONG AS I GET TO FINISH YOU OFF!" Kokujo growled and started running faster.

Meanwhile, at Kokujo's UFO, doctor Root was looking for a possible weak spot of Tabitha's barrier so that he could hit it with the ship's lasers and destroy the whole barrier. While searching, doctor Root heard something on the sound radar.

"Help! Somebody help us! Subaru and Tsugumi are dying here!"

"Subaru and Tsugumi?" doctor Root spoke shocked and ran fast to the radar.

Root took the coordinates of the castle's gate and then did some small calculations with which he found out the coordinate of a spot which he could aim so that he could at least cause a hole in the barrier for the maids to escape. The doctor then walked at the main computer and pressed some buttons. Outside, a long dark green laser cannon came out of the UFO's roof. The cannon aimed for a hole which was about 60 degrees from the maids.

"Perfect! Aim, set, FIRE!" Root shouted and pressed a red button.

The cannon fired a powerful yellow laser which pierced through Tabitha's barrier and made a hole in it. Tabitha was more than shocked when she saw that doctor Root had managed to defeat her barrier.

"Root! That cursed old geezer just never knows when to give up!" Tabitha spoke frustrated. "I'll teach him a lesson!"

"No, Tabitha! We must wait for Lord Rezo to come!"

"I guess you're right, Shagrath. Rezo will take care of Root after he's got his powers back."

Doctor Root then saw the maids with Subaru's and Tsugumi's bodies. The doctor pressed fast a couple of buttons and after setting their exact coordinates on the computer, he fired a teleporting ray and brought them all inside the UFO. All the maids stared amazed at the UFO and its advanced technology.

"Wow, this is the most awesome place I've ever seen!" a maid said.

"Indeed it is, ladies! I am doctor Root!" Root said and bowed down, respectfully.

"Doctor, please help our friends, Subaru and Tsugumi, they're dying!" Mizuna said, worried and showed Tsugumi's body which was still on her back to Root.

"Take them to the hospital room! They must be connected to the revival machines quickly!" doctor Root said. "I just hope that I won't have to do any surgical intervention."

Back at Rezo's castle, Tabitha saw that Root's UFO had stopped its attacks, so the witch waved her hand and made the whole in her barrier disappear. She then put went her hand through her long and curly blonde hair and turned to Shagrath, saying:

"What nerves that Root has!"

"Yeah, how dare he... LOOK, TABITHA!" Shagrath said and pointed towards a tower from which Rezo came out running.

"Rezo! What have you been doing all this time?" Tabitha asked.

Look behind me and you'll see!" Rezo replied while running towards the big magic circle at which were Tabitha and Shagrath.

Tabitha and Shagrath then noticed Kokujo coming out of the tower as well. From the way he looked they realized that he was really mad. Kokujo kept chasing Rezo until the Red Priest entered the magic circle.

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!" Kokujo shouted as he was about to get his hands on Rezo.

When Kokujo put his foot on the magic circle, the circle activated and turned red. Kokujo was then pushed away from the circle as Tabitha and Shagrath began to laugh.

"Hahahaha, did you really think that we'd let you get your filthy hands on Lord Rezo that easy?" Shagrath laughed.

"This circle only tolerates evil persons such as ourselves to stay on it." Tabitha added.

"Evil, huh?" Kokujo asked while getting up. "You sure that you didn't mean retarded? Because from what I remember, I am the good looking evil genius around here and you're the losers which try to steal my job."

Rezo then turned to Kokujo and the long haired boy noticed a big evil grin on the Red Priest's face. Rezo then took out the scepter with the Proof of Duelmaster and raised it above his head.

"Now!" Rezo ordered.

Tabitha and Shagrath raised their hands and fell on their knees. They both began to read the incantations, saying:

"Oh, Lord and Master of all that is impure and unholy, we ask you to manipulate through the dark of the night the elements of nature, spirit and body!"

All the symbols from the circle began shining as well. Rezo looked around and was happy to see that evreything was going according to plan. Tabitha and Shagrath then got up, but still with their hands in the air, and yelled:

"HELP US, MASTER, HELP US!"

Then the whole castle began to shake. Kokujo had fallen with his back on the floor while Hanna was holding on to the wall of a tower to not fall. Then both Kokujo and Hanna noticed a devilish red smoke appear out of nowhere. The smoke entered the magic circle and filled it with an incredible power. Tabitha and Shagrath then put their hands in the circle with all their fingers pointed to Rezo. Both of them screamed:

"RESTORE TO THIS MORTAL WHAT WAS RIGHTFULLY HIS! FOR HE ALWAYS WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A PROUD AND LOYAL KNIGHT OF YOURS!"

Then a strange red beam of energy came out of the circle and entered Rezo's body. The Red Priest screamed extremely loud as the energy was enetring his body and the circle was losing its red light. In a few minutes, the whole energy was now inside Rezo. The Red Priest opened his eyes and walked out of the circle. Tabitha and Shagrath threw the molten gold mixed with oil and goat's blood on him and then Shagrath said:

"Baptised through this unholy blood you are physically reborn!"

"But baptised through the blood of your worst enemy you shall be reborn spiritually and gain your powers back!" Tabitha added and then turned to Kokujo. "Kokujo Kyoshiro! You and Rezo shall fight on the final battle which will decide the fate of the world! Once Rezo defeats you and drinks your blood, he'll get all his magical powers back!"

"With my powers back and the power of the Proof, I'll be invincible!" Rezo said and then put his scepter with the Proof of Duelmaster back in his robe.

Kokujo then took out his glowing deck and approached Rezo. The Red Priest also took out his deck which was now glowing with an extremely powerful red aura. Kokujo sensed that Rezo's powers had begun to grow, but he didn't care. All he wanted was Rezo's defeat and he was going to fight for it till the last moment.

"Ritual or not, I'm gonna face you anyway!" Kokujo said.

"I've been waiting for this moment ever since I've given up my powers!" Rezo replied.

Two dueling tables came out of the floor in front of Kokujo and Rezo. Both put their decks on the tables and stared in each other's eyes for a few moments.

"Any last words, Black Death?"

"Only this: See you in hell, Red Priest!"

"SHIELDS UP!" both shouted and raised up their shields.

Finally, after all the long journey, Kokujo and Rezo were facing eachother in a duel of life and death. To Kokujo it seemed that his defeat in the last duel with Rezo had happened decades ago. The second journey for the defeat of the Red Priest was long and exhausting, yet he didn't believe that he was facing him in that moment. It was as if a dream had finally come true!

"I summon Deathproof, Shadow Reaper!" Kokujo said.

"I summon Bloody Squito!" Rezo said and a giant red insect appeared behind him.

I summon Zamaru, Treasure of Darkness! Since all the cards in my mana zone are darkness cards, Zamaru now has 4000 power and when it attacks you'll discard a card."

"Heh, pathetic trick..."

"I'll show you pathetic, Rezo! Ike, Deathproof, break his shield!"

Rezo looked happily at the shield which just got broken by Kokujo's creature. Kokujo was unpleased by Rezo's calm. It was as if Rezo had been hiding something up his sleeves. The Red Priest took the cards which was in his shields, drew his next card and began his turn, saying:

"I summon Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast!"

"Tsh, trying to summon your Romanoff's faster? Guess what, Rezo, I'll defeat you before you'll be able to summon any of them!" Kokujo said and then put a card on one of his shields. "I fortify one of my shields with XENOM, the Reaper Fortress! This Fortress's effect will make my Reapers cost a mana less and you'll also discard a card from your hand."

Rezo discarded Chester Romanoff, the Wicked God, but he didn't seem to mind. Kokujo then tapped his Zamaru card, saying:

"I attack with Zamaru and make you discard another card!"

Rezo this time discarded Begining Romanoff, Lord of the Demonic Eye, but once again didn't seem to care about that. The Red Priest then put his hand on his Bloody Squito card and tapped it saying:

"I block Zamaru with Bloody Squito and both die!"

"Ike, Deathproof, break another one of his shields!" Kokujo said. "Hah, let's see you counterattack my fast attacks, Rezo!"

"Heh, fool!" Rezo said and showed the card which was in his shield. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Grudge Gathering and destroy your Deathproof!"

"What the?"

"This is the price for making me discard cards, Kokujo! Now my turn, I cast Dark Soul Creation and destroy my Dark Division to draw three cards!"

"Just wasting your turn to draw cards? Come on, Rezo, I know you can do better! I summon Bell Hell De Bran, Battle Reaper!"

"Heh, I summon Bloody Squito and Inaba Geeze, the Explosive. Hehehe, I've got a big surprise for you, Kokujo!"

"Meh, like your so called 'surprises' scare me. Here's something to be afraid of, Rezo, I summon Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper!"

Then a bone demon with six heads and shiny purple eyes appeared behind Kokujo and roared towards Rezo. The Red Priest's smile faded as Kokujo laughed to him and said:

"AHAHAHAHAHA, it's time to show you of what I'm made! My Bell Hell De Bran is a 11000 powered Demon Command which can attack untapped Knights, so I attack your Inaba Geeze with my Bell Hell De Bran!"

"Block it, Bloody Squito!" Rezo said, sweating.

"Now that your creature has died, I'll use Bell Hell De Gaul's effect to shuffle my deck." Kokujo said and stared at his deck while a strange force was shuffling it for him. "Now I will reveal the top card from it and if it's a non-evolution Demon Command, I may summon it for free."

The card which Kokujo revealed was Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King. Ballom Monarch was an evolution Demon Command, so Kokujo took it to his hand and ended his turn. Rezo then began to gain the confidence he had lost for a moment. The Red Priest then began his turn by drawing a card and charging mana. He then spoke to his opponent:

"I summon Dark Lucifer, Demonic Eyed Gunman! Dark Lucifer's effect will put the top three cards to my graveyard and when he's destroyed, I may return any number of my evolution Dark Lords."

The three cards which went to Rezo's graveyard were Fernando the 7th, Emperor of Mystic Light, Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God and Miraculous Meltdown.

"Also, Inaba Geeze turns my Knights into speed attackers, so I attack with Dark Lucifer, break that fortified shield and the shield next to it! Inaba Geeze, break his shield!"

Kokujo took cover as Rezo's creature broke three of his shields. The long-haired boy stared angry at the Red Priest which now began to laugh. To his bad luck, Kokujo didn't get any shield triggers, and the cards in his hand weren't that good either.

"From the look in your eyes I can see that you're not doing so well." Rezo said.

"Zip it!" Kokujo replied and started his turn. "I summon Belbel De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord! Ike, Bell Hell De Gaul, destroy his Inaba Geeze! Then I use Bell Hell De Gaul's effect once again!"

This time the card was Crooked Digger Reaper which wasn't a Demon Command, so Kokujo took it in his hand and continued his turn.

"I then destroy your Dark Lucifer with my Bell Hell De Bran!"

"Thanks!" Rezo said, grinning.

"What the..."

"You forgot that if Dark Lucifer is destroyed, I'll take any number of evolution Dark Lords from the graveyard to my hand. And I will take back Mad Romanoff, Chester Romanoff and Beginning Romanoff! Hah, thanks for the help, Kokujo!"

"Tsh, I'll use Bell Hell De Gaul's effect for the third time!" Kokujo replied.

This time the card was Giganima, the Reaper, which once again wasn't a Demon Command, so Kokujo again took it in his hand. Rezo laughed at Kokujo's incompetence and spoke:

"Hahahaha, is that all you got, Black Death? 'Cause if I'm right, then you're just wasting my time."

"What? How dare you?"

"Don't pretend to be a victim, Kokujo, because the truth is that you simply just aren't skilled enough to beat me!" Rezo said and showed glowing card. "Grave Galaxy Vortex, I summon Begining Romanoff, Lord of the Demonic Eye!"

A monstrous horned dragon wielding lots of guns appeared behind Rezo and gave Kokujo a terrifying roar. The black-haired boy made a few steps back scared and said:

"Unbelievable! That's the creature which defeated Subaru!"

"And the one which will bring you down as well!" Rezo said, smiling. "Meteorburn, I send all the three creatures which I've evolved into Begining Romanoff and then put three cards from your hand at the bottom of your deck!"

Kokujo now had only one card left thanks to Begining Romanoff. He then looked scared at Rezo which now was giving Begining Romanoff the real order.

"Ike, Begining Romanoff, destroy his Bell Hell De Gaul!"

Kokujo pathetically watched Beginning Romanoff fire its lasers and destroy his powerful demon, Bell Hell De Gaul. The long-haired boy looked scared around him. The situation in which he was wasn't good at all! He had only two creatures left, of which one couldn't break Rezo's shields. Both of them weren't powerful enough to match Rezo's Begining Romanoff and Kokujo had only two shields while Rezo had three.

Back at Kokujo's UFO, doctor Root had managed to stabilize Subaru and Tsugumi as well. Now all the chosen duelists had to fight in order to live. The maids were admiring the UFO, but Mizuna was standing near doctor Root, looking sad.

"Will they survive?" Mizuna asked.

"This is up to them now. Don't worry, they're all great fighters, they'll surely get through this." doctor Root said and then walked to a screen. I wonder what Kokujo's doing right now."

Doctor Root turned on the screen and saw Kokujo and Rezo dueling. Kokujo had only two shields left and looked pretty damaged. His sleeves were torn, he had lots of small burns on his arms, his hair was all messed and his whole body was tired. Rezo, on the other hand, had three shields left and was looking more energical than ever.

"Oh no, Kokujo's in trouble!" doctor Root exclaimed.

"You mean THE Kokujo? The person which Rezo hated and wanted so much to kill?" Mizuna asked.

"Yes, he's the one, and he's in big trouble if he won't manage to get rid of that Begining Romanoff!"

Rezo looked at Kokujo and enjoyed seeing him in fear and misery. It seemed that the Black Death was terribly losing. But then Kokujo got up once again and smiled. His evil smile made Rezo scared for a moment.

"Why are you smiling? Are you that eager to lose?" Rezo asked.

"Actually, it's going to be vice versa!" Kokujo replied and drew his next card. " I summon Deathproof, Shadow Reaper! Now all my Reapers are slayers. Ike, Bell Hell De Bran, suicide with Beginning Romanoff!"

"What the..."

Rezo watched shocked how his Begining Romanoff fought with Kokujo's creature and how both blew up and got destroyed. The Red Priest began to sweat and then turned around and saw Kokujo continuing to attack.

"I attack with Belbel De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord and destroy my Deathproof in order to draw 2 cards." Kokujo said. "Ike, Belbel De Dios, double break his shields now!"

Rezo took cover as Kokujo's giant lion demon with blue mane ran through his shields and broke them to pieces. The Red Priest smiled as the shield shards united into cards.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Primal Scream!" Rezo said and put the top four cards into his graveyard which were Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike, Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, Sir Virginia, Mystic Light Insect and Greatest Caesar, the Dark Kaiser. "I return Sir Virginia to my hand! My turn, I summon Inaba Geeze, the Explosive and Sir Virginia, Mystic Light Insect. Sir Virginia's effect will return Gratest Caesar back to my hand from the graveyard and since he's an Evolution Creature which shares the same race with them, I may summon him for free."

"Oh crap..." Kokujo murmured.

"Vortex Evolution, I evolve Inaba Geeze and Sir Virginia into Greatest Caesar, the Dark Kaiser!"

A giant dragon dressed in an enormous knight armor appeared behind Rezo and roared so loud that it shook the whole castle and Kokujo's UFO. Everyone stared amazed at Rezo's giant creature. Then the Red Priest spoke to Kokujo:

"Hehehe, you're finished, Kokujo Kyoshiro! You should've fled far away from this planet in the first place!"

"Never! I'll never give up and admit defeat to you!"

"Foolish creature! Ike, Gratest Caesar, attack and I'll cast Terror Pit from my graveyard and destroy his Belbel De Dios! BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS, GREATEST CAESAR!"

Greatest Caesar roared once again and spat a powerful river of fire towards Kokujo. The long-haired boy took cover as his last two shields got broken. Once Greatest Caesar had finished his attack, Kokujo was surrounded with lots of shield shards. His black coat had got even more burns, so he took it off him and threw it away. Rezo made another evil laugh, but then Kokujo fixed his malicious eyes on him. Rezo's laugh was stopped by Kokujo as he took the cards from his shields in his hand and also drew his next card.

"Time to put an end to your retarded smile!" Kokujo said. "Grave Evolution, I summon not one, but two Death March, Reaper of Death! Also, I cast Hand of the Reaper to destroy your Greatest Caesar and you'll also discard a card!"

Lots of white ghostly hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the powerful dragon from all parts. The hands kept pushing the dragon until they made it blow up. Then the Red Priest discarded his Chester Romanoff. Rezo got angry and stared at Kokujo, which was about to finish his turn. The Red Priest then wanted to challenge Kokujo and said:

"Why don't you attack me? I have only one shield left. You could easily beat me up."

"I don't wanna take the risk of you getting a shield trigger, so I end here." Kokujo said, smiling.

"Oh look who has learned from his past mistakes. But it's too late now, Kokujo Kyoshiro! Mad Deck Evolution!" Rezo said and revealed three cards from his deck which were Volcano Charger, Darkness Romanoff, the Enlightened and Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast. "I evolve Dark Division into Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God and send the other two cards to the graveyard! Meteorburn, I send Dark Division to the graveyard and cast Volcano Charger from my mana zone to destroy one of your Death Marchs! Ike, Mad Romanoff, finish him off, todomeda!"

"Block it, Death March!" Kokujo replied smiling and tapped his card. "Death March will make Mad Romanoff lose 4000 power and die, but my March stays! Heh, my turn, I summon Bell Hell De Bran, Battle Reaper and Bone Amigo, Undead Reaper!"

"Trying to build up a new defense for your battle zone so that you could gain control of the game? Not bad, but you still have a lot to learn." Rezo said and showed another glowing card. "I summon Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye!"

A giant horned knight wearing a Dark Lord armor with red cape and wielding two laser guns appeared behind Rezo. The Red Priest then looked in his deck and took a Terror Pit card which he then put in his graveyard.

"This is it, next turn I'll attack with Romanoff the 1st, destroy your creatures and finally win! Hahahahaha, this time there is no way you can escape, Kokujo Kyoshiro!"

"Actually, I've been waiting for this moment the whole duel, Rezo!"

"What?"

Kokujo smiled and showed to Rezo that one card from his hand which he had kept the most of the duel. The card began to emanate energy which took the form of a bright purple light. Rezo made a few steps back as Kokujo slowly and graciously placed the card on his Bell Hell De Bran card and said:

"I evolve Bell Hell De Bran, Battle Reaper into Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King!"

A giant goat demon with a really big bone armor, a pair of golden horns and a golden tentacle with a goat head above his own head appeared behind Kokujo. Rezo was amazed. He had never seen that creature before and was terrified by its sight. Kokujo then made an evil laugh and said:

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is it, you've got only one shield and even if it is a trigger, you're still a goner!"

"This can't be happening!" Rezo exclaimed.

"Ike, Death March, break his final shield! Bone Amigo, todome..."

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bone Amigo!"

Rezo then fell on his knees in front of Kokujo. Tabitha and Shagrath were shocked of seeing Rezo doing such a shameful act. The Red Priest began begging Kokujo for mercy, but the Black Death wasn't touched at all.

"Come on, Kokujo, pal, buddy, why must everything end in violence? You don't want to kill me, right? What would killing me solve, anyway?"

"What would killing you solve? It would rid the world of an animal such as you, Rezo! Remember the prophecy, Rezo? _The Red Priest shall rise like the menacing storm clouds, but the five chosen duelists along with their five chosen cards will bring his fall on the day chosen by God!_ This day has finally come!"

"Hah, you speak of nonsense, Kokujo, I don't see any chosen duelists around!"

Back at the UFO, something unexpected happened. A card from each deck of the chosen duelists began to shine. The five cards got up and Root along with Mizuna saw that they were Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon, Diruga Vejida, Green Divine Dragon, Crystal Zweilancer, Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Dorballom, Lord of Demons. Each card fired a beam on its owner and made their clothes disappear. Mizuna covered her eyes, blushing, and spoke to Root:

"What's this, a strip show?"

"No, I guess that the cards need them naked so that they could be pure once they use their power."

Each card fired another beam on their masters which made their bodies glow with lights which represented each civilisation and then they all woke up.

"Rad, Sora, Edo, Tsugumi and Subaru! Are you ok?" doctor Root asked.

"We're alright, doctor. We're now going to fulfill the prophecy!" Subaru said.

The five chosen duelists flew with their cards in their hands. The power of the chosen cards made them all go through the walls of the UFO. The quintet flew through space and stopped at Rezo's castle behind Kokujo and Ballom Monarch. Rezo was shocked to see all the chosen duelists alive and with their chosen cards as well.

"What the... impossible! This really can't be happening! Rad, Sora, Edo, Tsugumi and Subaru, you're all alive?" Rezo spoke while sweating really hard.

"Rezo , the time has come for you to pay for all the crimes you have committed!" Rad said and _a_n enormous blue robotic dragon wielding four guns on his wings appeared behind him.

"For all the manipulations of the innocent!" Edo said and a giant golden centaur with two big spears as hands appeared behind him.

"For the changing of our planet and draining of its resources!" Sora said and a giant and long dark brown dragon with enormous claws and a colored head similar to parrot's feathers appeared behind her.

"For destroying the purity of love!" Tsugumi said and a giant golden angel with enormous white wings and weilding six golden swords appeared behind her.

"And finally, for bringing the evil in our world!" Subaru said and a gray skinned red winged goat demon with six hands and six golden tentacles which ended up in Ballom heads appeared behind him.

Rezo was amazed. The five chosen duelists and the five chosen creatures were all in front of him. It was exactly as the prophecy said. This was his end. Kokujo turned to his friends and smiled to them. Afterwards, he turned back to Rezo, but spoke to the chosen duelists, saying:

"Ok, guys, let's do it!"

"Yes!" they all responded and nodded.

"Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King..." Kokujo said.

"Bolmeteus, Sapphire Dragon..." Rad said.

"Diruga Vejida, Green Divine Dragon..." Sora said.

"Crystal Zweilancer..." Edo said.

"Alphadios, Lord of Spirits..." Tsugumi said.

"Dorballom, Lord of Demons..." Subaru said.

"TODOMEDA!" all six shouted.

All the six creatures fired their powerful beams against Rezo. The Red Priest walked back scared and then he remembered something. Rezo took out his scepter which had the Proof of Duelmaster and used the gem's power to create a blue barrier. The barrier resisted to the attacks of the six creatures and then Rezo laughed and spoke to them:

"HAHAHAHAHA, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOUR PATHETIC ATTACKS CAN KILL ME? FOOLISH MORTALS, NO MATTER WHAT YOU THROW AT ME, I AM REZO, THE RED PRIEST, AND I NEVER DIE!"

"We'll never give up, Rezo!" Kokujo said. "We'll keep attacking with all our might, because we believe in our strength and we are united!"

"You're just wasting your energy, I'll never..."

Suddenly, a small hole appeared in Rezo's barrier. The Red Priest couldn't believe it, the Proof of Duelmaster couldn't resist to the attacks of the chosen creatures. Then another five holes appeared in the barrier and all the holes widened until the barrier disappeared. Rezo got hit by all the six attacks and floated in the air burning really bad. Tabitha, Shagrath and Hanna watched in horror how their leader was dying.

"GAAH! IMPOSSIBLE! I SHALL NEVER FALL! I AM REZOOOOO!"

Then the Red Priest suddenly blew up and disappeared into thin air. The six creatures stopped their attacks and there was no sight of Rezo anywhere. Kokujo sighed and said:

"This is the end of Rezo, the Red Priest!"

Suddenly, the castle began to shake. That was when the chosen creatures disappeared and the chosen cards teleported the five chosen duelists back in the UFO on their beds. Doctor Root greeted the five back and said:

"Great work, kids! You've finally managed to defeat Rezo!"

"Should we get you some clothes?" Mizuna said while blushing.

"Forget the clothes, Kokujo-kun is at the castle and the castle's shaking!" Subaru said.

The black-haired boy got up from his bed fast and put a towel on him. He and Root walked fast to the control room. There they saw Rezo's castle tearing apart on the giant computer screen.

"Oh no, we can't let Kokujo-kun die there!" Subaru exclaimed.

"And we won't!" Root replied and began to press some buttons. "We're going back to save him, no matter what!"

Meanwhile, at Rezo's castle, the whole place began to tear apart and they all noticed that. Tabitha took out her broomstick, but she couldn't risk to fly off from the roof, because the towers would fall on her any second. Shagrath then walked to her and said:

"Why is the castle tearing apart?"

"Rezo was the only one sustaining this castle. If he's dead, the castle will be destroyed as well." Tabitha replied. "We must fly away as fast as we can!"

"Correction, you must fly away."

"Huh? Why's that, Shagrath?"

"With Lord Rezo dead, my work here is done. I'm going back to hell." Shagrath said and opened a portal to hell. "Adios, Tabitha Lenox, it was nice to work with you!"

Shagrath then entered the portal and disappeared back into the depths of hell. Tabitha murmured something and then ran back to the castle.

"Hurry, Hanna, we must get outta here!" Tabitha said.

"As you wish, Tabitha-sama!" the blue-haired girl replied and ran after the witch.

Kokujo also ran back into the castle. First he ran down the stairs. Then he entered the throne chamber and saw half of its floor fall into space along with the balcony and disintegrate. The long-haired boy rushed out of the throne chamber through its main entrance and then ran on a long hall. He looked on the windows while flying and saw his UFO approaching the castle. That was his only chance of survival. When Kokujo reached the biggest window from the hall, he saw Tabitha and Hanna ready to fly away with Tabitha's broomstick.

"Tabitha!"

"Kokujo Kyoshiro! I must say, I wasn't expecting to ever be face to face with you."

"Tsh, same here, filthy witch."

"I'd love to stay here and fight you, but as you can see, the whole place is falling apart, so maybe some other time." Tabitha said and hit the broomstick. "See you next time, Kokujo Kyoshiro, the Black Death!"

The broomstick then took off with Tabitha and Hanna on it. Once they took off, they looked behind them and noticed that the castle began to explode in some parts.

"There's no way Kokujo could escape the castle now. He's as good as dead." Tabitha thought.

Kokujo stood by the big open window and waited for the UFO to approach. Doctor Root had easily found Kokujo's corrdinates and was now heading with the spaceship towards the big window. But once they approached the window, the roof blew up and a tower fell in their direction. Doctor Root then pulled a lever and the UFO departed from the castle a bit so that they wouldn't get hit by that tower.

"I'm sorry, Subaru, but we can't come closer to the castle." Root said.

"Then I'll have to save Kokujo-kun myself!" Subaru replied and ran away.

Kokujo then began to lose hope. He looked around and saw that all the other corridors were destroyed by the falling roof. He was trapped in that small place. The UFO wouldn't approach the window to take him out of there, so there was no way he could escape. Suddenly, the main door of the UFO opened and Kokujo heard a voice shouting for him:

"Kokujo-kun! Kokujo-kun!"

Kokujo turned back at the window and saw Subaru wearing only a towel on him, holding the ship with his left hand and stretching his right hand to him.

"Kokujo-kun, jump and grab my hand before it's too late!" Subaru shouted.

"Ok, I will!" Kokujo said, but then noticed that the explosions were growing and were approaching him. "Catch me, here I come!"

Kokujo then jumped from the window just a second before the explosions reached it . The long haired boy floated into space and held his right hand stretched as well. The explosions from the castle were also approaching him from behind.

"Kokujo-kun, you can make it, I believe in you!" Subaru said.

The explosions were catching up fast. Kokujo then felt that he couldn't float anymore and that he would fall soon. The long haired boy was so tired after evreything that had happened and thought that that was the end. All that he could still see with his tired eyes was Subaru's hand, but that image slowly began to fade. Kokujo then closed his eyes and everything went black.

The next thing Kokujo heared was Subaru's voice. He opened his eyes and saw Subaru next to him all dressed up in his casual blue uniform and with tears in his eyes.

"W-what happened? Where am I " Kokujo asked and got up from the hospital bed on which he was lying.

"Calm down, you're in your UFO at the hospital room. Man, I thought we were going to lose you!" Subaru said and wiped the tears from his eyes. "When you were about to reach my hand, you lost all your energy and fainted. I grabbed it fast and pulled you in. Doctor Root took care of you a few days and you even entered in coma."

"A few days? Where are we now? What happened to the rest?"

"After you got pulled in the UFO, we all saw Rezo's curse fading away from our planet. All the continents were back to where they were, all the buildings were remade, all the humans were alive. It was as if Rezo never existed!"

"Heh, that's good. Finally we have won!" Kokujo said and sat back on the bed with his hands under his head. "So what else happened?"

"Um... lots of things happened while you were in coma. First of all, me, the other chosen duelists and doctor Root received a 'Thank you' party for saving the world from the president of the United States. We've got lots of nice presents from him."

"WHAT?" Kokujo yelled and got up once again. "I WANT..."

"Cake?" Subaru asked and showed a plate on which a big chocolate cake was lying. "I thought you'd want that, so I snatched it from the party."

"Hehe, thanks, Subaru. I'll eat it later " Kokujo said and sat once again in his relaxed position. "And what else happened?"

"After the party, Rad decided to part ways with us. He wanted to become a famous racer. The president hired some men to repair his rocket and participate with him at many races. Sora decided to just retreat in the woods to meditate, but the president decided to build her a temple in those woods and even give her some apprentices. As for me, Edo-kun and Tsugumi, the president had built us a mansion instead of our house. Also, some of Rezo's former maids are now our maids. Oh, and by the way, the president told me that if you would ever need something, he'll give you his number."

"Meh, don't bother, as long as I have cake, that's evreything I'll ever need."

Subaru then walked to the window and looked outside. The weather was sunny. The futuristic world was enjoying its new freedom. The city was much more colorful and the humans and robots were less worried and more happy. The black haired boy smiled while admiring the world as if he was admiring a newborn baby. Then the black-haired boy turned to Kokujo, which was enjoying his cake, and said:

"I think I'll be going back to my mansion to spend some time with my pal, Edo-kun, and my beloved Tsugumi. The UFO is parked near your house, by the way. So, wanna join us?"

"Nah, now that Rezo has been defeated, I would like to spend some quality time alone with my cake." Kokujo said and began slicing the chocolate cake.

"Ok, see you later, Kokujo-kun!" Subaru said and left the room.

Before eating the first slice, Kokujo senced something. He looked in a drawer and saw his deck. The long haired boy took from his deck the Dorballom card and stared at it. The card shined and Dorballom appeared to him as a vision. Kokujo nodded and then spoke to Dorballom with a victorious voice:

"This is it, Dorballom, we have finally won!"


	53. Things are not quite back to normal

Three months had passed since Rezo had died . The futuristic world was back to normal . The people were normally walking on the streets , minding their buisness . UFOs and other flying vehicles were flying on their daily route , taking the busy citizens to their work .

It was another sunny day . Kokujo was returning from the cake shop . He was walking on the now empty street with his right hand above his face .

" Curse this powerful sun ! It's giving me headaches ! " Kokujo thought .

The long haired boy then passed a big mansion . He looked at the windows and saw Edo and Tsugumi with helmets on their heads , playing a virtual game . Kokujo smiled a bit and continued his walk back to his house , which was a few feet away . In front of his house was waiting Subaru . Subaru's black hair was now reaching his shoulders , completely hiding the back of his neck . He was dressed in his Lordi T-shirt and jean pants .

" Welcome back , Kokujo-kun ! " Subaru greeted his friend .

" This sun is becoming more and more annoying ! Hell , I think that summer's started by now ! " Kokujo complained and wiped off the sweat from his forehead .

" Kokujo-kun , I must tell you something important ! " Subaru's voice changed to a serious tone .

" What is it ? "

" It's THEM ! "

" W-wait a minute , I'm confused . Who's THEM ? "

" Even I don't know their exact identities . All I know about THEM is that they are a secret organisation which may be plotting to take over the world . They may be hiding evreywhere , but I've seen some of THEM hiding in your house , Kokujo-kun ! "

" What ? " Kokujo spoke shocked . " They're in my house ? "

" Yes , I've seen some people dressed in black wondering in your house ! "

Kokujo's veins began to grow , his teeth and fists clunched , his eyes got filled with rage and his voice then growled :

" No one will even traspass my house without MY permission ! Not even THEM ! "

" K-Kokujo-kun , are you really thinking of confronting THEM ? "

" Yes , Subaru , and you'd better not get in my way , OR ELSE ! "

Subaru gulped as Kokujo entered his own house and closed the door . Kokujo was then greeted by some strange figures dressed in black .

" Oh , so you must be THEM . " Kokujo said .

Subaru stood in front of Kokujo's house and waited for hours . He couldn't hear anything of what was happening in there and this made him worried . By sunset he began to walk in circles . That was when Kokujo came out of his house . His facial expression was changed to the old serious one . Subaru rushed to him and ask with an anxious voice :

" What happened ? "

" They want me to go to their secret base . They said that I need to train for the upcoming dueling tournament and that I need to speak to their leader . "

" But what about doctor Root , Edo-kun , Tsugumi and me ? "

" Heh , you'll just have to forget about me until the tournament . " Kokujo said and put his hand on Subaru's shoulder . " Hey , don't worry , evreything will be fine ! The tournament begins this autumn , aka in three months . I'll be back by then ! "

" Ok , good luck , Kokujo-kun ! May you come back safe ! "

" Thanks , I'll need that ! "

Kokujo then walked inside his house and an earthquake shook it . Subaru noticed how the house began to rise in the sky . He then saw that it had four rocket engines attached by THEM . The flying house took off immediately and soon disappeared in the night sky .

Subaru sighed and walked back in his mansion . He stopped at the game room , where Edo and Tsugumi were still playing their virtual games .

" I'm going to bed early tonight . If doctor Root passes by and asks to stay here at night , give him a room ! I'll explain later . Good night ! "

Subaru then went upstairs to the room where he and Tsugumi slept . He took off his clothes , dressed in some short black pijamas and went to sleep .

The next day Subaru woke up at lunch time . Ever since Rezo had been defeated , Subaru had all the time in the world to sleep , but no matter how early he went to bed , he still woke up by lunch time .

Subaru washed himself , changed into the same clothes he wore the other day and walked downstairs to the eating room . The eating room was a big room with glass walls which were covered by courtains . There was a long table in the center of the room , on which there were always vases with flowers , plates , forks , knives and spoons . Floating above the table was a big black computerized machine which instantly cooked any possible meal . The machine was activated by a code known only by the mansion's maids .

Sitting on two chairs in front of eachother were Tsugumi and Edo . Mizuna , on the other hand , was using a belt with two red jets to float near the machine and program the lunch meals .

" Good morning , Subaru , how was your sleep ? " Edo asked .

" Like a baby's . " Subaru replied and winked .

" Hehe , what should we expect from a guy who fought so hard to defeat Rezo , besides this ? " Mizuna said and laughed a bit . " Haha , I bet that a good long sleep with sweet dreams is your biggest reward , right , Subaru-sama ? "

" Please stop calling me 'sama' , Mizuna , we're friends , even if you're one of our maids ! " Subaru replied and then walked to Tsugumi . " And besides , there's no reward more valuable than spending a life with the one that you love ! "

Tsugumi smiled and got up from her chair . Subaru took her face gently in his hands and then their lips slowly united in a romantic kiss which lasted a few good seconds . Tsugumi then freed herself from Subaru's gentle grasp and said :

" Well , well , good morning to you too , my dear ! "

" Actually , I think that we're free to call it noon . " Subaru replied and took a seat . " So , tell me , did doctor Root come here last night ? "

" He did . " Edo said . " He came by and asked what happened to Kokujo and his house . We didn't know anything about that , but we asked him to stay here . Then he said that he'll go looking for a new place to stay . "

" So he refused our invitation . Hm... I wonder if he also knows something about THEM . Anyway , let me explain what happened to Kokujo-kun ! "

Subaru told to his friends what he saw the other day . They were all as shocked as he was that night ..

" How could he do such a foolish thing ? " Mizuna exclaimed .

" How could he even trust THEM ? " Edo added .

" I really don't know , guys ! " Subaru said . " The thing is that Kokujo-kun is gone away for the summer and we have to get used to the idea . That's it ! "

" I guess you're right . So what shall you guys have for lunch ? " Mizuna asked .

After the lunch , evreyone left on their paths . Mizuna and the other maids had to clean the mansion . Tsugumi went shopping . Subaru and Edo , on the other hand , decided to slack off that day and just go and have fun , instead of doing something useful .

The two boys walked through the town , looking for something to do . It was a hot afternoon . There were few people walking on the streets , and that was because it was working time . Subaru and Edo were walking and talking , but then Edo noticed that it was silence and that he was walking alone . The brown haired boy turned back and saw Subaru admiring something in the showcases of a jewelry shop .

" Hey , Suby , what are you looking at ? " Edo asked and saw that Subaru was staring at his own reflection in the showcase .

" Oh , Edo-kun , I would buy myself if I wouldn't cost so much ! " Subaru replied and stopped staring .

" Haha , good one ! Oh well , what would you want to do ? "

" Actually , I senced as if something was calling me . " Subaru said and walked towards another shop . " Come , Edo-kun , things await to be discovered ! "

" Looking for adventure as always , huh ? Wait , I'm coming ! " Edo said and followed his friend .

The two friends passed many shops and stopped in front of a strange jewelry shop which had many strange posters with statues and ancient insctriptions in front of its entrance . Above the entrance was a big neon with the words "KAIDOZ SHOP" .

" Kaidoz ? Sounds japanese . " Edo said .

" I feel that someone or something is calling me inside . " Subaru said and walked towards the strange shop .

The two boys entered the shop and were greeted by a giant scorpion statue . Edo yelled and jumped in Subaru's arms trembling . That was when the two heared an old woman's voice speaking from the shadows :

" That's no monster , young one , it's my ancient Scorpio statue ! "

" Who said that ? " Subaru asked .

A strange tiny and fat old woman wearing a dark purple dress , a red and green shirt and having her hair hidden in a red cloak appeared in front of the two boys .

" Hello , my young ones , with what may I have the honor to help you ? " the old lady asked .

" Oh , we just wanted to look around . " Subaru said and layed Edo down from his arms .

" Hehehe , do as you wish , young ones , but remember that you didn't come here by chance ! It was all part of a big plan ! "

" Um... okay ? " Edo said sweating and started looking around .

The strange shop was filled with weird jewels . They either had really rare and precious stones , either were made of a metal of big quality or were having strange shapes .

" And what's this ? " Edo asked and looked at a pendant which had a strange zig zag shape .

" That's the medalion of the water element , my dear teenager ! The water element symbolises flexibility , life and strong emotions . It is believed that those who posess the power of water have the knowledge of the secret of life and of the whole Universe ! "

Edo was amazed of the old lady's explanation . For so long he had used the water civilization's power , but he never understood its real potential . Now by just looking at that pendant he could feel like he understood all the secrets of the civilization and even the element of water . Then he was awakened from his dreams by Subaru's voice which exclaimed a 'wow' . Edo and the old lady walked to the next room . There they found Subaru staring at a shining silver pendant .

" What did you find there , young one ? " the old said and looked at the pendant which caught Subaru's attention . " Ah , impossible ! You chose the Leo pendant ! Or better yet , the pendant chose you ! "

" What are you talking about ? " Edo asked and looked at the silver pendant as well .

" This pendant represents Leo , the Lion . Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac , he's fixed fire and is also dominated by the Sun . Leo is a warm and generous person and was also born to lead . "

" I know that he's a generous and warm person , but Subaru a leader ? Haha , I wonder if I'll ever see that ! " Edo laughed .

" What's the date of your birth , young one ? " the old lady asked .

" 9th of August . " Subaru answered .

The old lady's eyes widened as she stared at Subaru . She was analyzing Subaru's body in her mind .

" Pretty tall and solid body , brown warm eyes and long black hair like a mane . His body is fitting the Leo typology very good ! Is he really the chosen one ? "

Subaru reached his hand and took the silver pendant which had the shape of a fierce lion showing his jaws and raising his right paw . The boy stared at it amazed and felt as if he had been called by it his whole life . Subaru wrapped the pendant around his neck and then turned to the old lady .

" Amazing ! The Leo pendant didn't even burn his skin ! He really must be the chosen one ! " the old lady thought .

" I... I'm really sorry for doing what I did ! " Subaru said and blushed . " It's not my nature to... "

" Take it ! It now belongs to you ! " the old lady replied . " I'll give it for half of its price , and that's because you've been chosen by the Leo ! "

Subaru and Edo left the shop without a clue of what was the old lady talking about . The two friends walking in the park and stood on a bench admiring the fountains which were giving different shapes to the water which they sprinkled . Edo was drinking a sode while Subaru was still staring at his Leo pendant .

" Hey , Suby , is there a problem ? "

" Oh , it's just... I can't believe how fast evreything happened , Edo-kun . Our meeting , the world changing , Rezo's defeat , evreything coming back to normal... and now this ! I have the strange feeling that this summer is not gonna be a normal one ! "

Then a strange wind blew on the two boys . Subaru's hair was flipping in the air as he enjoyed the scent of cherries . The boy then heared an angelic voice whispering the word 'Forevermore' to his ears . Once the wind stopped , Subaru became less worried . He felt as if no matter what would happen , things would turn out to be alright in the end .

" How about we forget all this and have a duel ? " Edo said and took out his deck . " I've got some new cards and I'm more than eager to use them ! "

" Very well then... " Subaru replied and took out his deck as well . " Let's have some fun ! "

Two dueling tables appeared on the grass and the duel began . After lots of turns , Edo had only Aqua Guard and Bullet Shirou Barett in the battle zone and also had Dragon Gear – Swordflash Legend generated . Subaru had Bloody Squito , Maxval Electro-Fuuma , Super Trash Train Fuume Devil and Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord . Edo had two shields while Subaru had all his five shields intact .

" My turn , I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Paladin ! " Edo said and a giant crystal centaur weilding a crystal sword and a crystal shield appeared behind him . " Crystal Paladin will send your Squito and Maxval back ! Ike , Bullet Shirou , break his shield ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Crystal Paladin ! " Subaru said and many demonic hands appeared above him and smashed Edo's Paladin . " Trash Train lets me draw a card and now it's my turn ! I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and Bloody Squito ! I now attack with Belbel De Dios and destroy Bloody Squito to draw two cards ! Trash Train also lets me draw a card , and now Belbel De Dios , break his final shields ! "

Edo took cover as Subaru's lionic demon broke his final shields . The shards of one of the shields immediately turned into a shiny card from which a creature made of blue water which was riding a surfboard came out . Edo then smiled and said :

" Shield trigger , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Trash Train back to your hand ! "

" Heh , is that all you got , Edo-kun ? "

" Nope , Suby , I have much more ! Shield trigger , I cast Spiral Gate and send Maxval back to your hand ! "

Now it was Edo's turn . The brown haired boy's hand glew with a powerful blue light . He drew his next card and said :

" I summon Blue Divine Dragon , Bolbalzak Swordflash Dragon ! "

A giant blue dragon dressed in a blue samurai armor and weilding two long samurai swords appeared behind Edo and roared .

" Amazing ! " Subaru exclaimed . " It's just like Bolbalzak Swordflash Dragon , but... "

" But its civilization is water , it has 6000 power and it's a blocker which also can't be blocked ! Sadly , it just breaks one shield . The rest is just like normal Bolbalzak . "

" Heh , so it untaps after it was first tapped , right , Edo-kun ? "

" Exactly ! I now cross it with Dragon Gear – Swordflash Legend ! " Edo said and a giant shiny sword appeared in Bolbalzak's hands isntead of its normal swords . " This cross gear can be crossed to Bolbalzak for free and it makes him break an extra shield ! Also , Bullet Shirou makes him a speed attacker ! Ike , Bolbalzak , double break his shields ! "

Subaru took cover as Edo's dragon slashed two of his shields .

" Then I untap Bolbalzak and attack with him once again ! " Edo said and the dragon slashed Subaru's final shields .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send your Aqua Surfer back to your hand ! " Subaru said sweating . " I must say , this dragon of yours rocks , Edo-kun ! "

" Thanks , Suby , but now we must finish this ! Bullet Shirou Barett , totomeda ! "

A red fire bird flew towards Subaru and hit him . The black haired boy flew a few meters away . He didn't have a hard landing , but he did get some small scratched . Edo packed his cards and then walked to him to help him get up .

They then noticed that the sun began to set . The sky was slowly turning from blue to pink . Subaru smiled as he put his deck back in his pocket and said :

" Edo-kun , wanna play a little game ? "

" What game , Suby ? "

" Follow me and you'll see ! " Subaru said and began running in the park .

" God , where's some roller blades when you need them ? " Edo said crying and followed his friends .

The wind was blowing behind them making them feel the smell of summer air much better . Subaru was enjoying being touched by the Sun's rays while running . Edo finally catch up with him and said :

" What are you planning to do ? "

" Day by day I can see the change affecting the world in which we live . And I feel that I have no satisfaction in this cage where I'm the one ! "

" Wait a minute , Suby , what cage ? "

" I know you're a great and trustworthy friend , Edo-kun , so keep on with me if you want to find out ! "

Subaru then ran even faster , much to Edo's despair . But then Edo saw a pair of roller blades on a bench . The brown haired boy stopped from running and put those roller blades on his feet . Now he was able to advance once again and soon he catched up with the running Subaru .

" Waddaya think of this , Suby ? "

" Haha , awesome , Edo-kun ! "

" So what did you want to tell me ? " Edo asked and then Subaru's facial expression changed to a little more serious , but still happy one .

" Age by age I have seen mighty duelists look at me with confusion and hate . And I feel that I have got a reputation almost as big as the Black Death's , but it's still not enough to satisfy my needs ! " Subaru said and reached his hand to the confused Edo . " Follow me now and I'll show you the way to become stronger ! Then defeating others we'll celebrate our victory ! "

" I really don't understand what's this all about . "

Subaru got a bit saddened and took his hand back . He then stopped by a bench where another pair of roller blades was abandoned . He fast put them on and then rushed back to Edo . Now the two friends were caught in a roller race .

" Meh , why couldn't they abandon some rollers with jets instead of these pathetic things from the last century ? "

" Haha , that's a good one , Suby ! Actually , I was thinking of how the rollers of the last century looked like . "

The race finished outside the park on a small hill . Edo was the one which won , but Subaru didn't mind . The black haired boy stood on the top of the hill admiring the nightfall . Edo then walked to him and asked :

" Are you sad because you lost ? "

" No , no , it's not that , Edo-kun , I just... "

" What is it ? "

" Into this cage I'm walking in the night . Another day's gone by , but there is no real change inside . This is not my real home , that's why I keep wandering around ! There is no peace in this Cage of Light ! "

" Oh , so this 'cage' is actually our city ? And you're saddened because even if we keep changing technologically , as humans we remain the same boring and busy persons ? "

Subaru nodded and Edo started to regret the fact that he didn't understand the words spoken from Subaru's heart earlier . But both of them knew that there was something they could do to change the current situation . Subaru then spotted two belts with jets near a tree . He ran to them and was immediately followed by Edo . Subaru then showed the two jets to his friends and said :

" If we can't change other's behaviour by words then let's have fun in our own way and maybe this will make them at least think about their lives ! "

" Excellent idea , Suby ! " Edo said while weapping the jet belt around his belly .

Subaru did the same as Edo and both walked to the top of the hill . Subaru and Edo smiled at eachother and then pressed the start buttons on the jets . Subaru then spoke :

" So... let's... FLY ! "

The two friends took off in the air and were now having not a race , but a friendly speed flight . The people of the city were amazed of seeing the two boys flying around like that without no worries . They went through alleys , streets and sometimes buildings with open windows . Now Subaru was once again ahead of Edo .

" Haha , now this is what I call fun ! " Edo spoke amazed .

" If they realized our plan , then we have raised the strength of our people , Edo-kun , and this city may have become the gate to the human race's pride ! "

" What are you talking about now ? "

" I mean that we have all the technological power like the other cities in the world , but if our population also remembers that having fun is also a part of their lives... "

" Then we have really evolved ! " Edo exclaimed . " I like your idea , Suby , it's fun ! "

" Like this whole day has been , Edo-kun ! " Subaru replied and reached his hand once again . " Come on , my friend , try to take my hand in this Cage of Light ! "

Edo reached his hand as well and the two friends were now holding eachother's hand while flying . The sun had finally disappeared from the sky and the shiny silver moon was now behind them . Subaru and Edo looked at the city and saw that more lights were appearing and that the people were leaving their work earlier than usual to be with their friends and family . The two friends laughed happily because Subaru's plan was a big success .

Meanwhile at the mansion . Dinner was ready , but Subaru and Edo were missing . Tsugumi got up from the table and went outside . There she saw Subaru and Edo landing with their jets near her . The blonde girl smiled and went back in the mansion with the two boys .


	54. Romantic dinner

It was another hot sunset . The crimson sun was slowly disappearing into the west , leaving the dark night to conquer the celestial glass once more . Near the suburbs of the city landed a flying broomstick . On it there was an old blonde witch dressed in yellow clothes and with long curly hair and colored bracelets on her hands . It was none other than Tabitha ! Holding her back was a blue haired girl dressed in a fancy white Italian uniform . It was Hanna . Tabitha got off the broomstick and walked towards the city . She stared at it with hate and vengance wishes in her eyes .

" They thought it was over , but they were wrong ! I have returned to avenge Rezo's death and become the new Queen of Evil ! And this time they will not stop me ! Hahahahahahaha ! "

Tabitha then made a blue crystal ball appear in her hands . She waved her right hand above it and said :

" Crystal ball , future shower ,

Bring me the big spoiler

Show me in the night

The way to regain my might ! "

The crystal ball began to glow and slowly , an image appeared . It was the image of a plain filled with green grass on which Subaru and Tsugumi were running and were happily laughing . Tabitha smiled at the image of the two lovers and said :

" Of course , that damned couple which can make me lose all my powers and even kill me if they ever made love ! Must I destroy them immediately in order to get my powers to their fullest and become the Queen of Evil ? "

Then the crystal ball showed another image and Tabitha stared at it with her big blue eyes . She then smiled once again and said :

" I would've never believed that if I wouldn't have seen it with my own eyes ! "

" What is it , Tabitha-sama ? " Hanna asked .

" I have found the way to destroy Subaru's and Tsugumi's love and to become the Queen of Evil in the same time ! " Tabitha said smiling . " If I learn that certain spell and get what I need in the same time... tonight evreyone will change for good ! You stay here , Hanna , and wait ! If I don't return till dawn , go to this adress ! "

Tabitha handed Hanna a piece of paper and then flew away with her broomstick . Hanna sighed and layed down on the grass . The blue haired girl stared at the stars and began dreaming of Ichiro , her dear friend , which was now dead .

The sun had disappeared from the sky , leaving the moon and stars to rule over the now black celestial glass . At the mansion it was all calm and quiet . Subaru entered the kitchen and saw Mizuna getting ready to make a new recipe which she would later program in the cooking machine .

" Smells good ! What are you cooking there , Mizuna-san ? "

" Subaru-sama , what a nice surprise ! " Mizuna exclaimed .

" Aham... "

" I mean , Subaru-kun , you scared me ! And no , I wasn't cooking , I was just getting all the ingredients I need . "

" Oh , ok then . " Subaru said and approached the maid . " Listen , I need you to do me a favor . "

" What is it , Subaru-kun ? " Mizuna replied sweating .

" I'm planning to organize a romantic dinner on the balcony tonight for my dear Tsugumi . What do you say if I ask you to cook something special for us ? "

" Actually , Subaru-kun , I must spoil to you the fact that Tsugumi-san wanted to cook for us tonight . That's why I only gathered these ingredients . She should begin to cook a little later and... "

" Speak no more , Mizuna-san ! I understand now . You leave Tsugumi to cook and come with me to the balcony to get the dinner ready ! "

" As you wish , Subaru-kun ! " Mizuna said and bowed .

Subaru then left the kitchen and headed to the game room . Edo was lying on a big red pillow and had a black helmet on his head . He was aiming his game console towards a giant screen on which a rocket was fighting a giant UFO . The UFO was attacking it with invader spaceships and lasers . Subaru sighed and pressed the 'pause' button on the other console . Edo took off his helmet and turned to his friend .

" What happened , Suby ? "

" Listen , Edo-kun , I'm planning a romantic dinner . What I want you to do is to not spoil the surprise to Tsugumi and to not disturb us "

" Don't worry , I'll be here playing my games until dawn . "

" Good . Oh well , see ya tomorrow , Edo-kun ! " Subaru said and left the room .

" See ya , Suby ! " Edo replied and put his helmet back on .

A few minutes later , Tsugumi entered the kitchen and Mizuna left her alone with the ingredients . The girl giggled a bit and then began to think of what to cook .

" Hm... now that's hard . Probably I should let my heart guide me . " Tsugumi said and began thinking of Subaru while taking some meat and putting it on the table .

Guided by the image of her lover , the girl began cutting the meat and then adding whatever she felt it was good or whatever the cooking book said it was good . Subaru wasn't having an easier time either . He was sitting at the balcony and giving orders to Mizuna .

" Ok , the table and chairs are set . Now we must take care of the estetic matters ! "

" What are your orders , Subaru-kun ? "

" Mizuna , you go and bring four red candles and the wine . I'll take care of the dishes and music . " Subaru said and left .

" Man , he's so serious when it comes to romantic dinners . I don't wanna know what he's got in mind for the music... " Mizuna thought and sweated .

After an hour evreything was done . The table had two plates with the silver forks on the left and the silver knives on the right . Both the forks and knives were lying on red napkins with hearts . Four red candles were lit and were put symetrically to create a rectangle . A vase with a rose and an iris was sitting in the middle of the table . And near the table there were two speakers from which there could be heared a beautiful piano and guitar melody which was the most romantic thing Subaru had ever heared . The melody could easily melt a person's heart and make them feel the powerful emotion known as love . Subaru stood with his arms crossed in front of the table and said :

" I must say , Mizuna-san , we've outdone ourselves ! "

" You have great ideas for a romantic dinner, Subaru-kun ! " Mizuna replied . " Do you wish to change your clothes in something more fitting ? "

" Nah , I'm good as I look now with my Lordi T shirt and jeans . I won't mind Tsugumi coming in her red dress and white shirt either . "

" If you say so... "

Then Tsugumi came by elevator to the balcony . When she saw what Subaru and Mizuna had gotten ready , she couldn't believe it . The emotion was so powerful that she almost dropped the plates with foods .

" Oh my... I can't believe it ! Subaru , you've... "

" I've been planning this for a long time ago , my love ! " Subaru replied and approached Tsugumi . " A romantic dinner with food made with the help of your love , details made with the help of my love and good music is an excellent combination ! "

" You can surely say that again ! " Tsugumi replied and rushed to the table with the food prepared by her .

Mizuna blushed while admiring the two lovers and then decided that she should not ruin their moment . The maid bowed to Subaru and left using the elevator . Tsugumi then began putting the food on the table as Subaru sat down on his chair . The blonde girl proudly put the dishes with the food made by her and presented them to Subaru :

" First we have a Romantic Appetizer consisting of Skewers of Melon , Jamon and Mini Mozarella , all served with a dry Riesling . Next we have the Romantic Main Dish which is a Rack of Lamb with Herbes de Provence and Roasted Tomatoes , served with a Pinot Noir . And finally , the Romantic Desert is Easy by Decadent Nutella Mousse , served with Tawny Port . And if you're thirsty after all that , I brought you some white wine from Romania called Galbena de Odobesti . "

" Odobesti Yellow , huh ? Sounds tasty indeed ! You actually made all this food , my dear Tsugumi ? "

" I must say that I did use the cook book for some help on the Lamb... " Tsugumi said blushing and bit her finger . " But the rest is made by me , really ! I've seen so many romantic movies with great food and I wanted to try my own recipe ! And besides , I knew that you'd really love Romanian wine... "

Subaru then looked at Tsugumi and the blonde girl closed her eyes and began to panic . She feared that he didn't like her cooking and that she had ruined evreything .

" Tsugumi... "

" I'm really sorry if you don't like it ! " Tsugumi suddenly spoke and bowed . " I tried my best and... "

" Calm down , my love , I wanted to ask you to take a seat and enjoy the meal . "

" R-right... "

Tsugumi sat on the chair and looked at Subaru . His warm eyes had caught her in a romantic spell and she couldn't free herself from it . His smile was stoning her and his voice was melting her heart . Subaru's heart was beating faster and faster . The image of his beautiful Tsugumi was making him feel as if he was beyond paradise , in a distant world where love was the only thing that ever mattered . Her innocent face and her trembling arms made his heart jump from his chest and then fall back in it . All he wished was to be with her and protect her forever .

The dinner was a silent one . The two lovers ate , but didn't speak . They preferred to listen to the romantic music while admiring eachother . No words could describe the love they felt in that night . It was as if they were living a dream . They didn't notice how time went by , nor the fact that the lights in the mansion were out and evreyone else was asleep .

Now it was past midnight and the two lovers had also finished the desert . After that , Subaru got up and stared at the sky with a happy smile on his face .

" What's the matter , Subaru ? "

" Oh , nothing , my love , I was just reflecting my life and remembering the happy and sad moments . I must say that no matter how many lives would I live , I'd never be truly happy if I didn't meet you ! "

" Really ? " Tsugumi asked and blushed again .

" Yes ! And when we have moments like this , I wish for them to last forever ! I look back at the time when my father kicked me out of the family and I was nothing but a thirteen year old which only wanted to have fun . I thought that after a few years of wandering , I would probably find a bordel or something and spend the rest of my days with those wemen . "

" Haha , I never knew you had such a dirty mind ! " Tsugumi laughed .

" Yes , but then I met you... From that moment I knew what true love meant . It was as if we had this connection and I felt as if we knew eachother for a lifetime ! "

" Subaru... "

" Tsugumi , will you promise to always be by my side and shower me with your deep affection ? " Subaru said and took Tsugumi's right hand in his .

" I... " Tsugumi spoke astonished and blushed even harder . " I... I promise to always be there with you and share my love with yours ! From now on , my dear , each moment spent together shall be special ! "

Subaru and Tsugumi closed their eyes and approached their heads . Their lips were about to touch , but then a lazor beam went through the space between their faces and destroyed their table . Subaru and Tsugumi panicked and looked up . The two then saw Tabitha descending to their balcony with her broomstick .

" Add that kiss to that horrible 'dinner' act of yours and I would definetly throw up ! " Tabitha spoke discusted .

" Tabitha ! " both Subaru and Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Well , if it's not the tooth fairy , then I guess it's me , Tabitha Lenox ! "

Tabitha landed on the balcony and made the broomstick disappear . Then she approached the couple with an evil grin on her face .

" What are you up to now , witch ? " Subaru asked and gently pushed Tsugumi behind him so that she wouldn't get harmed .

" I have come to destroy your love once and for all ! " Tabitha said and glared at the two scared lovers . " And when I'm finished with you , I'll become the new Queen of Evil ! "

" No , this will NEVER happen ! " Subaru said and took out his glowing deck . " Tabitha Lenox , I challenge you to a duel ! "

" Meh , I accept your challenge , chosen darkness duelist ! " Tabitha replied and took out her glowing deck .

Two dueling tables appeared out of the balcony's floor . Subaru and Tabitha put their decks on them , raised their five shields and drew five cards in their hands . The duel between the two had begun .

" I summon Bloody Squito ! " Subaru said .

" I also summon Bloody Squito ! " Tabitha said .

" I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma ! Maxval makes all my darkness creatures cost 1 mana less ! "

" I summon Dark Division , Demonic Eye Beast ! Dark Division makes all my Romanoff creatures cost 1 mana less ! "

" Tsh , I summon Super Trash Train , Fuuma Devil ! " Subaru said and a giant red train with big spikes in the front of the locomotive appeared behind him .

" Heh , Mad Deck Evolution , I summon Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God ! " Tabitha said smiling . " I attack with Mad Romanoff and use his meteorburn to cast Volcano Charger for free from my mana zone and destroy your Maxval ! Ike , Mad Romanoff , break his shield ! "

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! Trash Train lets me draw 3 cards because 3 creatures were destroyed this turn ! Now my turn , I cast Corpse Charger and return the Bloody Squito from the graveyard to my hand ! Corpse Charger goes to my mana zone , meaning that now I have 2 more free mana , so I summon Bloody Squito once again ! Ike , Trash Train , break her shield ! "

Tabitha took cover as the red train went through one of her shields and broke it to pieces . The witch waited for the shield shards to unite into a card and then she took it to her hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Primal Scream ! "

Tabitha then put the top 4 cards from her deck to her graveyard and returned one card from her graveyard to her hand . The cards which went to the graveyard were Fernando the 7th Emperor of Mystic Light , Miraculous Meltdown , Greatest Caesar the Dark Kaiser and God Gut . The card which she returned to her hand was Sir Virginia , Mystic Lgiht Insect . Now it was her turn .

" I charge mana and cast Grudge Gathering ! " Tabitha said smiling . " Destroy his Trash Train ! "

Subaru stared shocked at his red train which blew up immediately . But the black haired boy didn't panic because he still had the upper hand in the duel . He had more shields , more cards in his hand and more mana . He could easily make a comeback and show Tabitha who was the boss . Subaru drew his next card with confidence and then smiled to Tabitha . The witch got a little nervous as Subaru charged mana and showed the card he drew .

" My turn , I summon Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! " Subaru said . " Olzekia's effect will destroy our Bloody Squitos and Dark Division , thus cleaning our field of other creatures ! "

" Heh , nice plan , Subaru , but I've still got a surprise cooking for you ! " Tabitha replied and started her turn . " I summon Inaba Geeze , the Explosive and end ! "

" My turn , I evolve Olzekia into XENOM , the Reaper King ! "

Then _a_ giant dark blue demon with no face and giant bat wings which was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head appeared behind Subaru . Tabitha stared amazed at XENOM and remembered her last duel when she and Shagrath had faced Subaru and Tsugumi . The witch was a little scared , but she remembered that they had won that duel and decided that she shouldn't worry .

" Heh , go on , do your best ! " Tabitha spoke with an overconfident voice .

" My pleasure ! " Subaru replied . " XENOM , the Reaper King , triple break her shields now ! "

Tabitha took cover as XENOM used his staff and broke three of her shields . The witch was disappointed to not get any shield trigger in her shields . Subaru then continued saying :

" Break Bonus ! Since XENOM is still in the battlezone after breaking your shields , you'll discard a card for each shield he broke ! "

" Grr... " Tabitha murmed as she discarded three cards . " This is not over , my turn ! I charge mana and summon Sir Virginia , Mystic Light Insect ! With Sir Virginia's effect I'll return Greatest Caesar from the graveyard to my hand ! And since Greatest Caesar is an evolution creature which shares a race with Sir Virginia , I'll summon him for free ! Vortex Evolution , I evolve Inaba Geeze and Sir Virginia into Greatest Caesar , the Dark Kaiser ! "

A giant dragon dressed in an enormous knight armor appeared behind Tabitha and stared at Subaru with an evil glare . Subaru got scared and so did Tsugumi . Tabitha laughed and then spoke :

" Hahahahaha , you cannot defeat me ! Face it , you're a goner ! Ike , Greatest Caesar , triple break his shields ! Also , his effect will let me cast Terror Pit from my graveyard for free and destroy your XENOM ! "

Many demonic hands appeared above Tabitha and they grabbed Subaru's XENOM and smashed him until he blew up . Then Greatest Caesar roared loudly and fired a powerful fire beam from his mouth which broke three of Subaru's shields . Subaru stood motionless with his head layed down . Tabitha made an evil laugh as the black haired boy got sorrounded by the shield shards .

" Hahahahaha , I told you that you cannot defeat me no matter what ! " Tabitha said .

Tsugumi got worried and slowly approached Subaru . The blonde girl put her hand on his shoulder and this woke him up from his thoughts . The black haired boy turned to the blonde girl and his brown eyes met her blue eyes . The two didn't knew what to say to eachother at that point . All they could do was blush and admire eachother .

Tabitha felt that her witch powers were slowly fading away because of their love . She had to somehow make them stop sharing that emotion , so she said :

" Wake up , chosen darkness duelist , you have a duel to finish ! "

" Oh yeah , the duel ! " Subaru replied and took the cards from his shields to his hand . " Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! "

" Yay , go , Subaru ! " Tsugumi cheered and went back to her place .

" Aqua Surfer will send Greatest Caesar back to your hand ! "

" Tsh , is that all you can do ? " Tabitha spoke unimpressed .

" Actually , I have more up my sleeve ! " Subaru replied and his hand glew with a purple light as he drew his next card . " Grave Evolution , I summon not one , but two Death March , Reaper of Death ! "

" WHAT ? This means that even if I get a shield trigger in my final shield... "

" That shield trigger won't save you , Tabitha ! Kinda similar to Rezo's duel against Kokujo-kun , right ? "

" You bastard ! "

" Ike , Aqua Surfer , break her final shield ! " Subaru ordered and a blue creature riding a surf board flew towards Tabitha and broke her final shield .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy one of your Death Marchs ! " Tabitha said sweating .

" Hah , exactly as in Rezo's final duel ! This is it , Tabitha , you're now gonna share Rezo's fate and follow him into the depths of hell ! Death March , Reaper of Death , totomeda ! "

Tabitha got hit by Subaru's creature and was blasted a few miles away in the air , but then the witch took out her broomstick and landed on it . Then she flew back towards Subaru and Tsugumi and got two lightnings in her hands .

" I shall not give up ! No matter how much you try , I'll never die ! And if I must die , then I will die destroying your love and dragging you in the depths of hell with me ! " Tabitha shouted and threw her lightnings towards the two .

Subaru ran to Tsugumi and covered her so that she wouldn't get hit . But when the lightnings were about to hit him , the Leo pendant from his neck shined and created a golden aura around him which protected him from the lightnings . Subaru and Tsugumi were both amazed of that . They both got up and looked at Tabitha once again . The witch was surprised of seeing Subaru protected by a golden aura and wondered what was happening to him . Then a card came out from Subaru's pockets and floated in the air . It was Subaru's Deathliger , Lion of Chaos card . The Leo pendant fired a powerful golden beam on the Deathliger card and suddenly a giant lion demon made of bones , with a blue mane and yellow horns came out of the card and roared .

" It's Deathliger ! " Subaru exclaimed .

" Curses ! How did he manage to do that ? " Tabitha asked herself .

" Could it be your Leo pendant ? " Tsugumi asked and admired the silver lion shaped pendant .

" That old lady said that I was the chosen one... Does this mean that this pendant has powers which can be unlocked by me ? " Subaru said and stared a bit at the Leo pendant . " Oh well , I'll see of that problem some other time . Now , Deathliger , show Tabitha what it means to deal with the power of love ! "

The lion demon roared and attacked Tabitha just after he heared the order . The creature was so fast that Tabitha didn't have time to even dodge it . Deathliger landed on Tabitha's broomstick and both he and the witch fell on the ground . Tabitha got up and tried to attack the creature , but then felt that she didn't have anymore powers . She looked up and saw Subaru and Tsugumi hugging .

" Curses ! Couldn't they choose a better time for their love crap ? " Tabitha spoke frustrated and then turned back to Deathliger . " Kitty , kitty . Nice kitty , you don't want to harm aunt Tabitha , now do you ? "

Deathliger roared one more time and then attacked Tabitha with both its claws and jaws . Subaru and Tsugumi heared the witch's screams of pain , but didn't want to look . Once the screams stopped , the Leo pendant stopped shining and Deathliger went back to the card frm which it came . Subaru took the card and stared at it while Tsugumi stared at the pendant .

" Wow , that's one awesome item you have there , Subaru ! Where did you get it ? "

" Tsugumi , it's a long story . How about I tell it tomorrow ? Right now I want to enjoy these moments ! " Subaru said smiling .

" Fine then , let's retreat in the bedroom , my dear ! " Tsugumi replied .

The couple entered the elevator and descended back in the mansion . They went straight to the bedroom and locked the door . With the love of Subaru and Tsugumi triumphing over evil , the city was once again safe .


	55. Farewell, our ways part

It was a rainy summer night . In a mansion located on a large plain far away from any sign of civilisation there were strange lights coming out the windows . Explosions could be heared in the large building and they were followed by the screams filled with horror of its inhabitants . In a room with golden walls , beautiful paintings and large bed covered by pink sheets there was a duel going on . The dead body of a woman was lying down on the floor behind a tall blonde man with blue eyes which was wearing modern and expensive clothes . That man was the one dueling and he had two shields left and no creatures . He stared at his opponent's giant robotic dragon made of blue metal and then spoke to him :

" Mutsuhito , you bastard ! "

" From now on , your family will cease to exist and its power and wealth shall belong to me ! " another tall man dressed in a grey uniform and with short black hair answered . " The Geki family shall rule from now on ! "

" You fool ! Do you know what will happen if the parliment finds out what you did here tonight ? "

" They will never find out ! My agents and fellow colleagues had already arranged evreything with the police ! We'll just say that there was a leak of gas while you were all sleeping and then somehow a fire was turned on and the whole building blew up ! "

" Curse you , Mutsuhito ! You'll never get away with it ! " the blonde man shouted .

" Actually , my dear friend , I already had ! " the black haired man said and showed a card . " I summon Pyrofighter Magnus ! "

A red lizard dressed in a white cosmonaut suit appeared behind Mutsuhito . The man grinned and said :

" Ike , Bolmeteus Steel Dragon , throw his final shields to the graveyard ! "

The blue robotic dragon roared and fired two lazors from the guns on his shoulders . The lazors broke the blonde man's final shields and the cards went to the graveyard meaning that he couldn't use shield triggers .

" This is it ! Pyrofighter Magnus , finish him off , totomeda ! " Mutsuhito ordered .

The red lizard ran really fast and in the next moment it reached the blonde man . Magnus roared and slashed the man in two with one of its claws . The blonde man's body fell on the floor next to a little girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes . Mutsuhito turned to the girl and spoke to her with an evil grin on his face :

" Ah , you noticed how I killed your father ! Don't worry , you are next , Tsugumi ! "

Tsugumi woke up screaming a loud 'no'. Her scream woke up Subaru from his sleep . Tsugumi got up from her bed and stared at the window . A new sunny day had begun . Subaru also got up from the bed and walked to the blonde girl .

" Did you have a nightmare , Tsugumi ? "

" Yes , Subaru , it was horrible ! I had it when I was a little child , but I never thought that it would come back to haunt me ! " Tsugumi said and wiped the tears off her eyes .

" Don't worry , my dear , I'm here ! " Subaru said and hugged the scared girl . " I'll always be there to protect you , no matter what ! "

After an hour the two lovers went downstairs to eat . But when they reached the eating room , they were greeted by Mizuna . The girl had a serious look on her face and seemed worried .

" Hey , what's going on , Mizuna-san ? " Subaru asked .

" Subaru-san , Tsugumi-chan , you have received an important message ! " Mizuna replied .

" What is so important , Mizuna-san ? " Tsugumi asked and sat on a table .

" See for yourselves ! " Mizuna said and took out a metal ball .

The maid placed the metal ball on the table and pressed a button on it . Immediatelly a hologram of Subaru's father came out from it . Both Subaru and Tsugumi were surprised of seeing that Subaru's father was the one which had sent them a message .

" My dear son , Subaru , I , your father , wish you visit me pretty soon for a talk . You and your friends have defeated Rezo and for this I am proud , but many things have happened while you sat down and relaxed through these few months . My adress is written on the back of this message ball . I hope that you and your girlfriend accept my invitation ! See you soon ! "

The hologram disappeared as Subaru and Tsugumi looked at eachother . Mizuna was worried that something bad would happen , but then she heared the two lovers talking to eachother .

" What do you say ? Shall we go visit your father ? " Tsugumi suggested .

" Why not , Tsugumi ? It won't hurt afterall... " Subaru replied .

" Ok , I'm gonna go and prepare your stuff for leaving ! " Mizuna said and was about to leave .

" Don't , Mizuna-san ! " Tsugumi stopped her . " We'll be back fast ! It's just a visit ! "

Mizuna stared at Subaru and Tsugumi with the same worry inside her . She just didn't feel that Subaru's father's invitation was something good for them . The girl watched how Subaru and Tsugumi took a rocket taxi and left for the mansion of Subaru's father with sadness in her eyes . After the two left , Edo came to Mizuna and said :

" Good morning , Mizuna-san ! What's going on ? "

" Edo-san , we have great problems ! Subaru-san and Tsugumi-chan had received an invitation from Subaru's father and they actually left ! "

" What's the problem with that ? Afterall , it's just Suby's dad . "

" You don't get it ! " Mizuna shouted and bursted into tears . " That invitation had something vague , I simply know it ! I don't trust that man and I fear that he might do something awful to them ! "

" Er... maybe I should go to his place and see what's going on ? " Edo suggested .

" That would be a great idea , Edo-san ! It's good that I wrote his adress on a piece of paper . "

Meanwhile at Subaru and Tsugumi . The two were sitting on their seats in the rocket and admiring the cities and plains above which their rocket was flying . It was a really beautiful sight because it was summer and all the plants and animals were living their lives and practically giving more life to the plains . The emerald green grass was filled with cows , sheep and horses which were eating it . Near them were crystal clean rivers in which ducks bathed . Tsugumi was daydreaming of Subaru and herself going on a vacation in a place like that , but then her heavenly dreams were ruined by Subaru which woke her up saying :

" Such beautiful sights ! "

" Agreed . If only there would be more places like this , this planet would evolve more ! " Tsugumi replied and turned back to Subaru .

Subaru looked at his window and saw that they were approaching a giant mansion which was near another city . This mansion had long beautiful gardens , giant statues and fountains , lakes which were in almost evrey garden and many armed robots guarding the places . Both Subaru and Tsugumi felt something like pangs in their hearts . Subaru then quickly took Tsugumi's hands in his and said :

" I don't know what's gotten into me . "

" Me neither . " Tsugumi answered .

" My love , no matter what happens , I swear that I will never stop loving you and caring for you ! You shall always be in my mind and I will never give up fighting for a future for the two of us ! "

" Subaru... I also swear to you that no matter what hardships the future brings to me , I will never stop fighting for you , for justice and for our love ! Our relationship is strong , emotional and has survived so many challenges ! "

" We will always be together... " Subaru added and approached his lips to Tsugumi's .

" Together in both life and death.. " Tsugumi added and approached her lips to Subaru's .

" For our love knows no limits ! Our love shall exist forevermore ! " both whispered to eachother as if they were making a vow .

The two lovers kissed while hugging eachother . The kiss had so much passion and pleasure as if it was their final one . The romantic moment remained hidden behind the walls of the rocket until it finally landed in front of the great mansion . After paying the driver , Subaru and Tsugumi got out of the rocket holding eachother's hands and walked to the mansion's entrance . There they were greeted by a maid and were escorted to the main chamber of the mansion . On their way to the chamber they went through a giant hall with golden walls which were filled with original paintings from the romantic era . The paintings were chosen with great taste and there were also statues with mini fountains between each two paintings . Both Subaru and Tsugumi were amazed of seeing such a rare beauty , but they didn't have time to admire it . Soon the reached a giant golden door with purple lines which was opened by the maid . The couple entered the next room which was a giant room with big windows , tables filled with flowers , chairs , gambling tables , a fountain in the middle and two thrones near the other side of the room . Near the fountain was sitting Subaru's father . The man was wearing his normal grey uniform and was smiling to them , something rare .

" Subaru , my dear son , it's so great to see you alive and well ! " Subaru's father said .

" Tsh , spare me the fake worries , dad ! Last time I saw you , you were about to slice me in two if I wouldn't have won that duel ! " Subaru replied with a sour voice . " How about you hurry up with what you wanted to discuss and let me get out of here ? I have better stuff to do ! "

Subaru's father stared at his son shocked . How dared his son speak so disrespectful to him ? Right in that moment he wanted to go and teach his son a lesson , but he calmed down fast and said :

" There is no need to be disrespectful , Subaru ! I just wanted to have a special father/son discussion with the only boy I have ! "

" What's wrong with you , father ? Since when did you begin to CARE for your son ? " Subaru asked and looked at his father with a suspicious stare .

" Oh , but I always cared for you , silly ! Now why don't we go to a table and have a nice tea while chatting ? " Subaru's father suggested and walked to a table which was arranged by the maids .

The table was filled with tea cups , a tea pot made of porcelain from which steam was coming out , a plate on which bread , butter and jam were lying , a cup of sugar and a vase with a rose . Subaru's father was the first to take a seat . Subaru and Tsugumi looked at him with some caution and then took seats as well . Subaru's dad took some sugar with a spoon and began mixing it in his cup of tea . He then looked at his son and said :

" As you probably know , Subaru , things have changed since Rezo's defeat . "

" Yes , I know , father . "

" But by changing things I mean something really special ! "

" Like ? "

" Subaru , I have finally managed to find the descendants of your cousins aka your nephews ! "

" What ? " Subaru spoke shocked and stared at his father as if he had seen a ghost . " You mean that our family hasn't disappeared ? "

" No , our family shall never disappear as long as we fight for existence ! " Subaru's father said and drank a little from his cup of tea . " Now I will be straight from this point , Subaru . You see , your nephews have three children , but they are all girls ! "

" So what's the problem with that ? You don't like great-granddaughters ? "

" It's not that , Subaru . The thing is that our family is growing much more in both financial and political power ! When evreything went back to normal , my first concern was to find our family , which was easy . They were living in this mansion as lazy asses and weren't interested that much in my goals due to the fact that they didn't have that much money . But after I entered politics once again , the power of the family began to grow and now we are one of the most important families in the country ! The family now ownes over 500 milion yens and I am now prime minister of the country ! "

" What the... you've got to be kidding me ! " Subaru spoke shocked . " You , my father , the prime minister ? I can't believe that you have gained such power ! "

" Hehehe , well you'd better believe it , Subaru ! Because , my son , here is the point why I called you here : This family has only girls and the family name must be continued ! For this I will accept you back in the family and from now on you shall live here with us ! "

" What ? Impossible ! I don't want to go back in this family ! "

Subaru's father then got up from the chair and pressed a red button from a remote lying on the table . Two robot guards came and imobilized Subaru and Tsugumi by their hands . Then Subaru's father walked to his son and said :

" I'm afraid that you don't have a right of opinion in this matter ! "

" You leave my Subaru alone , you mean father ! " Tsugumi shouted .

" Heh , you're the one to talk , girly ? " Subaru's father said and turned to Tsugumi with an evil grin and evil stare from his eyes which gave her the freaks . " How dare you seduce my son and lure him in your trap , Shirayama girl ? "

Tsugumi then widened her eyes and mouth while staring at Subaru's father . When he pronounced that word 'Shirayama' she felt as if her past had knocked her in the head really hard . Then her nightmare began reappearing in her mind .

" Shirayama , huh ? Tell me , how did you know my family name ? " Tsugumi asked while sweating .

" Your family name ? But I thought that you didn't have a family , Tsugumi ! " Subaru said and turned his sight to the blonde girl .

" How come I knew your family name , dear Tsugumi Shirayama ? " Subaru's father replied with the same grin on his face . " That's because I was the one which slayed your father and the rest of your family back then ! "

Then the image of Tsugumi's dead mother , the evil man winning the duel , Tsugumi's father being killed by Magnus and her family's mansion bursting into flames came into the blonde girl's head . Tsugumi yelled really loud as if she was trying to unleash the demon which was locked in her so long . A sudden rage came into her mind and she wanted to avenge all those years in which she grew up as a orphan child with no family and no friends . Tsugumi then got up and tried to free herself from the robot's grip in order to jump at Subaru's father and make him pay for what he had done .

" It's no use , Tsugumi , the robot is far more powerful than your weak body ! " Subaru's father said and looked at the girl which was struggling .

" Murderer ! You're the one which destroyed my family and ruined my life ! " Tsugumi said while trying to get free . " You're Mutsuhito ! "

" Yes , I am the one which had finally put an end to the Shirayamas ! I am Mutsuhito Geki ! "

" I can't believe it , father ! How could you do such a cruel thing ? " Subaru asked .

" I did it for the family's own good , son ! The Shirayama family was annoying me by always playing fair and always being the good guys in the buisness . I couldn't stand it anymore ! So one night me and my agents went to the Shirayama mansion , killed evreyone through duels , stole their wealth and in the end burned down the whole place . It was the best night in my whole lifetime ! And since that night our family became rich and could finally afford evreything you had seen in your childhood ! "

" But with the cost of other people's lives and the ruined childhood of a poor innocent girl ? What kind of monster are you ? "

" Be thankful for evreything that I gave you , ungrateful son ! And besides , I thought that Tsugumi had been killed in the fire . I never knew she had survived . "

" I did survive ! " Tsugumi replied . " I ran away as far as I could after I've seen my father killed . Then the fire bursted , but I jumped out by a window and escaped the building . The only things which I had were my clothes which happened to have all my light cards in their pockets . I walked for a day through an endless plain while the sun was heating me more and more . I thought I was a goner , but then I found a farm which had an old man as owner . He took me under his protection , offered me food and raised me up until I was 10 . That was when he died and I had to take care of myself . "

" Tsh , I should've been more cautious and sent some killers to track you down , Tsugumi Shirayama ! " Subaru's father said and then turned to his son . " And you , Subaru , how dare you fall in love with the daughter of my worst enemy ? Do you wish to ruin the Geki family name ? "

" I couldn't care less of the family name , father , and I didn't even knew that Tsugumi had a family ! " Subaru said and looked at Tsugumi . " Why didn't you tell me that ? "

" I never wanted to bother you with the hardships which I went through as a child ! " Tsugumi said and tears fell from her eyes .

Then a silence fell upon the room . None of the three said anything to eachother for a few moments . It was so silent and even the tiniest fly could be heared easily . The robots were still keeping Subaru and Tsugumi trapped in their grip and Mutsuhito was enjoying that sight . The man then began walking in the room and said :

" Heh , both of you are in my hands and no one can save you ! Subaru , your glorious future is now at hand ! As for you , Tsugumi Shirayama , your doom awaits you ! "

" Stop it , father ! You cannot act like a God with our lives ! " Subaru protested .

" Hah , that's what you think ! " Mutsuhito laughed . " Watch how my power will change your lives ! There's no way you can escape my rage ! "

Subaru looked at his father and waited for the moment when he would turn his back to them . When he did that , Subaru jumped along with the robot holding him against the other robot . The robot which got hit freed Tsugumi from its grip and fell on the floor with a shortcircuit . Tsugumi got up and stared at Subaru , which was still held captive in the robot's grip .

" Subaru ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Run , Tsugumi , run far away from here ! " Subaru shouted .

" What the ? " Mutsuhito said after he saw what happened . " I have got my hands on you , Shirayama girl , I won't lose you once again ! Guards , seize her ! "

Many robot guards flew from the gardens towards the mansion . Tsugumi stared at Subaru with tears in her eyes . She desperately wanted to free him , but she knew she didn't have the power to do it .

" Subaru... "

" Tsugumi , I'm afraid that this is farewell ! But don't cry , my love ! You have to be strong ! " Subaru said .

" You're right ! Don't worry , Subaru , I swear that one day I will free you from your father and then our love will exist once again ! " Tsugumi said and ran to the door from which she and Subaru entered the room . " Until then , farewell , my darling ! "

Tsugumi ran away and a Subaru with tears in his eyes stared at the door . Deep down he wasn't suffering for the fact that he was held captive in the mansion , but for the fact that Tsugumi would now be hunted by Mutsuhito and his evil desires . The girl he loved would never have peace as long as his father existed .

Tsugumi was chased by the robot guards as soon as she exited the mansion . She ran from it with tears falling from her eyes . Her heart was aching with each beat it made . The idea that she would be separated from her dear Subaru once again felt like a nightmare ! But it was all far beyond her powers . All she could do was to run away far from that place and to escape the robots .

After half an hour of running and hiding she had finally got rid of the robots . Now she was lying in the middle of nowhere with no friends and no shelter . Tsugumi began to cry as she remembered that she was in the same situation years ago when she was four years old and her family was killed .

" Why ? Why must fate stand between me and Subaru ? Why must our love suffer so much ? Are we destined to live separated and suffer for eternity ? " she asked herself .

But then Tsugumi heared something moving on the grass . She made a few steps back scared , but soon five monsters appeared in front of her . They were a hellbull , a vampire countess , an extraterestrial manbeast , a mummy and a demon troll . She recognized them immediatelly , but then a woman dressed in a beautiful yellow dress and with long black hair came from the monster's backs .

" Wow , who are you ? " Tsugumi asked while staring impressed at the woman's beauty .

" It's really nice to meet you , chosen light duelist ! My name is Tarja Turunen ! " the black haired woman answered .


	56. The Geki family

Tsugumi had been helped up by the black haired woman . The blonde girl was still amazed that she and the five monsters had come to save her .

" What were you doing here , Tsugumi ? " the woman asked .

" Tarja was the name , right ? Well , Tarja-san , I was running from that castle . "

" What happened there ? " the demon troll asked and approached the blonde girl .

" Heh , long time no see , Mr Lordi ! Subaru really missed you and your band ! As for what happened... Subaru's father , Mutsuhito Geki , invited us to the castle for a chat . Everything was a trap . He called two robots to imobilize us and then he revealed to us that he was the one which killed my family years ago ! "

" What ? " Tarja said shocked . " The father of your lover is also the murderer of your family ? How horrible ! "

" I know . And after that he said that he wanted to kill me and force Subaru to enter his family once again and become the so called heir . This man is no good news , guys , and now my beloved Subaru is in his hands ! " Tsugumi said while tears were falling from her eyes .

Tarja layed town to Tsugumi and wiped the tears from her eyes . Then she spoke to her with a warm voice as if she was an angel sent from heaven to heal her wounds :

" Don't cry , my dear , we will find a way to rescue Subaru , I promise ! "

" Poor girl . " Amen whispered to Kita .

" To be separated from the guy which she loved by his father . Sucks ! " Kita replied .

" Will you guys stop talking behind her back ? " Awa spoke angrily towards the mummy and the alien . " She's facing hard moments and your talking won't help her ! "

" Hehe , calm down , Awa ! " Mr Lordi spoke to the vampire countess sweating .

While the four monsters were arguing , the fifth one , OX , the hellbull , walked to the field and smelled the air . He then senced danger and ran back to the others saying :

" Guys , an army of robots is coming ! We have to run away fast ! "

" But why ? We can easily destroy them with out powers ! " Kita replied smiling .

" No , we can't ! They're too many , trust me ! " OX shouted .

" OX is right , Mutsuhito's mansion is more guarded than even the pentagon ! " Tsugumi said and got up . " We must leave now ! "

" But where should we go , Tsugumi ? " Tarja asked .

" We'll go back to my mansion ! Awa , can you take us there ? "

" Wow , you have a mansion ? " Awa spoke surprised . " And sure , I can open a portal if you'll guide me to it ! "

" Ok , then let's go ! " Tsugumi said with a more stronger voice .

Awa waved her hands and a purple portal suddenly appeared in front of the group . Tsugumi was amazed of seeing such a miracle , but the Lordi band and Tarja were more than used to it . The five monsters and two girls then entered the portal fast and once the last one was gone , it disappeared . Then a whole army of armed robots came out of nowhere and sorrounded the plain , but in vain .

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito had finally ordered his robot to release Subaru and leave them alone . After getting up from the floor and wiping the dust off his clothes , Subaru turned to his father . Mutsuhito was standing at the window admiring the garden .

" Why , father ? Why did you do this to me ? " Subaru asked .

" Why ? Because you've been doing all of your foolish stuff for too much time ! " Mutsuhito replied and turned back to his son . " It is time for you to feel the hardships of responsiblitiy ! "

" What if I don't want to accept your offer of power ? What will you do then ? "

" Oh , but you don't understand , my dear Subaru ! You have no other choice than to follow my steps and become what I desire , a world leader ! Admit it ! Deep down inside you , you've always wished to be a leader ! "

That was when Subaru's Leo pendant began to shine . Subaru then felt in his heart the pride of a true king , of a lion , and he then 'heared' the call of the king of animals . He knew that his father's words were true and that he really wanted to become a powerful leader . That was the only opportunity he had and he didn't want to waste it . Subaru began to smile to his father as the Leo pendant stopped shining and Mutsuhito got surprised of Subaru's sudden change of attitude .

" Tsugumi can wait . Once I become a world leader , I'll make sure that my father won't have anymore power over me and then me and her will be reunited ! " Subaru thought and then spoke Mutsuhito . " Yes , my beloved father , I do want to become a true leader ! If this is my only chance , then I gladly accept your offer and I promise that I will make you proud and become the world leader which you wish ! "

Those words had struck Mutsuhito straight through his heart . Never in his life was he so happy like in that moment . The man then ran to his son and embraced him in his strong arms . Subaru closed his eyes and kept smiling while hugging his father as well .

" Welcome back to the family , son , I've missed you so much ! "

" I've missed you too , daddy ! " Subaru replied .

Back at Tsugumi's mansion . Mizuna was having a guest and was preparing some tea for him when a purple portal opened in front of her and Tsugumi along with Tarja and Lordi came out of it . Mizuna was obviously scared of the five monsters and she dropped her tea cup on the floor while yelling . Tsugumi calmed her down by telling her that the Lordi band meant no harm and that they were friends . After Mizuna prepared the tea for the guest , she began asking questions :

" Tsugumi-chan , what in the world are you doing with these monsters ? And where is Subaru-san ? "

" My beloved Subaru has been captured by his father ! " Tsugumi spoke with a saddened voice .

" Oh my God , I knew something bad would happen ! " Mizuna exclaimed .

" Exactly as I suspected ! " a voice said from the kitchen's door .

Evreyone then turned their sights to it and saw that it was none other than doctor Root ! The old man approached Tsugumi and Mizuna and looked at them with a serious face .

" Doctor , what are you doing here ? " Tsugumi asked .

" I knew that this day would come , Tsugumi ! The day when you would be hunted down my that bastard Mutsuhito ! "

" You knew about that , doctor ? "

" Yes , my innocent Tsugumi , I know of evreything which happened back in that fateful night when your family was destroyed ! " doctor Root said and a shadow covered his face . " I'm afraid that you're not safe here . Mutsuhito's robots will come to get you ! We have to act fast ! "

Evreyone stared at doctor Root confused . They didn't get a thing he said . Then the old doctor took out some papers from his pockets and handed them to Mizuna saying :

" I've written some bank checks for you and the other maids . There's no more need for you to work in this job ever again ! Just take your stuff and get out of here fast ! "

" B-but what about you guys ? " Mizuna asked .

" Don't worry , we can take care of ourselves ! " Tsugumi said .

" Yeah , especially with five monsters around . " Tarja added .

" Ok , but Tsugumi-chan , promise me that you and Subaru-san will be together once again ! "

" Don't worry , Mizuna-chan , I have already made this vow with him in my heart . We will fight with all our might in order to be together ! "

Mizuna stared at Tsugumi and was amazed of the will she had in her blue eyes . She knew from the start that the blonde girl would never give up and that she would do whatever it takes to be reunited with the boy of her dreams . Mizuna packed her stuff along with the other maids , shared the bank checks and then left the mansion after giving her best wishes to her ex-boss and her new friends .

Now that they were all alone , the group began discussing what they would do in the future . Doctor Root explained to them that he had monitorised Mutsuhito's activity throughout the last months and anticipated that evreything would've happened sooner or later . He explained to Tsugumi and the rest that with what they had at the moment they couldn't possibly free Subaru . The plan was to take all the valuable things from the mansion and move to the UFO . That spaceship would become their headquarters and hideout and its advantage was that it couldn't be tracked down easily by radars and it was a vehicle which could reach the speed of light , courtesy of its new engines . Tsugumi agreed with Root's plan and then Awa waved her hand once and made all the objects in the mansion fly in the air directly to the UFO . Then the rest of the group fast entered the vehicle which was now located in the mansion's backyard .

Tsugumi stood in one of the halls of the UFO and stared at the mansion through the wall's glass . It was hurting her to leave the home of her dreams , but she had no choice . Sacrifices had to be made in order to get back what she had lost . The blonde girl sobbed a bit and then she went back to normal .

" Subaru , one day I promise that I will avenge this injustice ! Mutsuhito will pay for what he had done to our lives ! " Tsugumi spoke in her mind .

Back at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito had shown Subaru the room in which he would sleep from that moment and keep his stuff . He had also given Subaru an expensive dark green suit which was weared only by important buisnessmen .

" What's with these clothes , father ? " Subaru asked while staring at the suit .

" It's for you to dress up in them . I really don't think that a becoming world leader would make good impression by coming dressed in horrible black T shirts and a pair of jeans ! " Mutsuhito said and looked discusted towards his son .

" Tsh , I dress however I please and I don't think that wearing these kind of clothes would make people think that I'm some kind of murderer ! "

Mutsuhito couldn't believe it , his son was sumbinating his authority . How dared he , a teenager , not respect his decisions and decide to show himself around with those horrible black clothes which would ruin both their image ? Only the thought of that was making Mutsuhito's anger grow . The man looked around and saw that no-one else was close the room . After that he ran to Subaru and fast grabbed him by the neck before he could even react . Mutsuhito raised Subaru in the air and stared at him with anger in his eyes . Subaru was scared and feared that something bad might happen to him .

" This is the only time I am saying this to you , Subaru ! I am the head of this family and you have to follow my orders and do whatever I say like an obeyant son ! "

" Tsh , if my freedom is taken away from me , then... "

" What freedom , Subaru ? Your freedom had disappeared from the moment you set foot in this mansion ! You are no longer free to do whatever you want ! You are now a Geki and you should be proud of it ! Understood ? "

" Y-yes , sir . " Subaru murmed .

Mutsuhito then layed his son down and gave him the green suit . Subaru stared at it a bit and began changing his clothes . Mutsuhito began walking to the door , but then he stoped and said :

" Oh , one more thing . "

" What is it , father ? " Subaru asked .

" Your hair is a mess . What's with that big length ? It's passing your shoulders and it's summer ! What are you , a man or a woman ? You need a haircut ! "

Now Subaru was the one shocked . Changing his clothes wasn't that bad , but cutting off his hair was the last drop . The Leo pendant began to shine once again and Mutsuhito felt a strange energy behind him . The man turned and saw that Subaru was sorrounded by a strange golden aura and he was also staring at his father with the fierce eyes of a beast which wanted to jump to its prey and slash it into pieces .

" Never will I allow my royal mane to be cut ! Touch my hair only once and you're dead , old man ! " Subaru spoke with the voice of a tyrant , even if he wasn't one .

" Unbelivable , he's changed all of a sudden ! Could it be because of that lion pendant he's wearing ? With this power and that attitude he would become the perfect tyrant ! " Mutsuhito thought and then spoke . " Ok , you've made your point , Subaru , you won't have a haircut ! "

" Good . " Subaru said and the aura disappeared .

" Change your clothes and come in the gardens in half an hour ! There's an important family meeting which you must attend . "

With these last words Mutsuhito left the room . The tall man took an elevator and descended to the basement of the mansion . There he walked through a secret hall which was lighted only by torches which were being held by the angel statues from the supporting pillars . Mutsuhito then stopped in front of a giant door on which the mark of the light civilisation was on the left side and the mark of the darkness civilisation was on the right side . Mutsuhito pushed the door open and entered a dark and obscure room which was filled with many spell books , ancient documents , jars with todes , spiders and other ingredients , old amulets , a bowl sitting in the north-east corner of the room and a mirror being stuck on the west-side wall . In the middle of the room was a pool with enchanted water in which an old lady was lying .

" Are you feeling better ? " Mutsuhito asked and approached the pool .

" Yes , I can feel the life force entering my body and the blood flowing through my veins again ! " the old lady replied and swam towards the part of the pool where Mutsuhito sat .

" Your idea of using my son as heir and tool to take over the world was great ! I'm impressed of your intelligence , Tabitha Lenox ! "

The old lady then got up from the water and grinned . It was none other than Tabitha ! The blonde witch had many big scars on her body and open wounds due to Deathliger's attack . She took a hand of water and put it all on a big bleeding scar from her belly . That scar slowly started to disappear and the bleeding ceased .

" This water will heal my body completely within a week or two . After that I will get back on my feet again and I'll start some rituals in order to recover my powers . " Tabitha said and dived back in the pool . " Tell me , Mutsuhito , is Subaru getting used to his new lifestyle ? "

" At first he didn't even want to hear about it , but he slowly began to accept it once he heared that he would become a world leader . "

" Yeah , the thing he doesn't know is that he'll be your own puppet , not a real leader , hahahahaha ! " Tabitha laughed while putting some water on a scar from her right cheek .

" His weakness seems to be his wish to become a leader and if we exploit it and turn it into power greed , he'll become our puppet immediately ! "

" What a cruel plan you have for your son , Mutsuhito ! I'm really impressed by your evilness ! And the best part is that Subaru and Tsugumi are finally separated ! Hahaha , those two brats will cease interfeering in my plans ! "

" Exactly . The world will be ours within a few months and then we shall rule over these pathetic humans ! " Mutsuhito spoke with enthusiasm in his voice . " But just to make sure that nothing will stop us , how about I send some bounty hunters to take down Tsugumi for good ? "

" Don't do that ! " Tabitha suddenly exclaimed and got up from the pool . " I need Tsugumi alive , not dead ! Just put a nice reward on her head and when she is delivered to us , you will arrange a fake execution while bringing the real one to me ! "

Mutsuhito was surprised of Tabitha's plan . All he wanted was to see the final member of the Shirayama family dead , but now even his new ally was against it . The man would've opposed against Tabitha's idea , but he remembered that through her powers he would become the world's leader .

" As you wish , Tabitha . Now if you excuse me , I will go to the family meeting . " Mutsuhito said and left the room .

After Mutsuhito closed the doors and left , Tabitha got out of the pool and walked to a table where she had different objects . She took her blue crystal ball and waved her hand around it . Then the image of Mutsuhito sitting near a bed on which his dead wife's body was lying appeared on the ball . Tabitha smiled while staring at it and said :

" Good that at least a small part of my powers weren't lost . It was more than easy to erase the memory of my curse killing your wife , Mutsuhito . You think that Subaru is gonna be your puppet but you don't know that I am the one pulling all the strings here ! "

Thirty minutes had passed and now Subaru was in the garden heading towards a table where five persons were sitting on chairs . The green costume was a bit tight for him , but he was trying his best to not show that . As he arrived at the table he saw that the five persons were all dressed in expensive clothes like his . The first person he noticed was a fat brown haired man dressed in a green suit and with his white shirt coming out because of his big belly . He was eating a piece of cake while looking at Subaru with a bored sight in his eyes . By his left was a black girl dressed in a beautiful blue dress and with her long black curly hair arranged in a modern way . By his right was another girl dressed in a green jacket and short pink dress and whose blonde hair was cut short . Both girls gave Subaru a mean stare to make him feel unwelcomed . At the other side of the table was sitting a woman dressed in an expensive purple dress made by maids from France . Her long dark brown hair was reaching her waist and another girl was playing with it . That girl was dressed in a blue dress similar to the first one and had dark brown hair with two big pony tails and beautiful playful blue eyes . Those eyes reminded Subaru of Tsugumi and he felt a little pang in his heart . The black haired boy tried not to let his emotions unleash and approached the table .

" Um... hello , I am Subaru ! " Subaru shyly spoke .

" Hey , nice to meet you uncle ! " the fat man said and got up from the table to hug Subaru . " Want a hot dog or a pizza ? "

" Ehehe... no thanks , I'll pass this time . "

" Just look at him , sister , he's so soft ! He doesn't deserve to be the heir ! " the girl sitting by the fat man's left whispered to the one on his right .

" Tsh , agreed , he's nothing but a goodie-two shoes loser ! " the girl on the right whispered back .

" Come on , girls , don't be mean to your grand uncle ! " the woman from the other side of the table spoke to them after hearing what they said . " Afterall , he's part of the family ! I suggest we give him a warm welcome ! "

" Uncle Gola gave him a warm welcome , mommy ! " the little girl sitting next to the woman said and looked at the fat man .

Evreyone then laughed and Subaru stared at them while sweating . Suddenly Mutsuhito came out of nowhere and approached the table as well . There were two more seats left for him and Subaru . The other family memebers ceased laughing once he appeared .

" I see that you've already met the family , son . " Mutsuhito said .

" Y-yes , kind of... " Subaru replied and sweated .

" Let me introduce them to you . First of all , these two adults are your cousin's kids . "

" Which cousin ? Lili or Sousuke ? "

" Sousuke , of course . They had to continue the family name , right ? "

" Hehe , right , father... "

" So this man is Sousuke's son , your nephew , Gola ! " Mutsuhito said .

" Really nice to meet you , uncle ! Hope we could chat more at a dinner or two ! " Gola said and shook Subaru's hand .

" Like I would dare to eat with you... " Subaru thought .

" This woman is Sousuke's daughter , your niece , Kurumi ! " Mutsuhito continued .

" It's a pleasure to meet you , uncle ! " Kurumi said and bowed to him respectfully . " Although it's kind of strange that you look a lot younger than me ! "

" I know the feeling . " Subaru replied .

" Next are Gola's daughters , Aiko and Mariko ! " Mutsuhito continued .

" Hmph , not a pleasure at all to meet you ! " Aiko spoke with a mean look on her face .

" Yeah , what is a guy like you doing in our family ? " Mariko added .

" Now , now , girls , don't be disrespectful to your great uncle ! " Gola tried to calm then and then turned to Mutsuhito . " I'm sorry for my their behaviour ! "

" Nah , it's nothing , Gola , they'll learn to accept him through time... " Mutsuhito said and gave Aiko and Mariko a mean stare . " ...or else ! "

Aiko and Mariko turned their heads away from Mutsuhito meaning that they didn't care of what the man said . The two girls simply didn't like Subaru and his father's orders wouldn't change their opinions .

" And last but not least is Kurumi's girl , Chiharu ! " Mutsuhito ended the presentation .

" Hello , Subaru-kun , it's a great pleasure to meet you ! " the girl with pony tails spoke with an innocent sweet voice and bowed to Subaru like her mother did . " Would you like to play with me later ? "

" Hehe , sure , anytime ! " Subaru said and tapped her head .

Mutsuhito then took out a suitcase and put it on the table . He pushed the food a little to the right so that what he would take out wouldn't be dirtied by it . Mutsuhito opened the suitcase and took out a document and a pen . Then he looked at evreyone as if he was asking them to sit down . In that family they all knew to fear Mutsuhito because of his short temper and the ability to make the others suffer easily . They all sat down and then Mutsuhito began reading the document :

" Deciding to forgive your pst mistakes and wishing to make your relationship even more solid , I , Mutsuhito Geki am asking you , Subaru Hanzou , to return to our family . For a father always waits for his lost son to return and a good father will always forgive his son's mistakes . May that this day brings preace and unity once more unto our family and may you be loyal to the family as we all are ! "

" I think I'm gonna throw up... " Subaru thought .

" Ok , now you must sign here ! " Mutsuhito said and handed Subaru the paper .

Subaru held the paper in his hand for a bit and stared at it discusted . He couldn't believe that after 95 years of freedom he was once again going to return into the captivity of his family . Evreything was going on against his own will and he couldn't do anything about it . With the thought that he would one day become the world leader he wished , he signed the paper and handed it back to his father . Mutsuhito smiled as he took the paper and said :

" Welcome back to where you belong , son ! "

" Thank you , father ! " Subaru lied while trying to stop his dark thoughts from taking over his mind .

Now the black haired boy had sat on his chair and stared at the others which were eating . Mutsuhito then took his glass of red wine and raised it in the air saying :

" A toast for my son ! "

" You're not gonna have any toasts ! " a voice shouted from the bushes .

Suddenly a boy riding a bicycle came out from the bushes and landed on the table spilling all the food on Mutsuhito and the rest . Aiko and Mariko got up indignanted because their favorite clothes had been ruined by that stranger . The one riding the bike was none other than Edo ! He was wearing a stolen police helmet and was holding a water pistol in his right hand .

" Edo-kun ! " Subaru exclaimed happily and got up from his chair as well .

" Pack up your stuff , Suby , cos we're getting outta here ! " Edo replied .


	57. Achieving power

The whole family stared at Edo which had intrerrupted their party and accidentally spilled the food on them . The brown haired boy got down from his bicycle and walked to Subaru . At the sight of his best friend , Subaru's heart began beating faster and faster . The black haired boy couldn't stand it anymore and ran to his friend and hugged him .

" Edo-kun , I missed you so much ! " Subaru said .

" Er... we haven't seen eachother since yesterday... " Edo replied sweating .

" Yes , but I thought that we'd never meet again ! "

" Whatever , let's get you outta here ! "

Edo and Subaru started walking to the bicycle but then Mutsuhito came in front of them and blocked the way . Edo looked up and was scared of the man's height and mean stare .

" And where do you think you're going ? " Mutsuhito asked with a cruel voice .

" Um... going as far as I can from this place with my pal ? " Edo asked .

" Just dare to move a foot on the bicycle with my son and I'll have the whole security robots shoot you right away ! "

Edo didn't let himself intimidated by the man's words . The brown haired boy pointed his water pistol towards Mutsuhito's head and said :

" Nobody move ! If you dare to come a step close to me and Suby , he's a goner ! "

Then evreyone , including Subaru , started to laugh at Edo . The brown haired boy sweated and looked at his pistol to find it empty .

" Don't tell me , I forgot to charge the water before I left , right ? "

" Think that you're better than me ? " Mutsuhito said and took out his glowing deck . " How about you prove it through a duel ? "

" C-can't we just play tic-tac-toe ? " Edo asked trembling .

Two dueling tables came out of the ground in front of the two duelists . Both of them put their shuffled decks on the tables and then put five cards from those decks on their tables . Then they drew five cards in their hands . They both shouted 'shields up' and ten blue shields appeared above them , five for each of them . It was the begining of the duel between Edo and Mutsuhito .

Many turns had passed and the duel's epicness kept showing itself . Subaru sat near Edo's table and cheered his friend while Gola sat at the party table and ate some pizza . The rest of the family members stood on their feet and watched the duel . The duel was epic ! Mutsuhito kept summoning weak and rushy creatures and kept attacking Edo , while the latter defended himself with blockers , shield triggers and other creatures . After many strong moves , the duel looked like this : Edo had three shields left and Aqua Surfer , Aqua Guard and Bullet Shirou Barett in the battlezone while Mutsuhito had two shields left and Bolmeteus Steel Dragon in the battlezone . Now it was Mutsuhito's turn . The man drew a card and said :

" I summon Magnas , Electro-Knight ! Magnas's effect will destroy your Aqua Guard and I'll look into one of your shields ! "

The blue human like creature made of water and with two claws instead of hands blew up behind Edo . Then one of Edo's shields took the image of a card for a few moments and Mutsuhito stared at it smiling . Then the man showed another card and said :

" I also summon Pyrofighter Magnus ! Bolmeteus Steel Dragon , throw his final shields to the graveyard ! "

Edo took cover as the giant blue robot dragon fired two of his lazor cannons and broke two of his shields into pieces . The pieces united fast into two cards which fell on Edo's table on the graveyard . The cards were Cuty Heart and Invisible Suit , the first one being a shield trigger , but shield triggers which went to the graveyard couldn't be activated .

" Ike , Pyrofighter Magnus , break his final shield ! " Mutsuhito ordered .

The red lizard dressed in cosmonaut suit ran towards Edo with a really big speed and jumped in the air . Then the lizard used its claws and slashed Edo's last shield into pieces . The shield shards slowly united into a card and Edo saw that it wasn't a shield trigger . Subaru was shocked of seeing his friend losing and shouted :

" Oh no , Edo-kun , watch out ! My father's deck is specialized on rush and he can easily defeat you if you're not armed with blockers and shield triggers ! Not to mention that he also has a pretty good amount of shield triggers in his deck ! "

" You should've warned me of that before the duel... " Edo replied sweating .

" Heh , your defeat is at hand ! " Mutsuhito spoke victoriously .

Edo then drew his next card and smiled . The brown haired boy's hand started glowing with a powerful blue light as he showed the card he drew and said :

" I summon Blue Divine Dragon , Bolbalzak Swordflash Dragon ! "

A giant blue dragon dressed in a blue samurai armor and weilding two long samurai swords appeared behind Edo and roared .

" What the... " Mutsuhito said and made a few steps back .

" Bolbalzak is a blocker which can't be blocked and which can attack twice per turn ! " Edo said smiling . " Also , Bullet Shirou Barett makes him a speed attacker , meaning that he can attack right now ! "

" Uh oh... "

" Ike , Bolbalzak , break his shield ! "

The blue dragon roared and slashed one of Mutsuhito's shields with one of its swords .

" Then I untap Bolbalzak and attack with it again , break his final shield ! "

Bolbalzak slashed Mutsuhito's final shield with its other sword . The shield shards turned into a card which Mutsuhito took it in his hand and showed it to his opponent saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Bullet Shirou Barett back to your hand ! "

" Ike , Aqua Surfer , totomeda ! " Edo ordered .

The blue human like creature riding a surfboard flew towards Mutsuhito and blowed him away a few meters . The man fell on the ground defeated and all of the family members were shocked of that , except for Subaru . The black haired boy was so happy that he had regained his freedom once again that he felt like screaming out his whole happiness . Mutsuhito then got up from the ground and said :

" H-how could you beat me ? I-I have much more experience than you ! "

" That's life , old man ! " Edo replied . " Now why did I come here again ? "

That was the starting sparkle in Mutshito's eyes . He couldn't believe that Edo had actually forgotten that he had come to rescue Subaru . Then man thought that Edo could become a useful pawn in his chess board and decided to keep him on for a while .

" What ? Edo-kun , you... " Subaru was about to explain to Edo the reason he came , but Mutsuhito covered his mouth .

" You've come to live in my mansion with my son , Edo ! " Mutsuhito said smiling .

" Really ? " Edo spoke confused .

" Yes , my mansion has all the technological equipment the world has seen so far and comfort which not even the greatest kings would get ! "

Edo then looked at the Geki mansion with hearts in his eyes . Such advanced technology was never seen by normal humans like him and he couldn't believe that it actually existed . And besides that he could also have the life of a rich man along with Subaru . What else could he need ? Then Edo started to develop feelings of regret for defeating Subaru's father and actually started to like him .

" Can I call you 'dad' ? " Edo asked Mutsuhito while drooling .

" Hehehe , no thanks , I already have a son ! A really disrespectful son... " Mutsuhito said and looked at Subaru .

" I can't believe that Edo-kun puts all this comfort pleasure above moral values ! " Subaru thought and looked at the sky with a saddened stare in his brown eyes . " Tsugumi , why can't you be here right now to heal my wounds ? Why must this wall between us grow bigger and bigger ? "

What Subaru didn't know was that Tsugumi was staring at the same sky and at the same moment as him . The blonde girl was holding the rose and iris which were in the vase at her last romantic dinner with her lover .

" Subaru , I miss you . " she slowly murmed .

Even though it was 6 PM , the blonde girl didn't feel like sitting up anymore . Being torn apart from Subaru was like sucking out her life force and leaving her to rot . She was like a planet in a solar system whose sun had suddenly disappeared . Her life was slowly begining to lose its sense . Tsugumi slowly walked in her room , put the flowers in a vase , stared a moment at a photo with she and Subaru and then she fell asleep on her bed .

The next day was an even more sunny one . Tsugumi woke up when it was almost noon . The blonde girl slowly got up and intended to leave the bed , but then the door of her room opened and Tarja came in with a plate of fried eggs and a glass of milk in her hands . The woman was dressed in a short black summer dress and was wearing high heels . Tsugumi felt a little ashamed of being around such a beautiful woman dressed only in her pijamas .

" Oh , so you're awake . Are you hungry ? " Tarja asked and placed the food on a table close to the bed .

" Thanks . " Tsugumi said and stared at her sheets with her saddened eyes .

" What's wrong ? " Tarja asked but didn't get any answer . " Is it that boy you love , Subaru ? "

Tsugumi then raised her head with a little surprised look on her face . She didn't expect Tarja to read her like a book . The blonde girl looked on the other way and tried to hide the fact that he was grievened by the loss of her love , but Tarja still felt the depression through which she was going .

" Don't be sad , Tsugumi , one day you and that boy will be united once again ! You just have to wait until we find a plan to rescue him , that's all . " Tarja said .

" But I can't stop thinking about him ! Evrey time my heart beats , I feel the hole inside my soul growing bigger and bigger . " Tsugumi said with tears falling from her eyes .

" Come on , girl , you're gonna pass this depression , I assure you ! Listen , there's something which you must see , so eat your breakfast and we'll meet in the control room in half an hour ! " Tarja said and left the room .

Meanwhile at Subaru . The black haired boy had found out from his father that his mother's grave was located a few kilometers away from the mansion in a family graveyard sorrounded by walnuts which gave the graves cold and relaxing shadows to be covered with . He was now sitting in front of an old gravestone with a bouquest of roses and irises wrapped elegntly with golden paper .

" Mother , it's been a long time . " Subaru said while staring down at the inscriptions from the gravestone . " I've grown up , went through many adventures , and now I've ended up being captive in my father's family again . I remember the days when you were alive and evreyone at the mansion , especially you , would greet me with a smile . Now those days are gone... "

Subaru layed down on his knees and put the flowers near the gravestone . He then kissed the stone and did a prayer for his mother's soul . After that he got up and the wind blew through his long black hair .

" I also wanted to tell you that I have found that certain person which meant to me more than anything ! But sadly , mother , she is the Shirayama's daughter , my father's worst enemies ! I so wish that you could be here and tell me what really happened back then . " Subaru said and sighed . " It's getting late . I have to go now before I get scolded by my father for being late . So long , mother ! "

Back at the UFO . Tsugumi had finished eating her breakfast and dressed up in an orange dress . She also wrapped her hair in a pony tail and put a small red flower in it . Seeing Tarja's high heels gave her the idea to do the same , so she was now wearing a pair of red shoes with high heels . Due to the fact that mostly she weared sandals or normal shoes she was walking hard in high heels . The sudden decision to change her look was due to the fact that Subaru's father would most likely sent hunters after her , so a disguise wouldn't hurt at all .

Tsugumi walked through the long halls of the UFO remembering the adventures she , Kokujo , doctor Root and the other chosen duelists had hadwhen they were after Rezo . She could hardly believe that those times were over and that only three months had passed since Rezo's defeat . Now the girl was standing in front of two metallic doors which slowly opened automatically . Tsugumi entered the control room and saw the Lordi monsters sitting on chairs playing poker , Tarja getting ready some food and doctor Root working on the main computer of the ship .

" I'm here , guys ! " Tsugumi said and closed the door .

" Tsugumi , at last you came ! " Tarja said . " We have bad news ! "

" What bad news ? "

Tarja then turned her serious face to doctor Root and he nodded . Doctor Root pressed some buttons and a recording appeared on the computer's screen . On it was some political gathering and Mutsuhito was the one which was about to speak .

" That's Subaru's father ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Yes , he had a press conference this morning in which he announced that the country's president was found dead in his room ! " doctor Root said .

" How horrible ! " Tarja said .

" Guys , do you have anything to do with this ? " Awa asked Amen and Kita .

" No , Awa , seriously , we're 100 % clean ! " Amen replied sweating .

" And we didn't even knew that this country had a president ! " Kita added .

Doctor Root pressed on more buttons and made the video's image grow bigger and also turned the video's volume to the maximum permitted . He then pressed the 'play' button and the video began . Mutsuhito was sitting at a table with twenty microphones near his mouth . Many cameras were in front of him and reporters were taking photos of him .

" I hereby announce that our country's beloved president has died . He was found early in this morning dead in his room by his maids . His doctor declaired that a large quantity of drugs had been found in his stomach and drinks . Why was he taking them , we'll never know . What we surely know is that this country now needs a provisory president until the next electrions . So , I , prime minister Mutsuhito Geki , hereby announce myself as the country's provisory president and future candidate ! "

Doctor Root then paused the video turned to Tsugumi and the others . A morbid silence fell upon the room . They were all shocked of seeing such incredible news which surely meant that they would become the newest most wanted criminals in the country . Just the thought of having evreyone look for you made their spines shiver . Doctor Root then broke up the silence saying :

" You've all seen what happened . With Mutsuhito as president , we're not safe in this country at all ! We must flee as soon as possible ! "

" Wait a minute , doctor , there has to be another way ! " Tsugumi said .

" Yeah , we can't possibly flee and leave the other people suffer ! " Tarja supported Tsugumi . " From what I've seen , Mutsuhito is a power hungry tyrant and he'll surely cause great damage to the population . We must find a way to help them and organise a rebellion which would sooner or later overthrow that maniac ! "

" Tarja-san... " Tsugumi said while staring at Tarja .

Doctor Root found himself arguing with two girls which would never give up their opinions . He turned to the Lordi monsters to ask their opinion , but they continued playing their poker game , so it was no use . The doctor sighed and then spoke to the two girls :

" Fine , we'll have it your way . I'll stay here and monitorise the activity in the parliment to find out what Mutsuhito is up to . Till I find out something , you're dismissed ! "

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito had organized a party in which he invited some members of the parliment to celebrate his status as the country's president . The house was now decorated with expensive ornaments and golden statues . All the guests were gathered in the same room in which Subaru and Tsugumi were two days earlier . Kurumi , Chiharu , Aiko and Mariko were all dressed in expensive dresses and were sitting up and greeting their guests . Edo was just sitting at a table bored and was drinking whatever juice he would find . Gola was sitting at a table and was eating and dueling on money with others . Mutsuhito was just sitting on a couch and drinking a glass of red wine .

" Totomeda ! Haha , you guys are so weak compared to me . " Gola said and turned to Mutsuhito . " Grand uncle , I just heared that reporters and bad talkers from the population are implying that you killed the president and stole the power for yourself . "

" Come on , father , we all know that people love to say lies in order to have big scandals . That's how they get to win a yen or two . " Aiko spoke discusted to Gola . " These people are nothing but vulgar imbeciles . "

Evreyone laughed at Aiko's direct way of talking to her father . Mutsuhito smiled and took a grape in his hand .

" The commoners are no different than these grapes . To enrich them or destroy them is our freedom . " Mutsuhito said and squashed the whole grape in his big hand and left the fruit juice fall in his glass of wine . " We , the Geki family , are those whole rule the vineyard . Since the power is all ours , we will force those citizens which are useful beyond their own limits . "

" But , great uncle , if we take away the population's fortunes , we may wake up one day with a rebellion . " Kurumi spoke to Mutsuhito frustrated .

" Perhaps you're too mercyful towards them . The poorer they are , the more they will agree to serve me in order to get some food to survive . And I will make sure that they'll never have enough strength nor possibilities to make a rebellion . " Mutsuhito replied and got up from the couch with the glass of wine in his hand . " A New Era shall begin for this country and the whole world ! The weak and poor shall suffer of starvaion and work like dogs for me , while the strong and rich shall reign with me against these pathetic beings ! A toast in the name of the new order ! "

Evreyone then raised their glasses of wine in the honor of Mutsuhito's tyranic regime . All the politicians which were there couldn't agree more to Mutsuhito's plan . They could steal from the citizens without needing to lie to them and they could boss with them however they liked . Suddenly they all heard a voice coming from the room's entrance .

" I apologize for arriving so late . "

Evreyone turned their heads and saw Subaru entering the room with a shamed look on his face and with his head down . Mutsuhito put his glass of wine on the table and walked to his son . Subaru raised his head up and suddenly felt his father's palm slapping his left cheek . All the guests were shocked of seeing such a violent scene .

" You're almost seventeen , old enough to succeed me . " Mutsuhito spoke to his son with a cold voice . " Think a little more before you act . "

Edo stared at Subaru from the table and felt sorry for him having a mean father . Mutsuhito used used as excuse the fact that Subaru was out looking for a potential fiancee and evreyone laughed and forgot evreything . Subaru walked to the table where Edo was drinking juice and sat down next to him .

" Are you all right ? " Edo asked .

" I'm fine , Edo-kun . I did breach etiquette , after all . " Subaru replied smiling as if nothing even happened .

The two then decided to leave the party a few minutes later and excused themselves in front of Mutsuhito . The man let them go just because they were ruining his image .

The two friends went to the pool room , a room which had a giant pool separated into other mini-pools which either had hotspring water , jacuzzi , hydro massage and other stuff . There was also a long slide in the form of a spiraled snake which lead into one of the mini-pools . After dressing up in their swimsuits , Edo and Subaru rushed in the room to have fun . This was the only way Subaru could actually forget about sugumi and really relax .

A maid dressed in a black dress and with long blue hair looked at them and then closed the pool . She then walked to the elevator without beeing seen by anyone and descended to the basement . The maid walked through the same passage as Mutsuhito and entered the room in which Tabitha was hiding . The witch was still lying in the pool , but now half of her wounds had disappeared and most of them were scars .

" Ah , you finally came to visit me , Hanna ! " Tabitha exclaimed and swam to a side of the pool where she could be closer to the maid . " Tell me what's going on up there . "

" Mutsuhito is throwing a party to celebrate his achievement of becoming president and invited some politicians . They seem to like his extreme ideas . " Hanna said and bowed in front of Tabitha .

" Tsh , he could at least come and thank me for giving him the poison he needed to kill the ex-president . " Tabitha spoke discusted . " What else happened ? "

" Subaru and Edo are now in the pool room having fun . That's all for now . "

" Good , Hanna . Keep an eye on Subaru and announce me if he's up to something fishy . I can't risk to have him and Tsugumi close again . "

" Yes , Tabitha-sama ."


	58. Reawakened love

A month had passed since Mutsuhito had become president . His first worry was the election , but once Tabitha had been fully recovered , she used her powers and helped him win the election with ease . Now he was president for the next four years and he had all the power in the state . The first thing he did was sending an order to the whole population to find and turn in Tsugumi Shirayama , who was now considered a criminal . After that he raised the taxes and started taking food and water from normal citizens . It was the middle of July and it was a big heat . Not evreyone could afford paying taxes , so their electricity , air conditioners , robots and water were stopped . The situation was worser than in the medieval times ! Now people were struggling for a piece of bread , that one not being enough not even for a whole family . Water was even hard to find due to the fact that most of the cities were at big distances from rivers and forests . Most of the drinks and food were taken away from shops and human's houses and brought to the Geki mansion as provisions . Since Mutsuhito had got so many goods from the whole country , he decided to share a quarter of them with his fellow politicians and rich people so that they wouldn't start to rebel against him as well . Now that the chaotic atmosphere had been installed in the whole country , Mutsuhito sent out a reward consisting in one milion yens , food for two months , free electricity and no taxes for the one which would capture Tsugumi and bring her to him .

The only problem was that Tsugumi wouldn't show herself to anyone . She was with doctor Root , Tarja and Lordi inside of the UFO and all she could do was to observe how the population was suffering daily because of a tyrant's desire to have her dead . But doctor Root wouldn't let her do anything . He just insisted that she would remain silent in her room wait . This frustrated her for not being able to take action against Mutsuhito . Doctor Root , on the other hand , went with Tarja around the country and gave food to those which were poor . They fled from one town to another using the UFO so that no one could find out about their presence . But their actions couldn't remain a secret forever and in the end they reached the ears of Mutsuhito Geki . The cruel man then thought that these two might have some connection with Tsugumi . That was the starting sparkle of an ingenious idea . Mutsuhito thought of that possibility a bit and then ordered his robot troops to go to the first city where doctor Root and Tarja would do their humanitary actions and arrest them . Now all he had to do was wait and see what would happen and then he would plan his next move .

It was a hot summer day . The streets of the capital and its metallic buildings were boiling worser than oil on a frying pan . The citizens of the capital were all rushing towards a square where an old man dressed in white laboratory clothes and a long black haired woman dressed in short summer clothes and wearing sunglasses were giving food and drinks for free . Those were none other than doctor Root and Tarja .

" Here you go . " doctor Root said and handed a bag filled with cheese , ham , eggs , vegetables and water to a woman . " Here's one for you as well , sonny . Don't worry , people , we have plenty ! "

" Yes , we have enough food for evreyone ! " Tarja added .

Evreything seemed to be going on well . But after two hours of sharing food , three robots of Mutsuhito's guard elite came out of nowhere . The people got scared by them and ran away . The robots immediatelly picked on doctor Root . Two of them imobilized him while the third stood in Tarja's way so that she wouldn't try to rescue the doctor .

" Let me go ! " doctor Root demanded .

" Silence ! You're an ally of Tsugumi Shirayama , aren't you ? " one of the robots asked .

" Doctor ! " Tarja shouted .

" I have no relation with Tsugumi Shirayama whatsoever ! And neither does she , so leave us alone ! " doctor Root lied . " We're only trying to supply the population with food in these hard times ! "

" Negative , your answers have no justification . Doctor Root , you are under arrest ! " the robot said and put a pair of handcuffs on doctor Root's hands . " You may let the woman go . " the robot continued and then looked at Tarja . " Tell Tsugumi Shirayama that if she ever wants to see him again , she'll have to surrender ! "

With those being said , the robots flew away with doctor Root . Tarja was shocked of what she had seen . She ran back to the UFO with all her powers . The woman entered the spaceship gasping for air and this panicked Mr Lordi , who was just sitting on the couch and watching a good horror movie .

" Where's Tsugumi ? " Tarja asked .

" She's in her room . " Mr Lordi replied . " What's the matter ? "

Tarja didn't have time to answer . She rushed immediatelly to Tsugumi's room and knocked the door . The blonde girl opened the door looking exhausted . Tarja had just woken her up from her afternoon sleep .

" What wrong , Tarja-san ? " Tsugumi asked with a tired voice .

" Tsugumi , it's terrible ! They have captured doctor Root ! " Tarja spoke desperately .

Tarja's words hit Tsugumi like a bullet . The girl couldn't believe what was going on . It was as if her world was falling apart once again . She quickly dressed up , brushed her hair , took her deck and ran along with Tarja out of the UFO without telling Mr Lordi or the rest what was going on .

Their luck was that Tarja and doctor Root had sticked chips to eachother's clothes so that they wouldn't get lost from eachother . Tarja immediatelly took out a remote which had a screen on which was imprinted a cyber map of the city . They easily found out that doctor Root was held captive in a metallic tower not far from the UFO . Suddenly they stopped at Tsugumi's suggestion . The blonde girl put a coin in a small machine and pressed a green button . In the next moment a cyber street came out of the ground like a stairway which lead exactly to the tower where the doctor was held captive .

" Impressive , Tsugumi ! " Tarja spoke amazed .

" We don't have time for this , let's save the doctor ! " Tsugumi replied and ran on the cyber street .

Tarja followed her and the two kept running for a few minutes until they reached the high tower . The tower's entrance door needed a password to open and they didn't knew it . Tsugumi acted fast and took out a dagger which she was keeping hidden between her breasts since they left the UFO . The girl used the dagger and smashed the small computer which was controlling the door . In that moment the door opened and the two girls rushed in the tower .

Meanwhile , doctor Root was being beaten up by the robots which were asking him of information regarding Tsugumi . The doctor obviously decided to pretend as if he knew nothing and endured all the body punishments from the robots . Then one of them aimed its lazor to him and said :

" I'm gonna ask you one last time , where is Tsugumi Shirayama ? "

" You wanted me ? I'm here ! " Tsugumi shouted from the bars of the cell where they were keeping doctor Root captive .

" Target Tsugumi Shirayama has been located ! Proceed to capture the target ! " the robot said and approached her along with the other two .

Tsugumi then smiled and moved aside a bit . Suddenly Tarja appeared in front of the robots . The woman put a voice amplifyer around her neck and began singing in really high notes :

" WE SHALL COME TO SET THE DOLPHINS FREE ! WE SHALL WASH THE DARKENED BLOOD RED SEA ! OUR SONGS WILL ECHO OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND SEAS ! THE ETERNITY WILL BEGIN ONCE AGAIN IN PEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE ! "

The power of her voice was so strong that it made the robots have shortcircuits and blow up and it also destroyed the bars of doctor Root's cell .

" That was amazing , Tarja-san ! " Tsugumi said while admiring Tarja .

" There's no time for that ! " Tarja replied and ran to doctor Root . " Are you ok , doctor ? "

" I'm fine . You shouldn't have risked coming here just for my sake , girls ! "

Tarja untied doctor Root and then they all ran away from the tower . Doctor Root couldn't run that fast so Tarja was holding his arm over her shoulders and this was boosting up his speed , but slowing her a bit . They ran back to the entrance through which they came in , but they found it guarded by many robots . That made them change the direction and run towards the tower's roof . They climbed a few floors but in the end reached it . The roof's entrance door had a computer similar to the one from the tower's main entrance , so Tsugumi used her dagger once again to open the doors . But once they set foot on the roof , they found themselves sorrounded by many robots , all of them sent to capture Tsugumi .

" This is it , Tsugumi Shirayama , your end is near ! " one of the robots said .

" Stand back , doctor , this is gonna get ugly ! " Tsugumi said and took out her dagger .

Just in that moment , something incredible happened . A voice from the sky intrerrupted both Tsugumi and the robots before they could attack eachother .

" What's going on ? " the voice asked .

The robots looked up and saw that a boy dressed in a long sleeved Derdian T shirt and with long black hair which was passing his shoulders was descending to the tower using a jet belt . They recognized him immediately .

" Subaru-sama ! " one of the robots exclaimed . " We are just about to capture Tsugumi Shirayama , the one which your father has declaired a national criminal ! "

Subaru landed on the roof and took off his belt . He then gave Tsugumi a cold stare , as if he wanted her to rot in a dungeon and suffer for mistakes which she didn't commit . This made Tsugumi worry as she thought of the possibility that Mutsuhito might have brainwashed Subaru into thinking that she was his enemy . The black haired boy then spoke to the robots saying :

" Stand back , I will personally capture the Shirayama girl for my father ! "

" Affirmative , Subaru-sama . " the robots said and gave Subaru and Tsugumi more space to battle .

The black haired boy advanced towards the blonde girl . Tsugumi stared at him with sadness in her eyes . She was sure that now Subaru would most likely beat her up and bring her to his father . But if that would've happened then she would accept her fate rather than live in a world where the only boy which she loved didn't share the same feelings as hers . Subaru then stopped in front of Tsugumi and stared at her with mean eyes . Tsugumi layed her head down saddened and expected the worse . Suddenly Subaru layed his head to her and whispered to her ear :

" There's a sewer under the tower . Let's have a short duel , I'll give you the win and then we'll all jump when your creature does the final attack . "

Tsugumi nodded and took out her glowing deck . Subaru did the same and two dueling tables came out from the floor . They arranged their cards and their duel began . After many turns , Subaru had all his shields intact and Fernando the 7th , Emperor of Mystic Light along with Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness in the battlezone . Tsugumi had only three shields left and only Milzam , Spirit of Miracles in the battlezone . Her 'ultra shield plus' shield had been lost once Subaru summoned his Gal Volf , but then Invincibe Aura helped her get back three shields . Now it was Subaru's turn . The black haired boy drew his next card and saw that it was Dorballom , Lord of Demons . He could've used it to win the duel , but he preferred to give Tsugumi the win and do as they planned , so he charged mana and said :

" I cast Grudge Gathering ! Since I have nine cards in my graveyard , I will destroy your Milzam ! Then I cast Corpse Charger and return Hanzou , Menacing Phantom to my hand ! Ike , Black Lucifer , double break her shields ! "

Tsugumi took cover as Subaru's demon slashed two of her shields with its scythe . The shield shards united into two cards which she took in her hand . The blonde girl smiled and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers ! Now shield trigger activate , I summon Asylum , the Dragon Paladin ! "

" Heh , like that would prevent you from your final defeat , Shirayama girl ! " Subaru pretended to be mean to her and continued . " Fernando the 7th , break her final shield ! "

The demon dressed in a blue knight armor and wearing a long blue cape jumped in the air and slashed Tsugumi's final shield into pieces . The blonde girl smiled as the pieces united into a card which shined powerfully and floated in the air a bit . Tsugumi then took the card in her hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Heaven's Gate ! "

" Impossible ! " Subaru pretended to be shocked .

" I will now summon two blockers for free from my hand ! I shall summon Syrius , Firmament Elemental and Milzam , Spirit of Miracles ! " Tsugumi said and then drew her next card . " Heh , you're finished , son of Mutsuhito Geki ! I evolve Asylum into Alphadios , Lord of Spirits ! "

A powerful light beam came out of Tsugumi's card and a giant golden angel wielding six big golden swords appeared behind Tsugumi . Evreyone stared amazed at her powerful creature . The girl then looked at Subaru with a triumphant look and said :

" Meet the ruler of all light , Alphadios , Lord of Spirits ! As long as he is in the battlezone you are not allowed to summon creatures or cast spells which aren't from the light civilisation ! In other words , you're doomed , son of Mutsuhito Geki ! "

" Oh no , Subaru-sama ! " the robots spoke worried .

" Ike , Syrius , triple break his shields ! Milzam , break his final shields ! " Tsugumi ordered and her powerful angels took care of all of Subaru's shields .

Subaru stood still as his shields were broken . After the shield shards united and turned into cards which he took in his hand , he smiled to Tsugumi and winked to her , meaning that they were going to do as they planned . Tsugumi nodded back to him and said :

" Alphadios , Lord of Spirits , finish him off , totomeda ! "

The gigantic angel placed all of his six swords in a circle and created a powerful lazor ball with his hands inside that circle . Subaru and Tsugumi fast packed up their cards before someone noticed and placed them back in their pockets . When the ball was ready , he casted it upon Subaru . That was the moment when Subaru took doctor Root's hand and Tsugumi took Tarja's hand and they all jumped off the tower .

The four fell towards the sewer , but doctor Root and Tarja landed on a bunch of pillows which belonged to a salesman while Subaru and Tsugumi were the ones which landed in the sewer . The water in those sewers was moving really fast and they couldn't swim against it . All they could do was wait and see where they would be taken . The dirty water and the darkness from the sewers were just too much for Tsugumi , so she closed her eyes and evreything faded .

When Tsugumi woke up , she was lying on a bed in an abandoned cabin . The blonde girl was wearing nothing but her underwear and she blushed while wondering who was the one which undressed her . The cabin's walls were metallic and there was a glass table in the middle , a TV screen hung up the ceiling , a high-tech refrigerator in a corner and an advanced computer in another corner . Tsugumi got up and saw that her clothes were lying in a washing machine from the bathroom . The bathroom door was half open , so she slowly walked to it . Suddenly Subaru came out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist . Tsugumi blushed a bit and spoke to him :

" Subaru , what's going on ? How did we get here ? "

" You fell asleep while we were taken away by the sewer waters . I tried to stay awake , but it was hard . Then I saw this light coming out from above and I knew that was our way out of there . I held my arms around you and swam to a small 'shore' where I found some stairs . I climbed with you on my back and we both got out from the sewers into a plain which also had a forest nearby . Because the sky was cloudy , I feared that it would've rained and rushed with you in the forest for shelter . After a few minutes of walking I found this small cabin lying near a beautiful lake . Then it started raining , but I took you to shelter here . " Subaru proudly explained his adventure .

" I understand... " Tsugumi replied and looked at the washing machine . " What about your clothes ? "

" My Derdian T shirt and blue jeans are also there . While I put the clothes to wash , I decided to have a bath , but you woke up before I could enter the bath tub . " Subaru said blushing .

" Then why don't we bathe together ? " Tsugumi asked smiling .

" W-what ? " Subaru replied shocked and made a few steps back scared . " You and me in the same bath ? "

" Why not ? We've been through so much together , a small bath wouldn't hurt at all ! "

Subaru sweated really hard at that moment . He looked at Tsugumi's innocent face which was asking this with so much love and passion . Something woke up in Subaru , a new strange feeling , and he thought that a bath wouldn't hurt at all . But then he looked lower at Tsugumi's body and blushed really hard when he saw her breasts . The boy usually was a gentleman which always respected wemen , but he feared that the pervert which was locked inside him so many years would come out and ruin that special moment he had with Tsugumi .

" Why is she giving me such a hard challenge ? " Subaru asked himself and then spoke to the girl . " Fine , we'll bathe together . "

" Yay ! I'll put on my towel and come fast . You may enter first . " Tsugumi said and walked to the bed to take off her underwear .

Subaru's face was redder than a lobster , but he couldn't help it . He was both happy and afraid , but he decided not to stand back . He was a man and he had to take evreything like a man . The boy took off his towel and entered the bath tub . He put his long hair in the water and began washing it . After that he put some shampoo in it and did nothing for a few minutes . Then he washed the shampoo off his hair and began cleansing the rest of his body .

Then the door suddenly opened and Tsugumi entered the bathroom with only a towel on her . Subaru blushed once again and didn't dare to look at her . The girl didn't say a word to him . She just took off the towel and entered the bath tub . That was the moment when Subaru's face began sweating harder and harder . Tsugumi let her long hair enter the water and after that she slowly approached Subaru and embraced his body from the back . The boy was astonished to feel her head lying on his back , her hands wrapped around his chest and to feel her heart beating so close to his . It was a dream come true after a whole month of being torn apart from her . Then Tsugumi broke the silence by asking Subaru with an almost angelic voice :

" Tell me , Subaru , do you still love me ? "

Subaru then woke up from his thoughts as this simple question struck his ears like a beautiful lullaby sang by the most loving angels ever to exist . The boy smiled and turned his body to the girl .He admired her pure and innocent face like you admire a small snowdrop flower trying to rise from a thick pelt of snow , searching for a sun ray which would give it life . The sun ray for which Tsugumi was searching was Subaru's affection and love . The boy knew that because he was feeling exact the same but couldn't show it . He then answered with a soft tender voice :

" Yes , I still love you like in the first day we've met , if not even more ! "

Tsugumi's blue eyes widened and a really happy smile came on her face . The girl immediately threw herself into Subaru's arms and the boy caught her in a hug . She then cried happily and spoke to Subaru :

" I missed you so much ! "

" I also missed you ! " Subaru replied .

Hours passed since the couple was having that bath , but to them those moments seemed an eternity . They scrubbed eachother's back and washed eachother on the upper parts of their bodies . Now they were sitting on the two edges of the bath tub and were discussing of what had happened to them in their last month .

" So how did things go on at your mansion ? "

" Please , Tsugumi , that is not my mansion , that is the prison built for me by my family ! It was terrible ! After becoming president , my father put me under a severe program in order to 'become a global leader' . That included hours of learning diplomacy , even more hours of studying politics and state matters and lessons of presenting yourself at a party . My father even took me with him at his parliment meetings and interviews and I had to embrace a hard etiquette in order to not 'ruin his image'. At least I had two hours a day in which I could relax with Edo-kun and have fun in the mansion . "

" Is Edo-san feeling good at your father's mansion ? "

" Good ? He's having the time of his life ! " Subaru laughed . " While I am suffering daily this tormenting program , he's playing video games , swimming in pools , having rocket races , watching TV with Gola , my nephew , and occasionally duels my family members . "

" Haha , great ! " Tsugumi also laughed .

" What about you , my love ? What happened to you this last month ? "

" Well , after I was chased out of the Geki mansion , I met up with Lordi and Tarja Turunen . "

" WHAT ? " Subaru spoke shocked and got up from the water . " LORDI ARE REALLY BACK ? AND THEY'RE ALSO WITH TARJA ? "

Tsugumi blushed really hard as she stared down at Subaru's body , at the zone between the legs . Subaru didn't get why was she so shocked , but then he realized it and layed back down in the water while blushing .

" Hehehe , sorry for that... " Subaru spoke ashamed . " So , tell me what else happened . "

" After I found them , they opened a portal and transported me back at our mansion . There we met up with doctor Root and together we planned to escape from your father's fury . We paid the maids and told them to leave . Then we packed all the stuff from that mansion and transported it in the UFO and then off we were . Doctor Root kept monitorising the parliment's meetings and Mutsuhito's mansion in order to plan our next move . When we heard that he was intending to take all the population's food in order for them to hunt me down , doctor Root and Tarja went from city to city and shared food . That until doctor Root was caught today by your father's robots and you know the rest . "

" Yes , I understand . I feel really sorry for having my father cause you so much pain , Tsugumi ! "

" There's no need for you to feel sorry , Subaru . Two flowers may look the same , but they surely smell different ! "

" I hope you're right... "

Subaru layed his head down ashamed and stared at his face in the water . If he would've cut his hair short and changed his eye color from brown to black , he would've looked like Mutsuhito's teenage clone . The thought that he would one day become what his father was made him shiver and fear his future .

" One thing I don't get , Subaru . " Tsugumi suddenly spoke .

" What is it , my dear ? "

" Why were you in the capital today ? And why did you come especially to the tower where doctor Root was held captive ? "

" Hahaha , would you believe me if I told you that it was pure coincidence ? " Subaru laughed . " Today I had finished my studies earlier than even I expected and asked my father to allow me to go to the capital . He accepted and I took the first jet belt I found and flied there . Edo-kun was too busy playing ping pong with a robot to come . And while I was flying in the city , I heared an alarm coming from a prison tower and rushed to see what was going on . I wasn't expecting to see you . And I acted as if I wanted to kill you in order to trick the robots and help you escape . So , how good was I ? "

" How good ? You were the best actor I've seen , haha ! " Tsugumi laughed . " You tricked me so easily into believing that you hated me . If you wouldn't have told me that you wanted to escape , I would've probably fainted there and ruined evreything ! "

The two laughed happily that evreything went fine and then decided that it was time to finish the bath . Subaru was the first to get out and put a towel on himself . Then Tsugumi pressed a button and all the water from the tub vanished in a small canal hole . Subaru turned away while she put a towel on her . Then he took her hand and helped her get out of the bath tub . The two then looked at the washing machine and saw that the clothes were now washed . The next thing they had to do was to hang them out to dry .

Subaru decided to do that while Tsugumi looked in the cabin for some pijamas . Night had fallen on that part of the world once again . The ground was pretty wetty due to the rain which had fallen that day . Subaru quickly hanged the clothes on a wire and left them , due to the fact that the cabin had no clothes dryer . The boy then entered the small building and saw Tsugumi still in her towel putting a pelt on the bed .

" I'm sorry , my dear , I couldn't find any clothes in this place ! " Tsugumi spoke blushing . " What will we do now ? "

" I guess that there's no other choice than sleeping naked . There's just one bed and I think that that would be a problem . " Subaru replied while blushing as well .

" Why ? We already had a bath together , what would sleeping together naked would hurt ? " Tsugumi asked and approached Subaru .

" I guess you're right . Naked or not , you're still my precious Tsugumi ! "

" And you're my dear Subaru ! "

The two lovers approached their faces and made a passionate kiss while holding eachother in their arms . Not willing to let go of the kiss or embrace , the two slowly walked to the bed and layed down . Then they took off their towels and covered themselves with the pelt .

The moon was shining into the night giving protection to the lively stars and tired trees . It was a calm summer night and there was no noise to be heard in the forest . Subaru and Tsugumi fell asleep in eachother's arms like two babies on their mother's lap . Their love was reawakened and it was safe for the moment .


	59. The fall of a hero

The summer sun had rised above the land and with its shiny rays it woke up the living creatures from the forests . The humans inhatibitng the futuristic cities were awake for two hours before sunrise because they had work to do in order to get food from the authorities . At the Geki mansion , Mutsuhito was watching on a screen the citizens going to work so early and saw the factories and offices full . The man laughed and spoke to himself :

" Heh , how the pathetic creatures do evreything for a slice of bread . "

" How does it feel to be the ruler of these ants ? " a strange woman's voice asked .

Mutsuhito turned his back and saw that Tabitha was out of the basement . She was dressed in a sleeveless red shirt with an orange apron on it . She was also wearing a pair of red pants and yellow sandals . Mutsuhito almost laughed at seeing her and said :

" Haha , what are you , a party clown ? "

" No , that's my summer outfit , smart one... " Tabitha replied sweating . " Anyway , how is it to feel the power flowing through your veins ? "

" It's great ! Never in my life was I so glad of showing those pathetic beings who has power over them ! " Mutsuhito said and clunched his fists .

" That's great , Mutsuhito , but haven't you noticed that something's missing ? "

" What's missing , witch ? "

" Oh , I don't know , your son ? "

" What ? Where's Subaru ? "

" Don't ask me , I don't know a thing . I think I'll go back to the basement and try to restore my powers . " Tabitha said and suddenly disappeared into thin air .

Mutsuhito's eyes were now filled with the fire of anger . His muscles were all pumped up and his face was red with fury . The man walked to the living room and opened it to see Gola and Edo eating chocolate and watching TV , Aiko and Mariko putting make-up on themselves to look pretty and Kurumi and Chiharu having a duel . The enraged man intrerrupted their activities saying :

" Where's Subaru ? Why hasn't he come back yet ? "

" I'm sure that he'll come back soon . " Chiharu tried to calm down Mutsuhito .

" I've let him relax a bit in the capital yesterday and now he's gone ! Do you know what bad news this means for us ? Without our heir , our continuity will cease to exist and we'll fall from the top sooner or later ! "

" Calm down , grand uncle , I'm sure that wherever uncle Subaru is , he's having the time of his life . " Kurumi said .

Meanwhile at the cabin . Subaru and Tsugumi had woken up from their sleep thanks to the sun's rays . The two dressed up in their dryed clothes and packed up their stuff in order to leave . Now they were both heading back to the Geki mansion . Inside Tsugumi there was an inner fear which made her heart beat faster and her spine have chills . Only the thought of approaching the house of the murderer of her family was giving her the creeps . She sought to forget those dark thoughts by talking with Subaru .

" Tell me , Subaru , why do you wish to return to your father's mansion ? "

" It's not like I have a choice , Tsugumi . My father would send his robots to look for me and I can't risk to have you captured as well ! "

" I understand . Oh well , I guess I'll just have to return to the UFO and keep running from him . "

" Do so , my love ! Try to escape from my father's clutches while I distract his attention by being obedient and all . "

" Subaru... " Tsugumi said and stared at the boy .

" Let's be separated and work hard for now , for when I will reach global power and become the world's leader , I will make sure that you will be free from this weight and we'll be together once again ! " Subaru said and his Leo pendant began shining with its golden light .

The light from the Leo pendant was a warm one which brought inner peace on those who were touched by it . Tsugumi closed her eyes as the light slowly fell upon her head . A strange feeling of security took over her and she felt as if she and Subaru would be together forever . That gave her more courage and faith that the future would be a good one . After a few more minutes of walking , they found a sign on which was written : 'Property of the Geki family' . That was the place where the two had to go on separate ways .

" How are you going to find the UFO , Tsugumi ? " Subaru asked .

" Oh , I have my special remote right here . " Tsugumi said and showed a blue remote similar to the one which Tarja had . " I'll find my way back in no time ! "

" Good to know . I guess that this is farewell . " Subaru said and hugged Tsugumi . " Promise me you'll be careful . "

" I promise . Till then , farewell ! "

The two lovers kissed eachother one more time with the same passion and romance they had the other night . But sadly , evrey dream had an end and theirs had just ended . The blonde girl ran towards the trail made by the blue remote in order to find the UFO . Subaru stared at her for a few seconds , sighed , and then started walking to the home which was his prison , the Geki mansion .

Meanwhile at the mansion . Mutsuhito went to the basement to see Tabitha once more . The witch was reading an ancient book written in sumerian . It was one of the thousand ritual books she needed to read in order to perform the ritual which would have her powers restored to her . Once she saw Mutsuhito entering the room , she closed the book and got up from her studying corner .

" What's the problem , Mutsuhito ? Didn't you find your son yet ? "

" Yes , but this isn't why I've come here . " Mutsuhito spoke with an angry voice . " A month had passed since I've set a reward on Tsugumi Shirayama's head and none of the country's people brought her to me ! I've had enough of this ! I want to see her in my clutches now ! "

" Believe me , Mutsuhito , you're not the only one . " Tabitha sighed .

" That's why I've come to ask you a favor , witch ! "

" What is it ? "

" Tabitha , I'm asking you to use your powers to locate Tsugumi . Once we find out her exact position , I'll personally go there with an army of robots and capture her ! "

Tabitha got a shocked expression on her face . She couldn't believe that Mutsuhito was asking her that thing . The witch trembled and sat down on a chair thinking .

" I don't think that I could or want to do it ! " Tabitha spoke with a scared voice .

" Why not ? You have a small part of your powers back , why won't you use them to locate the damn girl ? "

" It's not that simple when it comes to Tsugumi , Mutsuhito ! The female line of her mother's family had been granted with heavenly powers from birth ! Do you know what she would do to me if I tried to make a psychologic contact with her ? "

" What would she do to you , a witch with many live experiences ? " Mutsuhito asked .

" She is a normal girl at appearence , but her powers are activated once she knows the love of a man . Besides that , her ancestors had some kind of 'defense system' which would protect her if any evil would try to hurt her psychologically or spiritually . And since I still don't have all of my powers back , I fear that I may not be able to counter-attack that ! " Tabitha spoke worried .

Mutsuhito got a dark and mean expression on his face . The tall man grabbed the blonde witch by her red shirt and lifted her up . Tabitha sweated while staring in his black eyes filled with hate . Mutsuhito spoke to her with an angry , almost devilish voice :

" Listen here , witch , I've been tolerant for you ! I've offered you and your servant Hanna a shelter and I've let you keep in my house your 'special items' and that cursed water which would heal your wounds ! Now I want you to prove yourself useful ! Or would you prefer to be casted back on the streets where you belong ? "

" N-no , c-calm down , I-I'll try my best ! " Tabitha barely spoke because of the fear .

" That's what I wanted to hear ! " Mutsuhito said and layed down the witch .

Tabitha first sat on the chair and rubbed her face and then she closed her eyes and put her hands on her forehead . The witch murmed something with a low voice and the psychologic process began . Tabitha was now 'traveling' through the world , looking for nothing but Tsugumi's mind .

Meanwhile at Tsugumi . The blonde girl had finally found the location of the UFO on her remote and was now rushing towards it . The fear of being captured by Mutsuhito's forces was now bigger than ever . All the way to the ship she felt haunted by the presence of the evil man . But once she reached the UFO she calmed down . Tsugumi sat on the grass to rest after so much running and to calm down her mind . That was her mistake !

Once her mind began to relax , the 'barrier' which prevented the evil forces to reach her had now weakened . In that moment Tabitha had senced her presence . The witch 'entered' her body and the girl saw a vision of her face in front of her eyes .

" Oh my God ! Tabitha Lenox ! " Tsugumi shouted .

" Yes , blondie , it's me ! I've come back for my revenge ! This time you shall not escape me , hahahahahahaha ! " Tabitha laughed .

The evil laugh slowly faded and so did Tabitha's face . Tsugumi was petrified . That vision of Tabitha seemed so real for her . She knew that she wasn't safe anymore , so she ran inside the UFO .

Back at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito had waited for an hour . The man's patience was begining to fade and he thought of beating the witch up until she would return to her sences . But then Tabitha opened her eyes and woke up . Mutsuhito got excited and spoke to her :

" What happened ? Did you localize Tsugumi Shirayama ? "

" Yes , I did ! She's with a UFO which is located somewhere in the capital's outskirts . "

" Hahahaha , Tsugumi Shirayama , your life shall end today ! " Mutsuhito said and clunched his right fist .

" Watch out , she's not alone ! " Tabitha warned . " I senced a group of monsters , a woman and an old man with her . I don't know about the humans , but the monsters have great powers ! You can't just attack them with a robot army because they'd be in advantage . "

" Tsh , then you'll come with me , witch ! "

" W-why so ? "

" Because your powers could be enough to stop those monsters . I don't need you to kill them , just lock them in a cage or something . I want them out of the way ! "

" Fine , but before you begin planning a surprise attack... "

Tabitha got up and walked to a treasure chest . The witch took out a golden key from her pocket and opened it . Mutsuhito approached and saw that the chest was filled with many dueling decks . Tabitha took a deck and then locked it . The blonde witch turned back to Mutsuhito with an evil smile on her face and said :

" Mutsuhito Geki , I am now passing to you a deck whose power is extremely big ! This deck is almost invincible ! It's a fire/water deck , so you might be familiar to it . "

" Fascinating... " Mutsuhito said while staring at the deck which shined in Tabitha's hands .

" Take it and use it to conquer the world ! The future of evil counts on you , Mutsuhito Geki ! "

Mutsuhito reached his hand slowly and in the end took the deck . He stared at the cards which were still shining and was amazed of how well they worked together . The man felt like the deck and its strategy were like made for him . Grinning , he put the deck in his pockets and said :

" Thank you , Tabitha , I will not fail with this deck ! Be ready , because in a few hours we'll set out to put an end to the Shirayama girl ! "

With those being said , Mutsuhito left the basement . Tabitha closed the door and then turned to her crystal ball . The blonde witch waved her hand above the blue ball and said an incantation :

" Crystal ball , mighty oracle ,

Show me the future spectacle !

Will Tsugumi enjoy her life ,

Or will she bow down before my might ? "

The ball shined and then an image of Tsugumi crying appeared . Tabitha smiled happily and layed the crystal ball back on the table . The witch now knew that the chances of capturing Tsugumi were higher . The witch laughed maniacally , but her laughs couldn't be heard because the basement was phonically isolated from the rest of the mansion .

Meanwhile at the UFO . Tsugumi finally entered the spaceship and ran directly to her room . The girl stood on the bed and breathed hardly . She'd been through so many and the worry that Tabitha might attack her and her close ones was torturing her . Suddenly she heard a voice coming from her door say :

" Welcome back ,Tsugumi . "

Tsugumi looked up and saw Tarja dressed up in a short black dress and wearing high heels once again .

" Tarja-san ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Well , well , well . You were on a date with him , and yet you look depressed ? What happened ? How was your date ? " Tarja asked .

" D-date ? W-well , me and Subaru got out of the sewers and found ourselves in a plain , with a forest near . We went in the forest and took shelter in a cabin from the rain . " Tsugumi said and then remembered the bath with Subaru and sleeping with him naked . " N-nothing important happened there... "

" By the look on your eyes and the blush from your cheeks I guess that it was the time of your life ! "

" N-no , Tarja-san , we didn't do anything perverted ! We just... "

" Hahaha , there's no need to explain , dear , I don't need to know your intimate stuff . So what else did happen ? "

" After spending a night in the cabin , we went on separate ways : Subaru back to his father's mansion before anyone could observe his absence and I back here . But I had this strange vision before I entered the UFO , Tarja-san ! It felt like a ghost coming back from the past to haunt me ! "

" Now now , don't get scared , dear ! You've just spent a night with your lover , why don't you enjoy that , rather than worry for silly things ? "

" I guess you're right , Tarja-san... " Tsugumi said and layed her head down again .

" How about we go get dinner ready ? " Tarja suggested and got up .

" Great idea ! I'll change my clothes and be there in a second . "

Meanwhile at Subaru . The black haired boy didn't dare to enter the mansion . He was afraid that his father would not only scold him , but he would also ask him about the place where he was . He feared that both he and Tsugumi might be in danger because of that , so he just waited in the gardens admiring the flowers and fountains . Time passed fast there . Being sorrounded by nature he could easily remember the face of his beloved Tsugumi and the night in which they bathed together and slept naked . Those moments were to him like the point where their relationship started being 'pure' due to the fact that they stood naked by the other without giving into their carnal desires .

" Hehe , such kids we are . At this age we should've made love like crazy , but we held back with ease ! Maybe she really is the chosen one... " Subaru thought .

The sun then started to slowly disappear . That was when the mansion's doors opened and an army of robots marched out with full weapons . Subaru was amazed of seeing such a powerful force and thought that it was some kind of war . Then he saw Mutsuhito getting out of the house with a blue commander uniform and a red cape . The black haired boy got up and walked to his father saying :

" Father , what's going on here ? "

" I'm gonna deal with you later , son . Right now I'll take care of the menace which has been bothering me for so long ! " Mutsuhito said and turned to the army of robots . " Soldiers , tonight we shall triumph against the enemy that has oppressed us so long ! Glory to the Geki family ! "

The robots began shouting battle screams as Mutsuhito entered his personal flying car . The man pressed a button and two plane jets came out of the car's doors . The car then flew towards the capital and the robots followed it .

A really confused Subaru stared at them sweating . The boy then turned to the castle and saw Edo running out of it .

" Edo-kun , what happened ? " Subaru asked .

" It's terrible , Suby ! Your father had finally found out Tsugumi's hideout and he's now heading towards it ! " Edo spoke fast .

" Oh no... I'm going after him ! "

Subaru was about to run , but Edo stood in his way .

" You mustn't go ! You know what would happen if you stand against the president's will even if you're his son . Please bear it for now , Tsugumi will find a way to rescue herself ! "

" You're wrong , Edo-kun . She needs my help to get out of this mess ! " Subaru said and punched Edo in the stomach .

Edo then fainted in his friend's arms . Subaru took him back in the mansion and layed him on the couch near Gola . The fat man was eating chips while watching an action movie . He didn't even bother to turn and see if Subaru was the one which brought Edo to him , he just said :

" Is he feeling alright ? "

" Yes , Gola , he's just a bit sleepy , that's all . Make sure you give him lots of food when he wakes up ! "

" Ah , uncle Subaru , it's you ! " Gola exclaimed . " Where have you been ? "

" I was on a little long trip . " Subaru replied . " Anyway , what are the girls doing ? "

" They're sleeping now . Today was a long day for them . "

" I understand . See you later , Gola ! "

Subaru then ran out of the mansion and looked in the garden . The black haired boy was hoping to find some kind of mechanism which could transport him to the place where Tsugumi was , but no avail . Then his Leo pendant shined and he felt something strange . The black haired boy turned to a rock statue which had the shape of a lion and the silver pendant fired a powerful golden beam on it . In the next moment the statue got life and moved towards Subaru . It was as if he had tamed a real lion . The statue kneeled in front of its master and asked Subaru with its lionic growls to sit on it . The black haired boy did so and then the lion statue took off with him on his father's track .

Meanwhile at the UFO . Evreyone was minding their buisness . Doctor Root was monitorising the parliment's activity , Tarja and Tsugumi were making dinner and Lordi were rehearsing on their instruments . Suddenly they all heard screams rom outside .

" I'll go check what's happening . " doctor Root said .

The doctor walked to the UFO's main door and opened it . The old man was shocked to see Mutsuhito in front of the spaceship with an army of robots behind him .

" You... " doctor Root said .

" You've lost this time , doctor Root . " Mutsuhito replied .

The noises were becoming louder and doctor Root didn't return . That worried Tsugumi and the rest . Tarja thought of the worst and worried that they were in great danger . Tsugumi then ran to the window and saw what was happening .

" What... what's happening ? " she asked while staring amazed at the army of robots .

" They have come to capture you . " Tarja said while looking at the window as well .

Then the girls saw doctor Root coming out from the UFO and walking to Mutsuhito . The old man was sweating hard . He was hoping that he could somehow trick Mutsuhito and get away as fast as they could , but he didn't have any plan .

" Turn back , Mutsuhito Geki , there is nothing here for you to see ! " doctor Root said .

" I think you've mistaken me for some kind of fool , doctor . I'm no fool ! " Mutsuhito said with a cold and mean voice . " My assistant here told me that Tsugumi Shirayama is hidden in this spaceship , and she never lies ! "

Then a woman wearing a black robe approached them and sat by Mutsuhito's right side . The woman took off her black cloak and evreyone saw that she was Tabitha ! Tsugumi then remembered that Tabitha had made a short contact with her just before she entered the UFO , meaning that she was the one which brought her there . The blonde girl had to assume her responsibility and surrender herself rather than putting the lives of her friends in danger . Tsugumi rushed to the UFO's opened door , but then Awa teleported herself in front of the blonde girl .

" And where do you think you're going ? " she asked .

" Awa-san ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Endure it , please . Even if you went to face him , we're already greatly outnumbered and would not stand a chance . "

" We... we won't know if we won't try . "

Tsugumi tried to run to the UFO's door , but OX then rushed in front of her and slapped her in the right cheek . The blonde girl flew in the air and landed on the cold metallic floor . The hellbull then spoke to her :

" While you were having fun with that man's son , you fled from reality and ignored us . Will you help us only when you feel like doing it ? I don't remember protecting such a girl ! "

Tsugumi stared at OX amazed while trying to get up from the floor . She knew that he was right , she had allowed herself to have fun and completely forgot about her protectors and friends . She had been selfish , and now she had to pay for it . Awa offered her a hand to get up and said :

" We have saved yours and the world's future by protecting you . Tarja , doctor Root and the whole Lordi band – we have risked our lives for that . Well , mostly Tarja and doctor Root , but I think we can count ourselves too . "

Tsugumi got up with the help of Awa and she went back to Tarja . The two girls sat by the window and watched what happened outside . In that moment Awa looked at Mr Lordi and he nodded . Awa used her ghostly powers and managed to teleport the whole Lordi band in front of Mutushito and his army . The man stared shocked at the five monsters which were now preparing for battle . Mr Lordi stood in front of the other five with a microphone in his hands . OX was sitting by his left with his black bass guitar ready while Amen stood by Mr Lordi's right with his lead guitar ready as well . Kita put his set of drums behind Mr Lordi and got his drum sticks in his hand . Awa brought her keyboards and sat behind Amen . She set them to have the right sound and now they were all ready to rock on .

" Oh my... what in the world are you creatures ? " Mutsuhito asked scared .

" We're the worst nightmare of your ears ! " Mr Lordi said and spoke in the microphone . " Listen , evreyone , the hard rock/heavy metal band Lordi has an announce for you all ! This is a new song on which we've been working for some time . So , without further adue , THIS... IS... "

" Sparta ? " a robot asked .

" No , you idiot , have patience ! " Amen said .

" THIS... IS... HEAVY METAL ! " Mr Lordi shouted .

Awa played some slow yet haunting organ notes and then Amen's and OX's guitars bursted in with badass riffs followed by Kita's epic drumming . Mr Lordi then bursted in with such melodic growls that those which liked his music couldn't stop singing his lyrics while those which hated his music couldn't cover their ears enough to get rid of the 'horrible 'sound' . Mutsuhito tried to hide under a rock hoping that they could just stop while his robots slowly started maltfunctioning . The heavy sound of the song was no good news for their circuits . Mr Lordi then grinned and sang thechorus of the song :

" NOW THIS IS HEAVY METAL ! NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY ! NOW THIS IS HEAVY METAL ! THE ONLY RIGHTEOUS WAAAAAAAY ! NOW THIS IS HEAVY METAL ! NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY , NO ! NOW THIS IS HEAVY METAAAAAL ! THE ONLY RIGHTEOUS WAY ! NOW THIS IS HEAVY METAL ! "

The robots couldn't take such torture anymore and then , one by one , they began to blow up . It seemed that Mutsuhito's plan had been totally ruined by the gang of monsters . Lordi had finished their songs and were applauded by doctor Root for the great performance . Mutsuhito got up and uncovered his ears . Never in his life had he been so phonically tortured like then . Mr Lordi looked triumphantly towards the tall man and spoke with a victorious voice :

" Well then , 'almighty' Mutsuhito Geki , are you gonna surrender ? "

" Never in my entire life will I... "

Mutsuhito's speech was then intrerrupted by Tabitha , who just got up from the ground and put her hand on his shoulder . The witch then spoke to the monsters :

" Maybe you have defeated his army of totally pathetic robots , but I still have some of my powers back and I'd certainly love to have a fight with you ! "

" So be it , old hag ! " Mr Lordi said and turned to the band . " Let's give this witch a Deadache ! "

Tabitha then took out her wand and fired a beam towards the monsters . The Lordi band disappeared and two cages appeared . In a cage were held the monsters while in the other were held their instruments . Tabitha did an evil laugh and said :

" Hahahaha , you thought you were invincible , huh ? I may not be able to send you to hell , but I can still keep you trapped for some time ! "

" Curse you , witch ! " Mr Lordi replied .

Mutsuhito then grinned and turned back to doctor Root . The doctor started sweating and started trembling while the man gave him an evil stare . Root saw that there was no other way to get rid of Mutsuhito than by dueling him . The doctor took out his glowing deck and said :

" Mutsuhito Geki , I challenge you to a duel ! For the sake of this country and the whole world , I will personally dethrone you , you power maniac ! "

" Heh , fool ! " Mutsuhito laughed and took out his glowing deck . " This shall be your downfall , doctor Root ! "

Two dueling tables came out from the ground and the players put their decks on them . The two gave eachother stares full of hate . Tsugumi and Tarja were watching the two from the UFO with excitement while Tabitha sat cross-armed near the cage where the Lordi monsters were and taunted them . Doctor Root and Mutsuhito then both shouted :

" SHIELDS UP ! "

Ten shields rose up in the air , five for each . The duel had begun .

" I shall start ! I charge mana and summon Marine Flower ! " doctor Root said .

" I charge mana and end ! " Mutsuhito said .

" Time for a little rush ! I charge mana and evolve Marine Flower into Astral Reef ! I shall draw 3 cards due to the creature's effect and now Astral Reef , break his shield ! "

Mutsuhito watched Root's creature break one of his shields . The man grinned and the shield shards turned into a card which he took in his hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Hell Scrapper and destroy your Astral Reef ! "

" Tsh , pure luck ! "

" We'll see abou that , doctor ! My turn , I charge mana and cast Whirlwind Tailspin ! The next creature I summon will cost 1 mana less and will become a speed attacker ! I summon Ken , Crimson Lord ~Journey's Begining~ ! "

A small fire rabbit weilding a black sword appeared behind Mutsuhito . Doctor Root began to sweat as he realized what was Mutsuhito's strategy .

" Oh no , you're in for a chain evolution deck ! "

" Good observation , doctor , and you probably know what's the last creature of this 'chain' . "

" Oh no.. " doctor Root spoke petrified .

" I now tap Ken and use his tap ability ! " Mutsuhito said and a card came out of his deck and placed itself on the Ken card . " I evolve Ken , Crimson Lord into Wan Ken , Crimson Lord ~Moonlight Howl~ ! "

The fire bunny got sorrounded by a fire aura and transformed into an even bigger fire rabbit which had two fire tails which ended up in two black swords . Doctor Root sweated while staring at the powerful creature and drew his next card .

" M-my turn , I charge mana and summon Qurian ! " doctor Root said . " Qurian will let me draw one more card and now Gravity Zero , I summon Paradise Aroma for free ! "

" Heh , like those would help you . " Mutsuhito laughed . " My turn , I tap Wan Ken and evolve him into Ken Gou , Crimson Lord ~ The Sundering~ ! "

Another card came out from Mutsuhito's deck and placed itself on his Wan Ken card . The big fire rabbit got sorrounded once again by fire and turned into a giant bird with red armor and fire cape . The bird roared and stared at the scared doctor Root .

" I won't give up ! " doctor Root spoke with a decided voice and drew his next card . " I charge mana and summon Royal Adonis ! Adonis's effect will let me look at the top 3 cards from my deck and arrange them the way I want ! Ike , Qurian and Paradise Aroma , break his shields ! "

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! Don't worry , doctor , I won't send any of your creatures back to your hand ! "

" Huh ? Why's he doing that ? " doctor Root spoke in his mind . " What's he up to ? "

" My turn , I tap Ken Gou and evolve him into Lord Gou Ken ~Symphony of Swords~ ! " Mutsuhito said and another card came out of his deck and placed itself on the Ken Gou card . " Also , Ken Gou's tap ability will destroy all of your creatures with power 2000 or less ! "

Doctor Root stared shocked at the bird which fired a powerful fire beam and destroyed his creatures . Then the bird was sorrounded by a fire aura and turned intself into a mighty dragon dressed in a golden armor and which was having swords instead of fingers . Doctor Root couldn't believe that such a thing was happening to him . The poor guy didn't even have any cards which could send that creature back to Mutsuhito's hand . All he could do was rush him up until he had no more shields left , but that strategy failed since he had no more creatures and Mutsuhito still had two shields left . The doctor didn't give up hope and drew his next card .

" My turn , I charge mana and summon Marine Flower ! Then I evolve it into Astral Rush ! " doctor Root said and many giant blue hands came behind him . " Ike , Astral Rush , break his shield ! "

Mutsuhito smiled as doctor Root's creature broke one more of his shields . The man started laughing maniacally and that brought more fear into doctor Root .

" Hahahaha , you're a fool , doctor Root ! You have tried your best to rush me up , but you have failed ! " Mutsuhito said grinning . " Now it's time for you to face the end ! I tap Lord Gou Ken and evolve him into Ken Geki , Absolute Ruler ~Final Flare~ ! "

A card sorrounded by a powerful red light came out of Mutsuhito's deck and floated in the air . That card then fell exactly on the Lord Gou Ken card and the dragon in golden armor evolved into an even bigger dragon with a spiky golden armor and who was wielding a giant black sword . The dragon roared so loud that the whole UFO shook . Evreyone couldn't believe that such a monstrosity was now in their world and doctor Root was the poor one which had to face it .

" Meet Ken Geki , Absolute Ruler ! He's a 23000 powered quadro breaker which makes me automatically win the game if it leaves the battlezone due to any of your creature's or spell's effects ! "

" Incredible... such a powerful creature ! " doctor Root spoke amazed .

Tabitha then laughed a bit and left the Lordi monsters alone . She walked towards the dueling place and stopped at a few meters from it . She then started speaking for herself :

" Mutsuhito , Mutsuhito , you greedy bastard . At last you've realized the true power of the deck which I've given to you . With this power in your hands , no one will stop you ! And that fool called doctor Root will at last pay for always standing in my way ! "

Doctor Root prayed for drawing a card which would help him win and drew his next card . The old man smiled when he saw what he drew and then said :

" My turn , I charge mana and summon Marine Flower ! "

" Hah , like that would help you... " Mutsuhito said .

" Then I evolve Marine Flower into Emperor Gyulum ! " doctor Root said and a giant blue robotic baby with three yellow eyes and many communicating tubes appeared behind him . " Ike , Astral Rush , break his final shield ! "

The blue hands went through the air and smashed Mutsuhito's last shield with their strong fists . The man made a few steps back scared , but then the shield shards united into a card which stood in front of him and shined . Mutsuhito couldn't believe what was in his shield . The man made a loud evil laugh and said :

" Hahahahahahaha ! This is it , Root , I have won ! Shield trigger activate , I summon Cuty Heart and send Emperor Gyulum back to your hand ! "

" Heh , when Emperor Gyulum leaves the battlezone , I'll reveal the next cards from my deck until I get a creature which I can summon in the battlezone ! " doctor Root said and revealed his next card . " I summon Genius Janit , of the Hidden Blade and end ! "

" I won ! " Mutsuhito spoke while a scary grin appeared on his face and revealed his white teeth .

" How come ? "

" Let me show you , doctor ! So far I've played the game with only two mana ! But now I think it's time to charge one more mana and get down to buisness ! I charge mana and cast Whirldwind Tailspin ! Afterwards I summon Ken , Crimson Lord ~Playing with Water~ ! The spell I just cast makes him a speed attacker , so I attack with Ken , Crimson Lord , break his shield ! "

Doctor Root took cover as one of his shields got broken . He then saw that it was a shield trigger , so he fastly used the card .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Royal Adonis ! " doctor Root said sweating .

" Like that would help you... Look at the creature which will guarantee your defeat ! " Mutsuhito said and Root stared at the giant Ken Geki . " You are no match for me , foolish geezer ! Ike , Ken Geki , BREAK ALL OF HIS REMAINING SHIELDS ! "

The giant dragon roared and swinged his mighty sword . The doctor trembled and took cover as the creature slashed shield by shield until none were left . The shield shards were thrown in the air in a wild way and some even stabbed doctor Root's shoulders . The doctor then fell on his knees because of the pain . He couldn't take it anymore , but he knew that he had to fight . The old man tried with his final powers to stand up and take the four cards to his hand . He then smiled and showed one of the cards to Mutsuhito saying :

" Shield trigger , I summon Cuty Heart , send his Aqua Surfer back to his hand ! "

" Is that all , old man ? " Mutsuhito asked with a bored voice .

" Yes , that's all... "

" Heh , I knew you were nothing against me . Any final words ? "

Doctor Root looked at Tabitha , which was standing close to the dueling place . Then he looked at the Lordi monsters and then at the UFO where Tsugumi and Tarja were hiding .

" For the future of our world ! " doctor Root spoke in his mind .

Doctor Root then took out a secret arrow he had made back when he , Kokujo and the chosen duelists were searching for Rezo in the Himalaya mountains . That arrow was made of ice which could resist at summer temperatures and which was inflicted with enough poison to kill a normal human . With a good aim , he threw it and the arrow hit Tabitha in her right arm . The witch screamed out in pain and fell on her knees . Mutsuhito got extremely angry when he saw Root do such a thing and said :

" This is it , you've done your last mistake , old bastard ! CUTY HEART , SEND THIS GEEZER INTO THE DEPTHS OF HELL , TOTOMEDA ! "

The creature's eyes shined with a red evil colour and the blue cyber virus flew in the air and creatured a giant water tornado blast . Then Cuty Heart fired it towards doctor Root like it would've fired a giant drill . The old man accepted his fate and stood there waiting for his end .

Inside the UFO , Tsugumi was struggling to get out there and help him , but Tarja was holding both her hands . Tears were falling from the blonde girl's eyes as she was shouting :

" Let go ! Let go of me ! "

" No ! You mustn't ! " Tarja tried to knock some sense into her .

" I have to save him ! Let me go ! " Tsugumi shouted and tried to free herself .

" It's too late , you'd only be captured yourself . "

The attack which Cuty Heart made hit doctor Root so badly that the poor man flew in the air while bleeding hard . He kept getting wounds which would soon become fatal . But still , the doctor was still smiling , even though he was dying .

" At least I managed to live more than Rezo , the Red Priest . " doctor Root spoke with a calm voice and with a last effort took off his glasses .

No one had ever seen how doctor Root's eyes really looked like and that was his special secret . He knew that he'd be taking it with him in his grave . His eyes were beautiful and deep grey eyes which showed their affection towards the whole world . But those eyes disappeared along with the rest of his body once the attack slashed doctor Root to pieces . What followed next was a rain of flesh and blood which fell upon the grass .

That was the moment when Tsugumi had finally freed herself from Tarja's grip . The blonde girl ran towards the door UFO's door hoping that it wasn't too late . Tabitha got up on her feet and took out the poisoned arrow which Root threw at her . She slowly walked to his remains and stared at them with anger in her eyes .

" Cursed bastard , you think that your mere poison is gonna kill me ? You're wrong ! I may soon lose my powers again , I may be put out of the way again , but I won't die , fool ! I won't die , because I am a witch ! I will heal myself in a week or two and then I'm gonna continue spreading chaos upon the lives of your friends ! "

Using the last of her powers , Tabitha waved her hands and set Root's remains on fire .When Tsugumi reached the UFO's door , she saw the macabre image . Doctor Root's body parts and blood were burning with high flames while Tabitha and Mutsuhito were laughing evily . The smoke and smell of decomposing flesh were too much for her and she fell on her knees while covering her nose and mouth with her bare hands . Tarja then walked to her and saw her crying while staring at what was happening outside .

" They killed him . I let him die . " Tsugumi spoke grievened .


	60. The carnival

The death of doctor Root came so sudden that Tsugumi , Tarja and the Lordi monsters couldn't believe that their good ol' doctor was now gone . Mutsuhito was enjoying the sight of his enemy's remains burning while Tabitha was trying to make the fire's power grow bigger so that not even the ashes would remain . The whole image was of a horrifying inhumanity and not even the strongest of all men would resist to see such inhumanity from those two . Tsugumi had had enough of seeing that and ran away from the UFO . Mutsuhito and Tabitha heard her steps and turned their backs to see the blonde girl running .

" It's her , the Shirayama girl ! " Mutsuhito exclaimed .

" Don't just stand there , get her ! " Tabitha replied and ran towards the girl .

That was the moment when Tabitha's magic began to fade because of the poison . Mr Lordi senced that and put his hands on the bars of the cage . The monster then used all his brute force and managed to break the two bars open . Seeing that , Kita did the same to more bars while OX used his horns to smash them away . Thus in a few seconds the monsters were free . To destroy the cage which was holding their instruments captive was a piece of cake . When Tabitha and Mutsuhito ran after Tsugumi , the Lordi band appeared in front of the blocking their way .

" And where do you think you're going ? " Mr Lordi said .

" Get out of the way , brainless beast ! " Tabitha ordered .

" You're the one to talk , murderer ? " Awa yelled towards the blonde witch . " You killed the poor doctor with no mercy ! "

" I've had enough of these clowns . Tabitha , will you please zap them into oblivion ? "

" Ok , Mutsuhito . " Tabitha said and pointed her hands towards Lordi , but no avail .

The witch sweated and realized that her powers had faded . She then looked at the five monsters which were about to beat the living crap out of her and trembled . Then Mutsuhito remembered that he had come to that place by car . He immediately grabbed the witch's left hand and pulled her away . The two ran to his car and were chased by the Lordi band .

" What are we gonna do , Tabitha ? " Mutsuhito asked while running .

" I'll try a little trick to speed up your feet . " Tabitha said and took out two chilli peppers . " I'm gonna put this in your feet and then you'll be as fast as a leopard . "

The witch threw the chills peppers in Mutsuhito's feet and he then felt a strange sting which made his feet run faster . They managed to outrun Lordi with ease and reach his car . Mutsuhito entered it fast and put Tabitha on the back seat . Afterwards he put his keys in the contact , started the engines and off they were . Lordi then stopped and stared at the flying car disappearing in the sky .

" They had escaped . " Mr Lordi spoke disappointed .

" For now... " Kita replied .

Meanwhile , Tsugumi was running as far as she could from the UFO with tears in her eyes . She then stopped in front of a tree and cried out her agony . The dark night and silver moon were the ones which had seen the horrible crime and which were mourning along with her . That was until she heard something approaching and raised her head up .

From the east was rushing a lion made entirely of rock . The girl distinguished a strange figure sitting on the wild animal . As the lion approached her , she began to recognize the clothes , items and in the end the face . It was Subaru . The boy's lion stopped in front of the blonde girl and he jumped off it and walked to her saying :

" Thank heavens ! You're all right , aren't you ? "

" Subaru . " the girl murmed .

" I'm relieved . I was afraid that my father would capture you . " the boy continued .

Tsugumi didn't say anything to him . She just looked the other way with the same saddened look in her eyes . Subaru then understood that something was not right . The wind blew on them and their hairs spread through the air . Tsugumi's blonde hair was floating in the air like a flag while Subaru's black hair got messed up due to the wind .

" Subaru , I cannot see you again . "

" Why , Tsugumi ? "

" Because... doctor Root had been killed and it's our fault ! "

The sudden news struck Subaru worser than Root's arrow had strucken Tabitha . The black haired boy stood frozen in that position for a few moments while Tsugumi stared at the moon . The girl then continued saying :

" If only I wouldn't have spent that night with you , Tabitha would've never found my location and your father would've never come to capture me . Don't you see , Subaru ? It's our childish desire for one another that brought poor doctor Root's death ! And it will soon bring us our own deaths if we won't stop ! "

Subaru was shocked of hearing such words coming from the one he loved . If living without her was horrible , then living knowing that she never wanted to see him again was the worst hell he could ever live in . Subaru couldn't even accept that awful idea . He made a few steps to the girl and said :

" Wait , Tsugumi , there has to be some other way ! "

" I'm afraid there's not . It's over , Subaru ! Farewell... " the girl said and ran away .

Subaru was about to rush back to his lion , but then he saw that the Leo pendant's effect wore off and the lion was only a statue once again . The boy then looked back and saw Tsugumi reaching the UFO and entering it . He knew that it was too late to talk to her . Then a flying car landed in front of him . The boy recognized it as his father's car and got scared . The car's door opened itself and Subaru saw Mutsuhito on the driver's seat .

" Get in , Subaru , your father wants to have a talk to you ! " the man said .

Knowing that he couldn't do anything else , Subaru obeyed his father's order and entered the flying car .

The following weeks weren't pleasant at all for our heroes . Mutsuhito was angry for having Subaru disobey him and leave the mansion , so he punished him by locking him in his room and let him out only when he had to attend meetings or interviews . Subaru was forced to attend harder lessons which made him so busy that he would forget about Tsugumi . The boy's food was brought by maids three times a day and Edo was allowed to visit him for only one hour per week .

Tsugumi , on the other hand , fled from city to city with Tarja and Lordi . Their UFO still served as hideout because they used its special camouflage technology and changed its shape and colours . That way no one would ever track them down . Even so , Tsugumi was still melancholic and stopped mourning doctor Root after two weeks . The girl couldn't stop thinking that it was her fault for his death . She knew that she had to stay away from Subaru because it was the only way they wouldn't be destroyed , but deep down inside she was suffering even more for his absence in her life . Slowly her life had no sense anymore and she even considered surrendering to Mutsuhito and face the worse , but Tarja and Lordi wouldn't let her do it . They knew that there had to be some other way to help the two lovers and they had to figure out how .

It was the beginning of August . The sun's powerful rays were still showing their might on the planet and the living beings . Even thought the month of July was over , there was no change at all . It was still the same oppressing heat , the same hunger , the same injustice , the same tyranny . Mutsuhito had managed through his secret pacts to enter in several country alliances and world matters . After many discussions with the president of the United States , he had managed to create an alliance between the USA and his country . By that time Tabitha had healed her wounds and used her magic to help Mutsuhito trick the president of the USA into making the alliance . She used her powers to create an illusion on the cameras that showed the people of Mutsuhito's country living in peace and prosperity in order to make the rumors about Mutsuhito being a tyrant disappear . Having the USA's president full credibility , Mutsuhito was on his way to world domination .

One day , Mutsuhito payed Tabitha a visit in the basement . The witch was sitting on an expensive egyptean bed and was having an air conditioner bring her a sweet breeze in that hot summer air .

" What brings you here , Mutsuhito ? " Tabitha asked while eating a grape .

" I'm here to thank you evreything you have done so far , witch . I am now on the road to become the world leader which I've always desired to be ! "

" Yes , hehehe , you sure are , Mutsuhito Geki . Just keep following the plan and on 23th August you'll become the leader of this whole planet ! "

" Yes , the preparations are almost done . " Mutsuhito replied grinning . " There's just one more thing left and that's my son's birthday . 9th August will arrive in just a week . Once we celebrate his turning to the age of 17 , actually 107 but his body will look like 17 , I will declair him my successor and he'll forever be stuck in my clutches ! No one will ever be allowed to approach the 'prince' if not being from his own family or one of his servants . Hahaha , the Shirayama girl will never meet him again ! "

" And thus their love will cease to exist forevermore ! " Tabitha spoke and laughed . " Hahahahaha , at long last I will have no more reason to fear of being destroyed ! "

Meanwhile at the living room . Edo and Gola were chilling out and watching TV . Everything was going fine until Chiharu came out of nowhere dressed in a white dress and with a play desire . The girl came in front of the TV , thing which annoyed Edo and Gola .

" Get outta the way , Chiharu ! " Gola said .

" I don't think so , uncle Gola . Grand uncle Subaru didn't come to play with me anymore and those meanie girls of yours won't either ! How about you play with me ? "

" Gola , can't you get rid of this little annoying machine ? We're missing the best part of the movie ! " Edo complained .

" Fine... " Gola spoke with a tired voice and got up from the couch . " Listen , Chiharu , I'm gonna play a duel with you : if you win I'll play with you , if you lose you'll have to go somewhere else and play alone ! Deal ? "

" Deal . " Chiharu replied and took out her deck .

" Good , let's duel then . " Gola said and took out his deck as well .

The two walked at a dueling table which was lying in the middle of the room . They put their cards on it and had a normal duel , as if they were playing cards .

" I start by charging mana and then I end ! " Gola said .

" I charge mana and summon Hearty Cap'n Polligon ! " Chiharu said .

" Heh , I charge mana and cast Faerie Life to gain one more mana ! "

" I charge mana and summon Shaman Melissa , Melting Snow Fairy ! Ike , Polligon , break his shield ! Then I take Polligon back to my hand and end ! "

" Nice rush , Chiharu-chan , but your speed won't defeat me , the almighty Gola ! I charge mana and summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to get one more mana ! "

" We'll see about that , uncle Gola , I summon Bucket Buc-kid , Friendly Snow Fairy and attack with Shaman Melissa , break his shield ! "

Gola took the card from his second broken to his shield and smiled . The man revealed the card which was a light spell and said :

" Thank you , Chiharu-chan ! Shield trigger activate , I cast Heaven's Gate ! "

" What... " the girl spoke surprized .

" I now summon Syrius , Firmament Elemental and Romanesk , the Dragon Wizard for free ! " Gola spoke happy . " Romanesk's effect will give me 4 more mana ! And now it's my turn... "

Gola drew another card and the smiled . His smile made Chiharu realize that she had lost . The girl looked at her uncle , which placed that card on his Romanesk card and said :

" I evolve Romanesk into Super Dragon Valkyrias ! Valkyrias's effect will let me summon a dragon for free from my mana zone and I shall summon Bolshack Cross NEX ! "

" Oh no... " the girl said shocked . " You have three triple breakers... "

" Yes , which means that it's all over , Chiharu ! Bolshack Cross NEX , triple break her shields ! Syrius , break her final shields ! "

All the cards from Chiharu's shields weren't shield triggers . The poor girl had no way to defend herself from Gola's strong creatures . She just layed her head down ashamed and waited for the game to end . With a triumphant smile , Gola tapped his Valkyrias card and said :

" Super Dragon Valkyrias , totomeda ! "

That was it , Gola had won the duel . The girl packed up her cards with a sad look on her face . Gola then spoke to her saying :

" Ok , Chiharu , I won , now you must respect the deal . "

" You're no fun , uncle Gola ! " the girl said and ran away while bursting into tears .

" What's wrong with her ? " Edo asked .

" She just needs to grow up . Afterall , she's 15 . " Gola replied and walked back to the couch . " Did I miss something ? "

" No , there were just commercials . "

Chiharu ran crying through the corridors of the mansion . She then bumped into her mother and hugged her while still crying .

" What's happened , my sweet little girl ? " Kurumi asked her .

" Uncle Gola and Edo were mean with me and didn't want to play ! " she cried . " With who will I play now , mommy ? I wish we were back to our old life where I could go to a normal school and have normal friends to play with ! "

Kurumi looked at her saddened daughter and felt sorry for her . But she knew that she could do something to ease her pain , and that something had to be done fast . The woman walked straight to Mutsuhito's main office and knocked the door . The man answered with an almost growled tyrant voice :

" Who is it ? "

" It's me , Kurumi , grand uncle ! " she answered .

" Hold on , I'll come . "

Mutsuhito didn't want to show anyone how his office looked like . When he had free time , he would most likely lock himself in that office and meditate upon his future plans . The other reason why he wouldn't let anyone enter that office was because it had some magic items which Tabitha had given to him . The man slowly walked to the door and opened it discreetly so that nothing could be seen behind him . His manly dreadful face appeared out of the darkness and gave Kurumi and Chiharu a cold gaze .

" What do you wish for , girls ? "

" Mutsuhito , I wish to have a chat with you ! " Kurumi said .

" Fine . " the man replied and got out of the office . " What do you wish to talk of ? "

" Mutsuhito , my little girl is grievened because in the last weeks she didn't have with who to play . Gola , his daughters and Edo would never play with her and I am too busy to always entertain her . "

" So what do you suggest , Kurumi ? "

" I suggest that you let your son out of his room for a day . "

" WHAT ? " Mutsuhito almost yelled .

" Yes , free him from that prison for a day and let him take my daughter to the carnival ! Come on , he's been locked there for two weeks and has been forced to study so much . Please , let him relax a bit ! "

Mutsuhito was shocked of Kurumi's demands and from the look of her face she wasn't daring to back off in any way . The men felt like slapping her for daring to be so ignorant and demanding , but remembered that he didn't want to look like a tyrant to the world or family . He needed to have a 'clean' image in order to become a world ruler . He then thought that having Subaru free for a day wouldn't hurt at all . The man then spoke to the two girls saying :

" Fine , Kurumi , I will allow Subaru to go to the carnival today with your daughter . But after this he will go back to his studies and will not be intrerrupted until his birthday , understood ? "

" Yes , Mutsuhito . " Kurumi replied while bowing . " Thank you once again for evreything ! "

Kurumi took Chiharu to her room and started dressing her up for the carnival . Subaru , on the other hand , received the news from a maid and was more than happy . He took a quick shower and dressed up in his precious Lordi T shirt and a black cape . The boy then walked downstairs and there he saw Edo and Gola eating two ice creams and playing a video game .

" Um... Edo-kun , what are you doing there ? " Subaru asked while sweating .

" Can't you see , Suby ? I'm having fun ! " Edo said while licking the ice cream .

" And those weeks in which I was held captive in my room didn't mean anything to you , Edo-kun ? "

" You were locked up ? "

" God , why am I even trying ? " Subaru asked himself and then left the two .

The black haired boy walked through the corridor and saw that at its end were waiting two girls . Those two were Kurumi and Chiharu . The latter was dressed in a beautiful pink and white dress with sun flowers on it . She was also wearing an umbrella like the noble ladies did centuries ago . Her two pony tails were arrange so beautifully that she was almost similar to a doll .

" Ch-Chiharu-san... " Subaru spoke amazed . " You look... cute ! "

" Why thank you , great grand uncle Subaru ! " the girl replied and bowed .

" Please , call me simply Subaru . There's no need to use the whole uncle thing , it makes me feel old . "

" As you wish , Subaru-san ! So , shall we go to the carnival ? "

" Yes , but where is that carnival taking place ? "

" Why in the capital , of course . " Kurumi said . " Want me to take you there with my flying car ? "

" Sure ! " the two exclaimed .

Mutsuhito watched the trio leave the mansion and head towards the capital . The man then snapped his fingers and the door of his office opened . The one which entered was Hanna and she was still dressed in her maid suit .

" What do you wish me to do , Mutsuhito-sama ? " the girl asked while bowing .

" Go to Tabitha and tell her to teleport you to the carnival ! Once you're there , find my son and keep an eye on him ! I don't want him try something suspicious while he's having a free day ! "

" Yes , Mutsuhito-sama ! " Hanna said and left the room .

At the carnival was only fun and joy . Multiple colours were brighting up the whole place and were giving life to the capital . There were fun games such as fishing , shooters or roller coasters gathered on the left and right sides of the street . Toy and candy sellers were also very close . On the street were sitting the citizens , both commoners and rich people . In the carnival day they all dressed the same and you couldn't distinguish their social status . It was the first day when everyone was getting along ever since Mutsuhito became president . Clowns were dancing on the street trying to entertain children or make them laugh . There were also parades in which soldiers dressed in medieval clothes or robots which did 'magic tricks' marched . It all seemed like a dream , a dream from which you would never want to wake up .

Tsugumi and Tarja decided to take a day off and go to the carnival as well . Tarja had bought a special belt which would make the wearer change his/her whole look , including the face and body . Tsugumi decided to wear that belt in order to remain undercover . She used it to 'transform' into a normal boy dressed in a white T shirt and brown pants . Her hair changed from blonde to orange and was shortened . Her blue eyes were turned pink . With such a disguise no one would ever recognize her .

Tsugumi and Tarja wandered through the crowd and in the end managed to see the parade of the robots . It was something which they had never seen before .

" Beautiful , isn't it ? " Tarja said while drinking a glass of orange juice .

" Yeah . " Tsugumi replied while admiring the parade .

" It would be more enjoyable if those robot guards wouldn't be here ! " Tarja said and stared angrily at two robots from Mutsuhito's army sent to look for Tsugumi .

Meanwhile at the other side of the carnival . Kurumi's car parked near the entrance and then the trio got out . Chiharu's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw the beauty and luxury which the carnival had to offer . She took Subaru's hand and approached the entrance with excitement .

" Look , Subaru-san , the carnival is finally here ! " the girl spoke with a really happy voice .

" Yes , Chiharu , I can see that . " the boy replied smiling . " Shall we go ? "

" Don't forget me ! " Kurumi said and walked to them . " Let's all have fun today ! "

As they all entered the carnival , a portal opened and Hanna came out of it dressed as a clown . Her head had a rainbow wig on it , her face was covered with white make up and a red button as a nose and she was wearing a red and white striped suit with a white apron which had the heads of all whild animals . The blue haired girl then screamed back to the portal :

" Tabitha-sama , you can't possibly force me to do this ! "

" Shut up and face it like a girl , Hanna ! " Tabitha said from the other side of the portal . " A clown at a carnival is the best disguise ever and they'll never notice that you were spying on them . Now quit whining and get to work ! "

The portal closed and Hanna sighed . The girl then entered the carnival and kept following Subaru , Chiharu and Kurumi . The three had fun the whole day . Subaru took Kurumi with him in the octopus spinner , in the marry-go-round , in the little train , in the dog roller coaster , in the flying hammer , in the super spinner , on the robotic bull and in the tunnel of horrors . The girl was afraid to go in the last five machines , but Subaru was all the time with her and that gave her courage . Through this carnival they managed to get to know eachother better . Chiharu started to like Subaru's romantic and artistic way of viewing life while Subaru started liking Chiharu's childish and innocent way of viewing life . That was the starting of a new relationship and Subaru felt like Chiharu was his cousin , not grand niece . Kurumi had taken photos of them riding all the machines and once they got out from the tunnel of horrors she greeted them with cotton candy with mint and strawberry flavors . All this was witnessed by Hanna , which always stood hidden in corners and observed what was going on . The girl yawned and looked at her hand watch . She pressed it and a hologram of Mutsuhito appeared .

" What is it , Hanna ? "

" Mutsuhito-sama , I've been here for hours and all that Subaru and the rest did was to have fun . There's no way he could ever do something suspicious ! Please , sir , may I come home ? I'm tired ! "

" Fine , Hanna , you may return , but just one more thing . "

" What is it , sir ? "

" Tell me at what time does the carnival end . "

" I've heard from others that it's scheduled to end at 9 PM , sir . "

" Good . If they won't return till 10 PM , I'll personally come after them ! " Mutsuhito said and clunched his fists .

" Whatever... " Hanna replied and closed the call . " I'm outta here . "

Meanwhile at Tsugumi . She and Tarja decided to split up – Tarja went to a singing contest while she was free to do whatever she wanted . Now she was walking towards a strange jewelry shop , as if something was pulling her there . She got rid of the disguise as she entered the shop and stared to the one thing which attracted her : a silver scales pendant . The shop's seller then came to her and said :

" Good evening , miss , with what do I have the honor to serve you ? "

" That pendant... " Tsugumi spoke as if posessed .

" Oh , that ? No other client had ever wanted to even look at it . I'm surprised you do . It's a Libra pendant and the legend says that only the 'chosen one' will be able to wear it and 'unlock its powers' . Of course that's just a legend . Do you wish to buy it , miss ? "

" Yes , I do . " Tsugumi said and took out from her pockets the exact price of the Libra pendant .

The sun began to disappear from the sky . It was 8 : 45 PM and the carnival was about to be closed , but there were still many people gathered there . That was because the carnival was planned to end with a beautiful fireworks show . Kurumi and Chiharu ran to catch seats in order to watch the show , but Subaru didn't feel like doing it . He felt as if something inside him was missing and he couldn't enjoy such a show without filling that void . The boy walked through the almost empty streets of the carnival .

Meanwhile , Tsugumi was sitting on a bridge admiring the Libra pendant which she had just bought . Its silver beauty was attracting her and making her feel somehow relaxed . She would've stayed all day meditating at that peaceful object , but then she accidently dropped it . The girl looked down and saw that the pendant fell on the shoulder of a black haired boy which was passing by . That boy was none other than Subaru . The boy picked up the Libra pendant and looked up to see Tsugumi disguised . But to her unluck , in that moment her belt's batteries went off and her disguise disappeared .

" Tsugumi . " Subaru spoke surprized .

" Subaru . " Tsugumi spoke as surprized as he was . " No , I can't let him see me ! "

The girl ran off from the bridge and headed to the exit of the carnival . Subaru realized that the void inside him was her absence and he decided to fill it once again . The black haired boy ran after her and tried to shout her name hoping that she would listen . Luckily , Subaru managed to reach her , but when he was about to put his hand on her shoulder , a clown came out of nowhere and stood in his way . Subaru pushed the clown aside , apologized and kept following the girl . Tsugumi then saw a crowd of people and decided to hide in it in order to escape Subaru . Her plan worked , for Subaru didn't follow her in the crowd . The black haired boy ran through a shortcut and was the first to exit the carnival . Thinking that he would follow her , Tsugumi also ran through an exit . Now both were rushing in the empty streets of the capital . Tsugumi went through a dark alley as she crossed the first street and tried to get as far as possible . Subaru , on the other hand , kept crossing streets until he would reach the place where all ways took . After escaping the alley and going through the historical side of the capital , Tsugumi in the end managed to stop at a bridge which was only one kilometer away from the carnival . The girl fell on her knees and breathed hard . She was full of sweat due as well . Tsugumi then looked back and saw that no one had followed her the whole path she had run . It was clear that Subaru would never find her . But just then she heard some steps . She looked at the other side of the bridge and saw Subaru crossing the final street and stopping at that edge of the bridge breathing hard like her . Tsugumi then remembered that the capital had another path which took to that bridge , but that required crossing at least ten streets . And yet , Subaru had crossed them all and stood right in front of her .

" Tsugumi . " Subaru spoke and approached the girl .

" No , stay away from me ! " the girl said and got up .

" Please wait ! " Subaru shouted and grabbed her hand .

" No , please , don't ! " Tsugumi yelled .

The boy pulled her to him and hugged her with his powerful and protective arms . The girl tried her best to free herself from his grip , but it was too strong . Subaru then took her delicate face in his hands and in the next moment he united his lips with hers . In that moment Tsugumi gave up struggling and let her love and passion take over her sence of morality and her grief . The girl sorrounded Subaru's body with her hands as well and the hug was complete . She put all her passion in that kiss as if it was the only way she could heal the wounds which the death of doctor Root had layed upon her . That was when the fireworks show began . The sky was coloured with red , yellow , green and blue exploding lights and the cheers coming from the carnival could be heard by the two lovers . After a whole minute of kissing , Subaru freed Tsugumi from the hug . The boy then smiled to her and said :

" Tsugumi , here's the Libra pendant which you've dropped . "

The blonde girl blushed and layed her head down . Subaru made his way through her long hair and then managed to put the silver pendant on her neck . The black haired boy then revealed his silver Leo pendant and Tsugumi admired it like he was admiring her Libra pendant . Tsugumi then realized that trying to get Subaru out of her life would've never solved the problem . She had to face the hardships of her life and she knew that it was worth it , because at the end of the road was the life with the boy she loved .

" Subaru . "

" Yes , Tsugumi ? "

" I'm sorry for being such a fool ! I've never meant the things which I've said back then ! I can't take you out of my life ! Will you ever forgive me ? "

" My love , there is nothing to forgive . I was never angry on you in the first place . I could never be mad on the girl of my dreams ! "

Tsugumi felt like a rock had been taken away from her heart . The girl hugged Subaru once again and together they admired the beautiful fireworks .


	61. Why did I have to meet you?

As dreams always have an end , so did the firework show . The sky was once again darkened and the moon along with the stars were free to shine after their will . Subaru and Tsugumi were still on the bridge looking at eachother .

" I don't ever want to let you go . " Subaru spoke with a tender voice .

" Don't speak of this . Why ? Why must our love be forbidden ? " Tsugumi spoke saddened and put her hand on her Libra pendant .

Then they witnessed the 'magic' of Tsugumi's pendant . The scales moved , the left one being down and the right one being up . Inscriptions appeared on both scales . Subaru looked closely and tried to find out what was written on them .

" Let's see... on the left one it says in-injus-injustice . On the right one it says lo-love . "

" The pendant is more than right . " Tsugumi spoke with the same sorrowful voice .

" Why ? Because I am a Geki and you a Shirayama ? " Subaru spoke frustrated , but with a still tender voice . " All that matters to me is that you're Tsugumi . "

The girl blushed once again . She felt ashamed that Subaru was showering her with so much affection and that he was speaking his heart to her while she tried to distance herself from him . And to make things worser , she had to go once the carnival was over .

" I'm afraid I must go now . "

" Wait ! Will we ever meet again ? " Subaru asked while blushing .

Tsugumi then remembered doctor Root's death , Mutsuhito capturing Subaru and Tabitha's evil grin . The girl closed her eyes and sobbed just once . Afterwards she ran away leaving Subaru with no answer .

The next day was an oddly peaceful one at the Geki mansion . Aiko and Mariko were out in town to attract some boys , Gola and Edo were slacking off as usual , Kurumi and Chiharu were discussing their carnival impressions to the maids and Subaru was locked in his room and forced to study as usual . Mutsuhito and Hanna , however , were down in the basement paying Tabitha a visit . Mutsuhito was sitting on his feet and Hanna was sitting on a chair while Tabitha was searching for something in her treasure chest .

" Why did she call us ? " Mutsuhito asked .

" She said she had something important to tell us . " Hanna replied .

" Aha ! I've found it ! " Tabitha suddenly exclaimed .

The witch took out from her treasure chest a strange deck which was eradiating with a pure evil purple aura . Hanna and Mutsuhito stared amazed at the deck which Tabitha had shown to them . The blonde witch then took out another deck from her pockets and gave it to Hanna saying :

" Take it , Hanna , this is yours from now on . "

" B-but Tabitha-sama , if you're giving me your Mad Rock Chester , then what will you use from now on to duel ? "

" This , Hanna ! This is the ultimate darkness deck this world had ever seen ! " Tabitha spoke and the deck shined with a bright purple aura .

Hanna and Mutsuhito covered their eyes for a couple of seconds . When the light disappeared they saw four giant black dragons united into one enormous monster . Tabitha smiled to them and said :

" Meet the Lunatic Gods ! With them on our side nothing will ever stop us ! "

The day passed normally . Mutsuhito and Hanna returned to their places and did their normal stuff . The others didn't even observe the fact that they were gone for a good period of time because they were too busy with their own activities .

At night the whole Geki family was sleeping . But then something strange happened . While Subaru was sleeping a strange noise woke him up . The black haired boy walked to his window and saw Mutsuhito leave the castle with his flying car .

" Father ? Where is he going at this time of the night ? " the boy asked himself .

Suddenly the whole sky got completely darkened by rain clouds . The lights of the moon and stars could no longer be seen . Subaru thought of that an omen of evil and began to worry .

" Oh no , what's he up to ? Whatever it may be , I hope you'll be ok , Tsugumi . "

Meanwhile at the UFO . Tsugumi and the rest were doing the usual . The Lordi monsters were rehearsing the songs from their new album called Babez for Breakfast . They didn't want to spoil to the girls how did the album sounded like , so they rehearsed in their rooms . Tarja and Tsugumi were watching a soap opera at TV while Tarja was gently brushing Tsugumi's long blonde hair .

" Such beautiful hair you have , Tsugumi , I'm impressed ! "

" Oh , it's nothing , Tarja-san , I don't have much time to take care of it that often . Maybe that's why yours is much better . " Tsugumi replied with a modest voice .

" Come on , girl , don't be like that . We all know that your hair is marvelous ! Seriously , you should become a movie star one day ! " Tarja said .

" Haha , thanks so much , Tarja-san ! Who knows , maybe one day... "

Then an alert suddenly poped out . The girls jumped from their places panicked . Amen , Kita and OX then rushed out of their rooms scared as the girls were .

" What happened here ? " Amen asked .

" I don't know , the alarm suddenly poped out . " Tarja said .

" Then let's go to the control room and find out ! " Kita suggested .

They all rushed to the control room and when they opened it they saw Mr Lordi and Awa sitting in front of a giant computer with stunned looks on their faces .

" What happened ? " Tsugumi asked .

" It's Mutsuhito... " Awa answered .

" What ? What's with Mutsuhito ? " Tarja asked .

" He's gone out of the mansion . " Mr Lordi continued . " And he's all by himself ! "

" Impossible ! Do you really mean it ? Mutsuhito Geki is out of his well protected mansion without any kind of guards ? "

" Yes , Tsugumi , and he isn't being followed by anyone . What do you say ? Should we launch a surprise attack on the bastard ? "

" No , Mr Lordi , what if it is a trap ? " Awa said .

Tsugumi then saw it in her mind . She was sitting in a fiery plain with Mutsuhito kneeling in front of her and begging for mercy . The girl ordered her Alphadios , Lord of Spirits to attack and the giant golden angel slashed Mutsuhito into pieces with all its six swords . Tsugumi's family was finally avenged and the girl was free to be with Subaru once again . The blonde girl then woke up from her dream and said :

" No , Awa , Mr Lordi is right ! This might be our only chance to get rid of Mutsuhito ! "

" Yes , I knew that you would side me , Tsugumi ! " Mr Lordi spoke happily .

Tsugumi walked to a holographic map which was generated by a small metallic ball . The girl typed the exact locations of Mutsuhito's flying car and analyzed the situation . She then discussed with Mr Lordi an eventual strategy to capture and kill the man and a plan B in case he had a trick up his sleeve . In the meantime , Kita and Amen started piloting the ship and looking for Mutsuhito's flying car . OX went back to his room to rehearse more on his bass guitar and Awa and Tarja sat by a window and admired the dry plains at night .

" This is it , it seems that the final battle shall be tonight . "

" I highly doubt that this will be the final battle . Remember what happened to doctor Root , Awa ? "

" Yes , Tarja , I remember , but this time Mutsuhito won't stand a chance and he's also alone ! "

" I think that we're aiming a little too high by only trying to destroy the tyrant . In my opinion , we must come up with a plan to do an attack at the parliment , diplomatically solve the whole situation and dethrone Mutsuhito , then go to free Subaru and after all this is done we could make that man pay for what he had done . "

" Good idea , Tarja , but I fear that there might be a problem... "

" What problem , Awa ? "

" Tabitha Lenox . "

An hour had passed . The UFO had been parked in the woods at safety and its inhabitants went on the hunt for their foe . Mutsuhito was chilling out and driving his flying car in the night when something happened . The man noticed something weird in the air and decided to light his path . Towards his horror , when he opened the lights he saw the Lordi monsters along with Tarja floating in the air with their instruments and microphones . The man then stopped the car while yelling :

" OH MY... WHAT ARE THESE CREEPS DOING HERE ? "

Mr Lordi looked at his band members and winked . Then Kita hit the cymbals with his drumsticks and the song playing began . Mr Lordi and Tarja started singing as a duet :

" WOULD YOU LOVE A MONSTERMAN ? COULD YOU UNDERSTAND BEAUTY OF THE BEAST ? "

Mr Lordi growled voice and Tarja's angelic operatic voice resounded at a high volume . Then Kita's pounding drums , Amen's and OX's heavy guitars and Awa's haunting keyboards began to destroy the silence of the night and rock the hell out of Mutsuhito's car . The man tried his best to cover his ears , but it was impossible . His car then shook and ceased floating in the air . The landing was a tough one and the car got severe damages . The band went down from the sky and they all ran to the car . Awa used her powers and created floating reflectors above them so that they could see what was going on there .

" Is he dead ? " Tarja asked .

Then the car's door opened and Mutsuhito came out with an angry look on his face . The man gave them chills down their spines as he laughed maniacally .

" Hahahaha , did you really think that you can take me down that easy ? Think again ! "

Then a blonde witch wearing a pale blue night dress came out of the car as well . It was Tabitha . The witch smiled at them and without saying a word she zapped them all into a cage . The witch then approached the cage and said :

" Hah , did you foolish monsters really think that Mutsuhito would dare to leave the mansion totally unprotected ? You've all fallen in our trap perfectly ! "

" Tabitha , two of them are missing ! " Mutsuhito said and pointed at the cage .

Then Awa teleported herself and Tarja behind Tabitha and jumped on the blonde witch . The three wemen struggled on the grass and then Tabitha managed to get rid of their grips and get up . Awa then fired two blue lightnings towards her , but Tabitha fired back two purple lightnings and destroyed hers . The blonde witch laughed and spoke to Awa :

" Hahaha , vampire countess , did you really think that you can defeat me ? My magic powers are beyond yours and I've got more experience than you ! "

" Is that so , Tabitha ? Let's see how you will be able to avoid my NAXAR RAY ! " Awa shouted and fired a powerful orange ray towards Tabitha .

The witch teleported herself with the speed of light and appeared behind Awa . She put her hand on her back and whispered to her ear :

" It seems that you've been in the Lornack dimension and learned some tricks from the trolls . Pretty good , Awa , but I've also been in the Naxagor , Crossos and Olyvind dimensions and I was able not only to steal their powers , but to also use them to destroy the dimension of Fehdera and wage multi-universal wars in the dimension of Horvet . "

" H-how in the world did you do that ? " Awa asked scared .

" Easy , I have more lives than the cat in which you've reincarnated after your father abused you to death ! " Tabitha spoke with an arrogant voice .

The reminding of her death was the final straw . Awa then used her ghostly powers to disappear and then reappeared behind Tabitha and sticked her hand in her stomach , tearing her organs apart . Tarja had never seen Awa so angry and was scared of her behaviour . Then Tabitha's body turned into sand and got scattered by the wind . That was when they heard Tabitha's evil laugh in the air .

" Hahahaha , did you fools really think that you can defeat me ? "

Awa and Tarja looked around scared and suddenly the witch appeared behind Awa and zapped her right into the cage which which was holding the rest of the band captive . Tabitha proudly walked to them and stared at them with a victorious smile on her face . Awa grabbed the barrs angrily and spoke to the witch :

" But how ? I ripped your insides out ! "

" Fool , that was just a clone of mine which I've made when you fired that Naxar Ray . It was more than easy to manipulate the clone after my will . " Tabitha said and then turned to Tarja . " Five down , one to go . "

Tarja took out a chakram from her dress and aimed it at Tabitha . The chakram was a circular blade which was very sharp and had the properties of a boomerang . The black haired woman threw the chakram towards the blonde witch . Surprisingly , Tabitha didn't make a move . She just waited and grabbed the chakram in her hands towards everyone's amazement . Tarja got enraged and pulled out a sword from her dress . She ran to Tabitha and attack her with the sword , but the witch protected herself with the chakram . After a few minutes Tarja managed to hit the chakram with the sword and make Tabitha drop it . She then pointed the sword to the defenseless witch and said :

" Surrrender , Tabitha Lenox , I got you now ! "

" Hahaha , fool ! " Tabitha laughed .

The witch then fired a beam and zapped Tarja in the cage along with the Lordi band . Tabitha then walked to Mutsuhito and said :

" This is it , we've got them all captured except for the Shirayama girl . "

" Heh , she should come to save her friends anytime soon . " Mutsuhito replied laughing .

All this time Tsugumi was hiding in the forest and she saw all the events . She knew that all her friends wanted her to escape , but just couldn't run away . The image of doctor Root appeared in her mind and she then swore that she would never hide like a coward again . She had already lost a friend and she didn't want the same fate to happen to Tarja and Lordi . The girl got up from her hideout , got her deck ready and walked out of the woods . Tabitha senced her immediately . The blonde witch turned her sights to the woods and saw Tsugumi coming without with a rageous look in her eyes . Tabitha smiled and said :

" Well well , our special guest has finally arrived ! "

" Cut it , witch ! Release my friends now ! " Tsugumi demanded .

" Haha , nice try , Shirayama girl , but you're not the one giving orders here ! " Mutsuhito said and gave Tsugumi an evil stare and a mean grin . " This time I've got you ! "

" No , you haven't ! " a voice yelled from the cage .

Mutsuhito then turned to the cage and saw Mr Lordi throw another poisoned arrow made of ice . The man yelled to Tabitha and ran to her . He managed to push her , but the arrow still made a cut in her right hand and some poison entered inside her body . The arrow landed on the grass and immediately broke into pieces . Tabitha then got up and stared angrily at Mr Lordi .

" Fool , you can throw how many arrows you want , you'll never kill me ! " Tabitha said and then turned to Mutsuhito . " Thanks for saving me . My quick auto-diagnosis says that my powers are fading as we speak , but I'll fully recover in 12 hours . "

" At least I made the odds more fair . " Mr Lordi said .

Tsugumi smiled to the monster and then turned to Mutsuhito and Tabitha . The girl took out her glowing deck and approached them saying :

" Mutsuhito Geki , I challenge you to a duel ! I shall avenge the cruel death of the Shirayamas and I will bring your family's downfall once and for all ! "

" Heh , does that include my son as well ? " Mutsuhito spoke with an arrogant voice .

Tsugumi then stopped for a moment and stared at him shocked . It was as if the ice arrow had struck her as well , but only harder . Mutsuhito's words were cruel , but they were filled with truth . If she wanted to get rid of the Gekis and of their tyranny , she had to also take care of their heir , Subaru . The girl then got enraged and she centered all her hatred towards Mutsuhito , the man which had brought all that curse upon her . She then kept walking towards him and said :

" No matter what will happen , Mutsuhito , I will not have peace until I see you dead in front of me ! "

" Hohoho , such cruel words from such a sweet little girl . I'm sorry to disappoint you , but if you want to get to me , you have to first get through my servants ! "

Tabitha then appeared in front of Mutsuhito and blocked Tsugumi's way . The witch took out her Lunatic Gods deck which shined with a powerful purple aura and unleashed an unholy darkness . The girl wasn't scared at all by Tabitha's deck . All she was seeing in Tabitha was just a mere obstacle which she had to pass in order to get her hands on the real enemy .

Two dueling tables came out of the ground and the two blondes put their decks on them and arranged the cards for the duel . The shields were raised and the duel had begun .

" I summon Melgainer , Electro-Spectre ! " Tabitha said .

" I summon Endra Pappi ! " Tsugumi said .

" Heh , I summon Moora , Emperor of the Gods ! "

A small purple two headed dragon appeared behind Tabitha and roared at Tsugumi .

" An Emperor of the Gods deck , huh ? " Tsugumi spoke impressed .

" Yes , this is what my Lunatic God deck is about ! " Tabitha replied . " I now attack with Melgainer and since I have a God in my battlezone , I'll draw a card every time Melgainer attacks and he also gets slayer ! Ike , Melgainer , break her shield ! "

Tsugumi took cover as one of her shields got broken . The shields shards quickly turned into a card which wasn't a shield trigger . The girl took the card in her hand and started her turn saying :

" I summon Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law and Endra Pappi lets me draw a card because he's an Angel Command ! "

" Heh , like that would help you , Tsugumi . I now cast God Signal and bring Adge , Emperor of the Gods on the top of my deck ! " Tabitha said . " Then I cast Transmogrify and destroy my Melgainer ! Then I will replace Melgainer with the top card from my deck , so I summon Adge , Emperor of the Gods ! "

A giant black three headed dragon appeared above Tabitha and roared even louder towards Tsugumi . The blonde girl started to get scared and made a few steps back while staring at the giant creature .Tabitha then continued saying :

" Godlink ! I unite Adge and Moora to create Adge Moora , Emperor of the Gods ! "

The giant black dragon then descended and the small purple dragon flew to it and sticked its back to it . Now the two dragons were one , the giant black one being the upper side of the body while the small purple one being the lower side .

" Heh , Adge Moora is a 11000 powered double breaker ! Ike , Adge Moora , double break her shields ! " Tabitha ordered .

The dragon with five heads opened all of its mouths and fired many powerful beams which broke two of Tsugumi's shields to pieces . The girl stood there sorrounded by the shield shards . She was scared , but then she saw that one of her cards was a shield trigger once the shield shards started uniting . Tsugumi smiled and took the card to her hand saying :

" Not so fast ! Shield trigger activate , I cast Heaven's Gate ! I shall summon Leonidas , White Knight Spirit and Aldora , White Knight Spirit for free and Endra Pappi lets me draw two cards because both of them are Angel Commands ! "

" Heh , your famous army of Angel Commands is coming out , huh ? This will be interesting . Your turn ! " Tabitha said and crossed her hands .

" My turn , I summon Petrova , Channeler of Suns ! " Tsugumi said and a woman shaped robotized statue which had two wings made of an extremely bright light appeared above her . " With Petrova's effect I choose the race Angel Command and now all my Angel Commands will get 4000 more power , meaning that my Ultimus now has 7500 power , my Leonidas has 10000 power and my Aldora has 19500 power ! Hah , let's see you beat this , Tabby ! "

" Tsh , you're really starting to bore me ! " Tabitha said and showed a shiny blue card . " I summon Ana , Emperor of the Gods ! "

A long three headed blue dragon appeared above Tabitha and then united with the other dragon by the upper part of the body as Tabitha said :

" Godlink ! I unite Ana with Adge Moora to create Adga Ana Moora , Emperor of the Gods ! Now that Ana linked with Adge you will have to choose one of your creatures and return it to your hand ! "

" I choose to return Leonidas , White Knight Spirit ! " Tsugumi said sweating .

" Also , Adge Ana Moora is a 16000 powered double breaker ! Next turn you're doomed , little one ! "

" We'll see about that ! " Tsugumi said and placed a shiny yellow card on her Ultimus card . " I evolve Ultimus into Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits ! "

A robotic angel made of gold which had some of its parts painted blue appeared behind Tsugumi and spread its pure white feathers from its heavenly wings . Tabitha made a step back scared and said :

" As long as Alcadeias is in the battlezone I won't be able to cast any non-light spells ! "

" You got that right , Tabby ! " Tsugumi replied smiling . " Ike , Alcadeias , double break her shields ! "

The angel's eyes shined as he aimed his hands towards the witch . Powerful golden light beams came out of its hands and they went through two of Tabitha's shields . The witch took cover so that the beams won't stab her somehow . She then took the cards to her hand once Alcadeias's attack was over . Tsugumi then continued her turn saying :

" Ike , Endra Pappi , break her shield ! Petrova , break her shield as well ! "

Tabitha took cover as two more shields of hers got broken . The witch then got up as the shield shards sorrounded her . She gave Tsugumi a scary smile and said :

" This is your end , Tsugumi Shirayama ! "

" W-what ? " Tsugumi asked scared .

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! Send her Aldora back to her hand ! "

Tsugumi sweated with fear as Tabitha drew her next card and started her turn . The witch then spoke to the girl saying :

" I summon Melgainer , Electro-Spectre ! And now for the final piece of the puzzle ! "

" Oh no... "

" Oh yes , Tsugumi Shirayama ! I summon Mani , Emperor of the Gods ! Godlink ! I unite Mani with Adge Ana Moora to create the ultimate creature : Adge Ana Moora Mani , Emperor of the Gods ! "

A small two headed blue dragon appeared behind Tabitha and united with the other small purple dragon and with the giant blue dragon . Now the whole giant dragon was completed . It was a really horrifying monster ! A 10 headed enormous dragon .

" Heh , Mani lets me draw two cards because he linked with Moora and Ana ! Also , because Ana linked with Mani , you'll have to return a creature back to your hand ! "

" I return Endra Pappi... " Tsugumi barely spoke .

" Heh , time to finish this once and for all ! " Tabitha said . " ADGE ANA MOORA MANI , EMPEROR OF THE GODS , BREAK HER FINAL SHIELDS NOW ! "

All the 10 heads of the dragon got their mouths filled with powerful lazor beams and they all fired them at once . The beams not only broke Tsugumi's last two shields , but they also gave her clothes some small burns . The girl then got up as her shield shards united into two cards . The girl took the cards to her hand and showed one of them saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Super Spark and tap all of your creatures ! "

A powerful light descended from the heavens and tapped Tabitha's Melgainer and Aqua Surfer cards . The witch then grinned to the girl and said :

" Fool ! When Adge is linked with other 3 Gods he'll give the whole creature the ability to untap every time it attacks or blocks ! "

" What ? " Tsugumi spoke shocked as she watched Tabitha's 4 card creature untap on the witch's duel table .

" Run , Tsugumi , run before it's too late ! " Tarja shouted from the cage .

" Hahaha , this is it ! It's the end of the Shirayama girl ! " Mutsuhito laughed .

" Adge Ana Moora Mani , Emperor of the Gods , finish her off , TOTOMEDA ! " Tabitha yelled and the giant dragon roared .

The giant dragon got another lazor attack ready and that one was even more powerful than the previous one . The creature spat the powerful beams fast and they all went to the poor blonde girl . Tsugumi closed her eyes and waited for the cruel death to take her away from all the suffering . Then everything went black and she couldn't feel anything anymore .

The girl suddenly opened her eyes and saw herself sorrounded by darkness . The only light she could see were 50 shining globes which were lying on the ground near her . She slowly crawled to one of them and picked it up . To her surprise it was her Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits card . She then realized that those shining globes were actually her cards . Tsugumi slowly picked up each card and had her whole deck in her hands once again . The cards were shining for her because she was in the middle of nowhere and it was a dark cloudy night . A lightning then lit up the sky and the girl got scared . Her fear grew as an ear bleeding thunder shook her . The storm was about to begin . Luckily , her Alphadios , Lord of Spirits card shined even more powerful than the others . She put it on the top of her deck and used her cards as a flashlight . Tsugumi ran through a strange dark plain looking for shelter . The girl was weakened , hungry , tired and had small bruises and burns on her clothes and body .

The storm then started . Hard drops of water were falling from the sky with big speed . The wind was mercylessly blowing on the plain , making the trees move in differrent directions . Tsugumi couldn't resist anymore and she felt as if she would collapse any second on the wet grass . The girl then saw a small abandoned house with the help of her shiny cards . She immediately rushed to it and at the entrance of it saw a small black cat which meowed a bit and approached her . The girl layed down and tried to touch it , but the cat easily got scared and ran away from her . Tsugumi entered the house and tried to look for a place where she could rest until the storm was over .

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito had managed to park the car and enter the building along with Tabitha before the storm began . Hanna was the first one to greet them and Mutsuhito ordered her to take Tabitha to the basement and help her heal her wounds from the last battle . When he was asked what had happened , Mutsuhito said to the other family members that he had simply been out for a walk . Now the tall man was sitting alone in his office and was thinking of what had happened back there .

_Tabitha's monster blasted Tsugumi and her cards so hard that they disappeared from that place . That was when an enraged Mr Lordi roared so loud that Tabitha's cage got destroyed . The Lordi monsters got out and slowly approached Tabitha and Mutsuhito . _

" _You cursed bastards ! This time you've gone too far ! " Mr Lordi growled ._

" _Hold it right there , creepy one , we don't know yet if she's dead ! " Mutsuhito said ._

" _Yeah , there's no body of her and my Emperor of the Gods doesn't have the power to evaporate people ! " Tabitha added . " If I were you I'd rush out there to find her ! "_

The flashback ended as Mutsuhito took a deep breath and then stared at the window . The storm was becoming more and more rageous . The man laughed a bit and said :

" Heh , good excuse you made , Tabitha . Now the Shirayama girl is probably out there starving and freezing to death . Those creeps will never find her in this storm . This is it , I have finally won ! "

Meanwhile at Subaru's room . The black haired boy couldn't sleep anymore because he was having bad dreams . He had the feeling that something terrible was happening to Tsugumi and she couldn't fight it . Subaru was sitting by the window and he was staring at the storm .

" Please be okay , Tsugumi . " the boy whispered .

Tsugumi didn't find any shelter in that abandoned house . There was water entering in the house through the walls and there were also some holes on the roof. The blonde girl was still wandering in the plain while the storm was trying its best to defeat her . After a few moments of walking she could distinguish some vague lights in the horizon . Tsugumi smiled and rushed towards those lights thinking that she had found a sign of civilization . But as she was getting closer she felt that her last powers were disappearing bit by bit . The attack made my Adge Ana Moora Mani was a really powerful one and caused her some great wounds . But she didn't give up . Tsugumi walked and walked until she stopped in front of a mansion . There she sighed relieved and closed her eyes . The blonde girl slowly fell and fainted on the wet grass .

A woman with long dark brown hair came out of the mansion to see if the storm had stopped . She then noticed the fainted blonde girl and ran to her . The woman was dressed in the latest waterproof suit which included a robotic astronaut suit and a round helmet at the size of a fish glass . She used the suit's flashlights which were sticked on its shoulders and tried to wake up the blonde girl by saying :

" What's wrong ? "

The girl then opened her blue eyes and stared at the woman . She immediately recognized her stare , but decided to talk to her in order to see if she was right .

" Who are you ? "

" It would've been better if I had died back then along with the rest of my family . " Tsugumi answered and fell unconcious once again .

" It's you ! " the woman exclaimed shocked .

The woman was Kurumi and Tsugumi had fainted in front of the Geki mansion . The woman took Tsugumi in her arms and walked back in the house with her . She then made sure that no one saw her and took Tsugumi to her room . The room had yellow walls which were decorated with paintings which were representing summer time . The flowers were located in floating machine vases and the only other thing Kurumi had besides her bed was a TV screen which was sticked to the wall which was opposite to the bed . The woman took off Tsugumi's wet clothes , dressed her a white night robe and layed her down on the bed . Kurumi then sat on a chair and looked through Tsugumi's deck . She was easily impressed by her Angel Command/Dragon strategy and her shield manipulation cards .

" What a powerful deck ! No wonder Mutsuhito was so afraid of her ! "

Then Tsugumi slowly opened her eyes and tried to get up from her bed . Kurumi got up from her chair and walked to her saying :

" Are you awake ? "

" Where am I ? " Tsugumi asked .

" At the Geki mansion . "

Then a shiver went down Tsugumi's spine . When she heard that she was inside the house of her own enemy , she felt as if she had fallen directly into his trap and couldn't escape anymore .

" Are you Tsugumi ? " Kurumi asked while smiling .

That was the thing which made Tsugumi try to get up and run away . Kurumi slowly pushed the girl's head back on the pillow and said :

" You shouldn't strain yourself . Don't worry , my room is safe . "

" Why should I trust you ? " Tsugumi asked while sweating .

" I have no hidden cameras in my room . And besides , I have no interest in turning you in to that tyrant Mutsuhito ! "

Tsugumi stared at the woman amazed . A member of the Geki clan didn't wish her death and she was in her room . It was too good to be true . The blonde girl calmed down and sat relaxed on the bed once again . Kurumi then presented herself saying :

" I am Kurumi Geki , Subaru's niece . "

" Subaru's... niece ? "

" Yes , Tsugumi , you see , he had two cousins , Lili and Sousuke . Sousuke was the only one which got married and managed to continue the Geki family name . That was how I and my brother Gola were born . "

" I see . " Tsugumi said and stared at the ceiling with a saddened look on her face .

" I've heard lots about you and Subaru and believe me , my ears were more than stunned when they heard such things ! "

Tsugumi's blue eyes got filled with tears . The girl put her pure white hands on her soft face and wiped them off while crying . Kurumi sat on her bed and hugged her saying :

" That you and Subaru should fall in love with each other is such an incredibly cruel fate . It has caused you both such pain . "

Kurumi then let go of Tsugumi and took her hands in hers . She looked into her wet blue eyes and spoke sincerely from her heart :

" Though we are related , Mutsuhito is such a beast . The things this man had done are unforgivable . So , please , let me say this to you... I am truly sorry ! "

Kurumi hugged Tsugumi once again while crying with her . The girl soon fell asleep and Kurumi put a wet compress on her forehead and left the room . The woman then walked to the edge of the stairs and send Subaru a message through her cell phone in which she told him that Tsugumi was in her room and that she needed him . The black haired boy immediately changed into his Lordi T-shirt and jean pants . He then put his deck in his pockets and rushed out of his room . Subaru walked on the corridors towards Kurumi's room and then he met his father on the way .

" Where are you going at this time of the night ? " Mutsuhito asked .

" Out to see my mother's grave . " Subaru lied and passed his father .

Mutsuhito stopped walking and stood there like a statue . The man was surprised by his son's words . He knew that his son was starting to reject him the way his wife did to him back when he banished Subaru from the family . Mutsuhito was a bit heartbroken , but all that he did was to whisper the following words for himself :

" You too , Subaru ? "

Subaru walked for a few minutes until he saw a woman waiting for him near a door . That woman was Kurumi . The woman was dressed in her night dress and was still holding her cellphone in her right hand .

" Where is she ? " Subaru asked .

" Here . " Kurumi said and opened the door showing Subaru a Tsugumi which was sleeping on her bed .

Subaru brown eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw the girl which he loved lying on the bed of his niece looking ill . The boy was about to rush in but then Kurumi closed the door and stopped him . The woman tried to calm him down by saying :

" Ssh , don't wake her up . "

" How did she get here ? " Subaru asked panicked .

" Be quiet , please . "

" But... "

" How will panicking help her ? " Kurumi then asked with a little more mean voice . " Calm down , Subaru , I'll explain everything ! "

Kurumi told Subaru how she found Tsugumi lying in front of the mansion and how she had gotten there in the first place . Tsugumi woke up from her sleep as she heard voices from the corridor . She recognized Subaru's voice and that made her heart beat faster than usual . After what had happened in the past weeks , how would they ever be like they were before ? The girl got her head up from the pillow and stood in an L position on the bed while waiting for Subaru to come .

" I see , my father had tried everything in his power to kill Tsugumi , even ally with our enemy , Tabitha Lenox . How could he do this to us ? " Subaru spoke frustrated .

" Your father has changed a lot , uncle Subaru . Now he is nothing but a greedy man which would do anything to get what he wants ! " Kurumi replied and then turned to the door . " Uncle Subaru , you are his son and the heir of the Geki family . But despite that , do you still wish to see the daughter of the Shirayamas ? "

" Yes . "

The door of Kurumi's room opened and Subaru entered . He was greeted by a woke up Tsugumi which was looking at him with guilt in her eyes . The black haired boy had the same guilt in his eyes and he felt miserable for not being able to change the situation in which they were stuck . Subaru slowly walked to Tsugumi's bed and then he fell on his knees in front of her and let the tears fall from his eyes .

" Tsugumi , I... I... I am sorry for all the pain I've ever reflected upon you ! " the boy sobbed and layed his head down on the sheets .

Tsugumi's hand gently touched his wet face and raised his head up . Now their eyes met and their faces were close . Tsugumi then took Subaru's hand in hers and spoke with a forgiving voice :

" It's not your fault , Subaru . Our cruel fate had decided that we should be born in enemy families . "

" Then why did we have to love each other ? Why , Tsugumi ? Why did I have to meet you ? " Subaru asked as the tears kept falling on his cheeks .

" I kept asking myself the same thing ever since your father separated us . " Tsugumi said and hugged Subaru . " Oh , my dear , why must our pure and innocent love be tormented by the world around us ? Why must we have such big weight upon our backs ? "

Hours passed by as Subaru sat on a chair near the bed on which Tsugumi was sleeping . The black haired boy didn't close an eye . All this time one single thought was tormenting him . He looked at the window and saw that the rain had finally stopped . The clock was showing that it was 4 AM . It was only one hour left until the sun would rise and a new day would begin . Subaru then decided to put all his fears behind and got up from the chair . He walked to the bed and gently woke Tsugumi up .

" Are you feeling better ? " Subaru asked .

" Oh , I'm fine now . " Tsugumi answered . " Why did you wake me up ? "

" I was wondering , my dear... "

" Yes ? "

" Do you regret falling in love with me ? "

" No . No matter how much pain it has caused to us , your love always made me forget about the horrible things from my past and it also offered me a light of hope in my life . "

At the hearing of these words Subaru smiled happily and offered Tsugumi his hand . The girl was confused of what he was doing but then his words explained his actions .

" Then let this light of hope build for us the future we've been seeking ! Tsugumi , as long as I'm with you , I will run through any hellish fire , swim through any rageous sea and fly through all the stormy skies , because I know that at the end I will be with you ! "

" Subaru... " the girl spoke astonished of his words .

" Tsugumi , come with me ! " Subaru said and approached his hand to her . " Together we'll make our dreams come true ! "

" My dear , thank you so much for always being there for me ! " Tsugumi said and took Subaru's hand .

Tsugumi got up from her bed and dressed up . Subaru packed up his stuff and walked downstairs with a big rucksack on his back . The two then got out of the mansion and walked in the wet plain in the night . They looked behind and saw the sun rising . That was when Subaru took out his Leo pendant and his Deathliger , Lion of Chaos card . Once the sun shined on the silver pendant a golden ray came out and fell upon the card from which a demonic lion made of bones came out . Subaru gave Deathliger a smile and the creature kneeled in front of its master . The two lovers sat on the lion's back and off they went .

Deathliger was running far away from the mansion as possible and the couple didn't even dare to look back . A new day was beginning , a new hope was rising and a new chance for their happyness had appeared . The pure love of the two was about to start a whole new chapter of their lives , and this time they were ready to face any obstacles , for they knew that they would face them together .


	62. Their love shines amidst thebright stars

It was a cloudy day . The sun's rays couldn't touch the ground anymore because of the thick white clouds which were blocking its way and were painting the sky into a different colour . The calm breeze was bringing a relieving cool upon the land . Because of the rain from the previous night , the grass was muddy and filled with small puddles .

Rushing on the plain was a mighty lion with blue mane which was made of bones . On the lion was sitting a black haired boy dressed in a pair of jeans and black T shirt which represented a band of five monsters named Lordi . In his arms was a blonde girl dressed a white dress and a long sleeved pale blue cotton shirt . The boy looked at the girl with his warm brown eyes and said :

" Are you cold , Tsugumi ? "

" No , I'm fine , Subaru . " the girl replied .

The two looked upon the sights which they were passing . There was no more sign of futuristic technology or human civilization . They were in the middle of nature , where no one could ever try to harm them in any way .

" So , where should we go ? "Subaru asked .

" I don't know . Somewhere far away . A place where we've never been and where no one will recognize us . " Tsugumi replied with a calm and peaceful voice .

" Good idea , a place like that must exist ! "

Deathliger heard the talk of his masters and decided not to waste time . The proud lion roared and and headed towards a forest which was lying at the end of the plain . They entered it and the lion wandered with the two humans through the dark trees . After a few moments they passed by a cabin which was near a beautiful lake . The two lovers looked at it smiling and then Subaru broke the silence saying :

" Look , it's the cabin where we've spent that night . "

" How nostalgic . " Tsugumi replied smiling as she remembered how she had a bath with Subaru and then slept with him .

Deathliger then roared and ran towards the lake . Subaru tried to find out what was the lion's intentions but the creature wouldn't respond . Deathliger jumped in the lake and kept running in the water . Subaru took out a black cape from his rucksack and then he quickly used it to cover Tsugumi .

" It seems that he just wants to have fun . I don't want you to catch a cold , Tsugumi , so please keep this cape on you . "

" Gee , thanks , you didn't have to . " Tsugumi said blushing and then looked at the sights . " It's so beautiful . "

" Yeah . " Subaru replied and looked at the mountain which was ahead of them . " Listen , we've never been beyond that mountain , have we ? "

" Nope , shall we go ? "

Subaru then slowly approached his left hand to Tsugumi's left side of her chest and touched it so that he could feel her heart beat . Tsugumi grabbed his hand with her left heart and held it tight .

" Are you scared ? " Subaru asked .

" Not if you're with me , Subaru . " Tsugumi said and admired Subaru's blushing face .

" Hang on tight , Tsugumi , so that you won't fall . "

" Ok . "

Deathliger then got out of the lake , ran through the forest a bit more and then began climibing the mountain using its strong paws .

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito didn't notice Subaru's disappearence so everyone was minding their buisness . That was until Hanna was called by Tabitha . The blue haired girl didn't have time to change from her maid clothes which consisted in a short black dress with a white apron and black high heels . Hanna descended to the basement and went to Tabitha's room only to find the blonde witch sitting in her pool looking exhausted and with an angry look on her face .

" What's going on , Tabitha-sama ? " Hanna asked while bowing .

" It's terrible , Hanna , you won't believe me if I told you ! " Tabitha spoke with a voice filled with despair .

" What is it ? "

Tabitha fired a small beam behind Hanna . The girl turned her back and saw the beam hitting a mirror . Soon an image started appearing on that mirror , but it was blurry . Hanna tried her best to desciphrate it , but in the end it turned clear and the girl got shocked of what he had just seen . Subaru and Tsugumi were riding Deathliger , Lion of Chaos far away from the mansion . They had just crossed the mountain and were now venturing through a deep forest .

" H-how could this happen , Tabitha-sama ? "

" I don't know , Hanna ! I really thought that I had managed to kill Tsugumi back then ! That cursed girl got away from me once again ! " Tabitha spoke angrily , but then calmed down . " Heh , like it matters . I have use for her being alive as well ! Hanna , I have a mission for you ! "

" What is it , Tabitha-sama ? " Hanna asked and turned to her master .

Tabitha then used her powers and two blue globes appeared in her hands . The witch threw those two globes towards Hanna , but they collided and a portal appeared in front of the girl . Hanna stared amazed at the portal as she saw that its other side was the forest where Subaru and Tsugumi were .

" Go , Hanna , go and take care of those two ! The deck which you are now using is powerful enough to defeat both Subaru and Tsugumi ! Now go out there and bring me the blonde girl ! "

" As you wish , Tabitha-sama ! " Hanna said and bowed once again . " I promise that I will not fail ! "

Meanwhile at Subaru and Tsugumi . The two had decided that it was time to walk and Subaru absorbed Deathliger back into his card . Now they were walking in the forest and admiring the beauties of nature , which were getting more and more diverse .

" It's so beautiful . " Tsugumi said .

" Yes , but not as beautiful as you . " Subaru said and turned to her smiling .

" Oh , come on , you're making me blush . "

The two laughed a bit and then stopped from walking . The two sat on a rock and held their hands while looking at the beautiful green trees and the sky , which could still be seen through the branches .

Suddenly a blue portal appeared . The two lovers got scared at its sight . Subaru got up from the rock and approached it . Then a blue haired girl dressed in maid clothes jumped out of the portal . It was Hanna .

" Oh my , what's a maid from my father's mansion doing here ? " Subaru asked scared .

" I'm no ordinary maid , idiot ! " the girl said and gave Subaru a hateful stare .

" Why are you talking like this to me ? I am your master ! "

" No , you're nothing but a pathetic loser which prefers running away with a fugitive instead of becoming the world's leader ! "

Tsugumi couldn't help staring at that maid . She had something familiar . Her voice , her blue hair and blue eyes . Tsugumi then tried to remember Rezo's minions and she thought the girl was even more familiar . The blonde girl then imagined that maid in a white italian uniform and the match came . Tsugumi snapped out shocked and yelled :

" Subaru , watch out , it's Hanna ! "

" What ? You mean the Hanna which was Rezo's minion ? " Subaru said and stared at the girl surprised . " Is it really you ? "

" Yes , fool , I have survived the castle's explosion and so did Tabitha-sama ! Now we're both back for revenge ! " Hanna said and took out her glowing deck . " You and your blondie girlfriend have no chance against me ! "

Subaru took out his deck from his pockets and stared at Hanna with the ferocious eyes of a beast who's about to jump at the prey which threatened its family . Tsugumi closed her eyes and joined her arms while praying for Subaru's victory . Two dueling tables appeared from the ground . Subaru and Hanna put their decks on them and raised up their shields . Their duel had begun .

" I summon Bloody Shadow , Mystic Light Death Knight ! " Hanna said .

" I summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! " Subaru said .

" I summon Sepa , White Knight Monk ! "

" Didn't give up your White Knights , huh ? You'll be easy ! I summon Maxval , Electro-Fuuma and break one of your shields with Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! "

Hanna stared at Subaru's creature as it slashed one of her shields with its spike hand . The shield shards turned into a card which the blue haired girl took to her hand . The girl smiled and showed a red card saying :

" I cast Volcano Charger and destroy your Melnia ! "

" What ? " Subaru said surprised and stared at his ghostly Melnia as it was bombed with magma balls until it was destroyed . " Heh , you may have destroyed my creature , but I am the one which will have the upper hand ! I cast Cyber Brain and draw three cards ! "

" Heh , time to show you who's the strong one around here ! " Hanna said and showed a shiny yellow card . " I cast White Knight Gate and summon Aldora , White Knight Spirit for free ! "

Tsugumi then got up and stared scared at the creature which Hanna had summoned . The girl then shouted to Subaru saying :

" Watch out , Subaru , that thing is a 15500 powered Angel Command blocker which also has triple breaker ! If Hanna summons another blocker , that creature can attack ! "

" How cute of her to warn you of the creature which will bring your death , right ? " Hanna asked with a sarcastic voice .

" Thanks , Tsugumi , but there's nothing to fear ! I will defeat this girl easily ! " Subaru said smiling . " I summon Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness ! Black Lucifer's effect will put my top five cards to my graveyard and he gets 1000 power for each Demon Command from my graveyard ! "

The cards which went to Subaru's graveyard were Corpse Charger , Inferno Sign , Hanzou Menacing Phantom , Grudge Gathering and Olzekia General of Decapitation .

" Hanzou and Olzekia are Demon Commands , so Black Lucifer now has 8000 power ! Your turn , Hanna ! "

" Hmph , I charge mana and end ! " the girl said . " You're lucky I ran out of cards ! "

" I guess... Anyway , I summon Fernando the 7th , Emperor of Mystic Light for only 6 mana thanks to the fact that I have 4 spells in my graveyard and Maxval's effect also reduces his cost with 1 ! "

" I... charge mana and end ! "

" Ooo , poor Hanna , only 8 mana and no cards in her hand ! Hah , let's make your situation a little worser ! I cast Terror Pit and destroy Aldora ! "

Many demonic hands appeared behind Subaru and went towards the giant creature of the size of a ship which belonged to Hanna . The girl watched how her creature was grabbed by all those hands and in the end smashed to pieces . Then she drew her next card and did her turn saying :

" I summon Leonidas , White Knight Spirit and end ! "

" Heh , time to finish this ! " Subaru said and his hand glew with a bright purple light .

Hanna looked at Subaru with both fear and amazement as the boy drew his next card with the speed of light and then placed it on his Black Lucifer card . The card he drew started shining with the same purple light and Subaru then spoke to the girl :

" I evolve Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness into XENOM , the Reaper King ! "

A giant dark blue demon with no face and giant bat wings which was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head appeared behind Subaru . Hanna then made a few steps back scared and spoke in her mind :

" Impossible , that's Ichiro's trump card ! "

Hanna then recalled the days when she and Ichiro were a team and were helping Rezo to conquer the world . They tagged along so well that they seemed inseparable . And yet , Ichiro had died in his duel with Kokujo . Hanna then felt a little pang in her heart and she started trembling . The blue haired girl looked at Subaru and was surprised to see the same fierce eyes and passion for duel which Ichiro had , only that Subaru had brown eyes , not red , and was taller than Ichiro . Hanna suddenly smiled and spoke to herself :

" Could he actually be Ichiro ? "

" XENOM , the Reaper King , triple break her shields ! " Subaru ordered and XENOM opened his body and fired a powerful blue beam which broke three of Hanna's shields into pieces . " Break Bonus , you'll discard a card for each shield XENOM broke aka your whole hand ! "

The shield shards turned into three cards which Hanna took into her hand , but then she threw them to the graveyard . But the girl didn't care , she was more concerned about the fact that Subaru was so similar to Ichiro in many ways and she had noticed that too late . Now he was her enemy and she had to stop him , but did she really want to stop him ?

" Fernando the 7th , attack and make her Sepa lose 4000 and die ! Now break her final shield ! " Subaru ordered and a demon dressed in a blue knight armor ran towards Hanna and slashed her last shield with its blue sword .

Hanna then snapped out from her dream and took the card which was in her shield to her hand . The girl then smiled and said :

" It's over , Subaru-'sama' ! "

" What ? " Subaru asked a bit confused .

Hanna's girl then shined with a strong white light . The girl then showed the next card which she was going to use and that card started glowing powerfully with the same white light .

" I evolve Leonidas into White Knight HEAVEN , Lord of Spirits ! " Hanna said .

A giant blue robot angel appeared behind Hanna and the girl laughed maniacally . Then Subaru's creatures all disappeared and he got four more shields .

" What just happened here ? " Subaru asked sweating .

" White Knight HEAVEN's effect sends all non-light creatures into their owner's shields ! " Tsugumi said while she got up from her place again . " This is certainly not good ! "

" You can say that again , blondie ! " Hanna spoke while laughing . " Hahahahaha , soon you will be defeated and then Tabitha-sama will have what she wants ! There's no way you can stop us ! "

" We'll see about that ! " Subaru said and started his turn . " I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards and then I cast Grudge Gathering and destroy your Bloody Shadow ! "

" You just made your last turn , buddy ! " Hanna said grinning and showed a shining red card . " Mad Deck Evolution , I summon Mad Romanoff , the Wicked God ! "

A robotic knight with red armor appeared behind Hanna and roared towards Subaru . The girl gave Subaru an evil glare and then put the card which she evolved into Mad Romanoff to the graveyard while saying :

" Meteorburn ! I send Ultimus , Spirit of Divine Law to the graveyard and cast Miraculous Meltdown for free from my mana zone ! "

" Oh no... " Subaru spoke shocked .

" Yes , since I have no more shields , my Miraculous Meltdown's effect will break all of your shields ! This is your end , Subaru Geki ! "

Nine chains with sharp edges came out of nowhere and flew through all of Subaru's nine shields . The sounds of all those shields breaking made Subaru cover his ears and take cover while closing his eyes . The boy then got up once he heard no more noise . He was sorrounded by hundreds of shield shards which were floating in the air around him . Then the shards slowly started uniting into cards and in a few minutes Subaru took nine cards to his hand . Hanna then asked him :

" Any shield triggers ? "

" Yes , only one ! " Subaru said and showed a black card which shined with a purple light . " Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy HEAVEN ! "

The demonic hands which had destroyed Aldora earlier came back and this time took care of HEAVEN . After the creature blew up , Hanna spoke with a bored voice :

" Is that all ? "

" I fear that yes ! " Subaru said .

" Then time to finish you off ! Mad Romanoff , totomeda ! " Hanna ordered .

The red knight roared and flew towards Subaru . Tsugumi yelled scared as she thought that it was the end of her lover , but then Subaru gave Hanna an unexpected smile and showed a card from his hand saying :

" Ninja strike 7 , I summon Hanzou , Menacing Phantom ! "

" What the... impossible ! " Hanna exclaimed shocked .

" Hanzou will make your Mad Romanoff lose 6000 power and die , thus cancelling his attack ! " Subaru said .

A purple demon with a really long toungue which had a spiky ball at its top appeared in front of Subaru and protected him by smashing the red knight so hard with its toungue that it blew up . The purple demon then turned to its master and disappeared . Subaru smiled and said :

" Thank you , Hanzou ! "

Hanna was staring at her dueling table with her same surprised eyes . She was so sure that she would win , but then Subaru pulled out his final ace from his sleeve and stopped her . The girl then remembered her duels with Ichiro and realized that he had been doing the same time every time she was about to win . He would always surprise her with a shield trigger or with an unknown creature effect and then finish her off . Hanna was then blown out of her thoughts by Subaru's voice which spoke to her :

" My turn , Grave Evolution , I summon Death March , Reaper of Death ! "

" Oh no , another creature which belonged to Ichiro ! " Hanna thought . " Is this boy really that good ? When I saw him face Ichiro , he lost so badly that even the biggest loser would laugh at him ! But now... "

Hanna looked at the elegance with which Subaru put his hand on his card , tapped it and then looked at her with his fierce eyes filled with his passion for dueling saying :

" You're finished ! Death March , Reaper of Death , totomeda ! "

Hanna and her cards were blown away by Subaru's creature . Subaru then packed his cards and walked to Tsugumi . The blonde girl hugged him happily and then the two continued their journey .

Meanwhile at Hanna . The blue haired girl had some small wounds on her hands , legs and belly , but she managed to get up and pick up her cards . Now she was heading home by foot . Hanna was having in her mind the images of Ichiro from the time she spent with him in Rezo's castle and Subaru dueling her . The comparisons were many and the similarities were even more ! Hanna then stopped from walking as she felt something strange in her chest while thinking at Subaru . The girl slowly put her hand on the left side of her chest and felt her heart beating faster and faster .

" Oh no , did he put some kind of spell on me or what ? " Hanna asked herself . " Subaru , why do I feel so different about you all of a sudden ? "

Little did Hanna know that Tabitha had been watching everything which happened to her . The blonde witch was still sitting in her pool with her arms crossed and an evil smile on her face which was showing that she was about to hatch a new evil plan .

" Hehehe , my dear Hanna , you're starting to develop a crush on Subaru , aren't you ? Well then let's use this crush of yours in my advantage ! Subaru and Tsugumi , when my new plan will be born , your days as a couple shall be over ! Hahahahahaha ! "

An hour had passed since the duel . Subaru and Tsugumi had walked until they had finally found a city . Because the reward on Tsugumi's head was still available , Tsugumi used her belt and disguised herself the same way she did at the carnival . The two walked on the streets of the city hoping that they could find something to eat . Subaru was a little scared because someone might recognize him as the son of the president . After some walking they had found a small restaurant .

" I'll go get some food from there . You wait here . " Subaru said .

" Okay . " Tsugumi replied while nodding .

Tsugumi stared at the boy while he walked to the restaurant and entered it . The girl was a little worried about that and hoped that nothing would happen to him .

No matter how many lights and colors the restaurant had on the outside , on the inside it was dark , cold , with many tables that had nothing on them , and a reception at which the cook was sitting and drinking a glass of wine . The cook noticed Subaru enter and said :

" This restaurant's only open after dusk . "

" But... "

" Come back later , kid . " the cook intrerrupted Subaru .

" Can you give me some food in exchange of this money ? " Subaru said and took out from his rucksack a few green papers which valued almost a milion .

" What the... That's a hell lot of money . Are you a rich man ? "

" None of your buisness . Now please give me some food ! "

Subaru came out of the restaurant with two black cubes in which two big meals were stuck . Tsugumi then walked at him and the boy smiled to her showing that he had got what they wanted .

Subaru and Tsugumi then left the city and walked in the forest until they found a small river whose water was crystal clean and where you could see the fishes swimming in it . Subaru took out a sheet from his rucksack and layed it on the ground while Tsugumi pressed some buttons on her belt and got rid of her disguise .Then Subaru pressed the red buttons on both black cubes and lots of food came out of both and were put on those sheets royaly . The food consisted in two chicken soups , a roast chicken with two plates of french frize and a tomato sallad , two slices of chocolate cake and two bottles of mineral water .

" Wow , amazing ! " Tsugumi exclaimed .

" Hehe , thanks ! It really was worth all that money ! " Subaru said smiling .

" But , Subaru , do you think it's really ok for us to run away like that ? How much are we going to survive by doing this ? "

" Don't worry , we'll be alright . "

" If you say so... "

" I just saw a little rocket abandoned near the river . After we eat let's see how far we can get on that . "

" Okay . " Tsugumi said .

" We'll be together . " Subaru added and stared at her with happiness in his eyes .

A few hours had passed and it was sunset . Subaru and Tsugumi were now flying with a small black rocket towards the sunset . The rocket was set on automatic pilot because none of them knew how to drive . Subaru was sitting on a chair in front of the rocket's computer while Tsugumi was sleeping on the chair next to him with her head on his shoulder . The black haired boy felt Tsugumi's body trembling and realized that she was having a nightmare . Subaru slowly stroke her hair and spoke in his mind :

" Tsugumi , you're having a bad dream . You're worried about the friends you've left behind , aren't you ? I wish I could ease your suffering . "

Subaru then looked at the computer screen on which there was a map of the Earth . He saw that the rocket was about to pass a really high mountain . The boy then smiled because he knew that they were even more far away from his father's clutches . His only worry was the fact that they might reach the border of the country soon and might accidentally cross it . Then Tsugumi opened her eyes and got up from her chair . The blonde girl stretched her hands and then sat back on her place .

" Are you alright ? You looked like you were having a nightmare . " Subaru asked .

" No . I'm fine , because you were stroking my hair . " Tsugumi said and smiled to him .

Subaru then blushed and laughed as the girl looked at the map and saw how far they were . Tsugumi then spoke to Subaru with a happy and almost angelic voice :

" Speaking of dreams , a long time ago I saw a bride . "

" A bride ? "

" Yes , it was at the time when I was living at that farm with that old man . She had come from far away to get married . She and her groom passed with their flying car by our small farm and I was able to see them . I was amazed by the bride's beautiful dress and her happiness , so I thought to myself : 'One day I'm going to be like that , too'. It was my dream to be a bride wearing a pretty dress . " Tsugumi said and then she looked at Subaru . " But in these ninety years we were never ready for such a step in our lives . Oh well , I guess that a little more waiting and dreaming wouldn't hurt . "

" If you say so... " Subaru spoke shyly .

" What about you , Subaru ? What did you want to be when you were young ? "

" M-me ? " Subaru asked blushing .

The black haired boy looked at his silver Leo pendant and sighed . The boy then remembered the times when he was a little kid and was playing with his darkness cards all by himself . He had a dream back then , and he kept it his whole life .

" My dream... was to be a hero ! "

" Subaru... " Tsugumi spoke smiling .

" Ever since I was a little kid I wished this . I wanted so badly to be a hero , to save the world from the evil... and in the same time to be a honorable and respectful leader . " Subaru said and proudly looked at his Leo pendant once again . " Who knows , maybe one day this Leo boy will realise his dreams . "

Subaru got up from his chair and walked to the back of the rocket . The black haired boy searched for something in his rucksack while Tsugumi curiously looked at him . He then returned to the girl with a small red box in his hands . He fell on his left knee in front of her and took her hands in his .

" My dreams don't matter now , Tsugumi . As long as your dream will be accomplished , I will be happy ! " Subaru said and opened the box which revealed a golden ring with a small sapphire jewel . " Tsugumi , I ask you under the presence of the setting sun , rising moon and our Lord , will you marry me ? "

The girl blushed and tears filled her eyes . Hearing those words from Subaru made her feel as if she was in the ninth heaven . Now it didn't matter to her what age they were , what barriers were standing in their way , as long as he was asking her the one thing which she dreamed her whole life . The girl gently spoke to Subaru with her happy voice saying the one word which made his heart be filled with powerful emotions :

" Yes ! Yes , I will marry you , Subaru ! "

Subaru put the ring on her finger and then the two hugged each other and united their lips in a kiss which was blessed by the final rays of the setting sun . Night fell upon the land , but they slept in the rocket which still flew in the sky . Their sleep was a calm heavenly one , for they had finally found their peace through their love , which was now shining amidst the brightest stars .


	63. The secret wedding

It was a cloudy morning . The rocket had landed near a rocky mountain . Subaru and Tsugumi had packed their stuff and left it because it had no more fuel . Now the two were wandering through the rocky passages while the clouds slowly started to make way for the sun . Then they passed by a dark cave where Tsugumi felt as if something was calling her . The blonde girl stopped and turned to the cave , but then continued walking as Subaru called her . After a few more minutes of walking they came across a beautiful bed of flowers which was lying on a small plain which was sorrounded by mighty mountains . Subaru and Tsugumi admired the beautiful sight and both then shouted :

" Amazing ! "

" A bed of flowers at this altitude ? " Subaru said .

" So beautiful , don't you think ? " Tsugumi added .

" Hey , what's that ? " Subaru asked and walked towards a strange building which was lying in the middle of the flower bed .

" Subaru ? Wait for me ! " Tsugumi said and walked after him .

Subaru walked through the many colorful flowers and stopped at the halfway between the mountain and the building . The boy examined it better and by the looks of the round roofs and the crosses at the tops of the roofs he realized it was a church .

" It's a church ! " Subaru said while turning to Tsugumi .

" A church in the middle of these beautiful flowers ? How lovely ! " Tsugumi replied and grabbed Subaru's hand . " Come , let's take a look ! "

" W-we don't have to rush... "

" Come on , don't be a sour fuss ! "

" O-okay , Tsugumi , let's go . "

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion . It was another usual summer day . Mutsuhito had left the residence because of his political problems . Gola and Edo were slacking off at TV as usual . Aiko and Mariko were gone in the capital with shopping matters . And last but not least , Kurumi and her daughter , Chiharu , were having fun at the outdoor pool .

Hanna entered the mansion looking exhaused and saw that the only ones inside it were Edo and Gola . The two guys were sitting on a blue couch with lots of chips , pies , cakes , burgers and so on . Hanna stared at them with disgust and then spoke to them :

" I'm home ! "

" Fine , go bring us some food . " Gola replied while still staring at the TV .

" Like hell I'm gonna bring something to you ! " Hanna thought and then said . " Of course , sir , right away . "

The blue haired girl walked exhausted to the elevator and descended to the basement . Then with her final powers she walked through the corridor and entered Tabitha's lair . The girl then fell on her knees and closed her eyes while saying :

" Tabitha-sama , I have failed you miserably ! Please , my master , punish me how you wish , but do it fast ! "

Tabitha had just got out of her pool and was wearing red and white striped pants , a yellow shirt and a short orange jacket . The blonde witch approached Hanna and said :

" Hanna , I've seen everything that had happened to you , my dear ! Don't worry , nobody is perfect , get up and come with me to heal your wounds . "

Hanna was more than shocked to see that Tabitha was such forgiving to her . The girl let herself be helped by Tabitha and together with the witch walked to a chair . She sat on it and watched how the witch was putting special lotions and healing herbs on her wounds .

" Poor girl , to think that you've walked all this journey back from those mountains . It must've been really tiresome ! "

" Tabitha-sama , I don't get it , why are you showering me with such kindness and mercy ? Lord Rezo used to punish me severly whenever I would fail him... " Hanna spoke with a saddened voice as she reopened scarrs from her past .

" Come on , dear , you know I am not Rezo ! " Tabitha said and then gently stroked her hair as she looked at herr sad face . " Tell me , dear , what happened to you there ? "

" W-what do you mean , T-Tabitha-sama ? "

" I mean , my dear Hanna , what happened to your heart while you were dueling Subaru ? I senced that you started experiencing strange emotions for him . Tell me , what do you feel right now towards him ? "

Hanna then turned away from Tabitha and stared into the darkness . The images of Ichiro and Subaru appeared to her . Tears filled her eyes and she covered her face with both hands and sobbed . The girl then answered Tabitha's question while still crying :

" What I feel towards him ? It's exactly what I felt towards Kokujo's son , Ichiro . He duels with so much passion , is a warm hearted guy and has such great devotion to the things he cares about , aka honor , justice , dueling... and Tsugumi . I only wish that I was in the place of that blonde girl... "

Tabitha then grinned evily and took out a small sack with enchanted purple sand . The witch slowly opened it and took out a handful of sand . She then approached Hanna and spoke to her with the same mercyful voice :

" Oh , my dear , that's terrible ! You're starting to feel 'certain emotions' towards Subaru , even if he is our enemy ? "

" I don't care anymore if he's our enemy , Tabitha-sama ! " Hanna said while uncovering her face and turning back to face her master . " The truth is... that I love him ! "

" That's all I wanted to hear ! " Tabitha changed her voice to an evil one and threw the enchanted sand on Hanna's face . " Hanna , you poor tortured soul , I now unleash this curse upon you ! May the strong emotions which you feel towards Subaru grow so much until you won't be able to take your mind off him ! For love you seek and with this love shall your life be cursed upon , by the power of the Forces of Darkness ! "

The sand slowly began to disappear and Hanna's eyes started to look as if they were in trance . Tabitha then approached the blue haired girl and said :

" Very well , my dear Hanna , now that I'm done with that , you be a good girl and go to the bathroom , take a shower and then go to sleep in your room . When you wake up , you will not remember the fact that I have casted this spell upon you ! "

" Yes , Tabitha-sama... " Hanna spoke with a zombie like voice and left the room .

Tabitha stared at Hanna walking on the corridor and then closed the doors . The witch rubbed her hands and laughed loudly . Then she looked at a mirror where an image of Subaru and Tsugumi appeared and said :

" Subaru and Tsugumi , with my sweet Hanna having her emotions grow higher and higher by each day that passes , your blasted relationship will soon come to an end ! "

Back at Subaru and Tsugumi . The couple had entered the church , but not before making the cross sign . The slowly walked in and admired the beauty of the building . There were paintings of the creation of the world , of the happenings in the lives of the Saints , and on the wall which was separating the main room from the altar were images of the Holy Virgin Mary , the Archangels , the birth of Christ , His Miracles , His Crucifixion , the Holy Mass , the 12 Apostles , all painted in a beautiful bizantine style on the golden wall . The two stopped in front of the altar and made small prayers until an old priest dressed in a black robe and with grey beard greeted them while getting out of the altar .

" God bless , my children , why did you come all the way here ? This church has been away from civilization and forgotten by this country a long time ago . Very few travellers stop here to rest , but I never expected a young couple such as you stop by here ! "

" Father , we've been running from something horrible ! " Subaru said while kneeling .

" Oh my God , what happened , child ? " the priest asked .

" We were running away from his own father , sir ! " Tsugumi added while kneeling as well in front of the old priest . " His father is doing everything in his power to tear up our relationship and we couldn't stand it anymore ! "

" I understand , my child , but running away is never an answer ! One day you both will have to face him , wether you like it or not ! "

" We know , but what can we do ? My father is so determined to end our relationship that he forbade me to get out of my room and set out bounty hunters to kill my love ! "

" Jesus Christ , that's terrible ! " the priest spoke shocked and made the cross sign . " How could a father do such things to his own beloved son ? "

" It's a long story... " Tsugumi said .

Back at the Geki mansion . Hanna did exactly as Tabitha ordered her and was now sleeping in her bed . Downstairs , Gola and Edo had just finished watching an action movie and were bored because there was nothing interesting on TV anymore . Edo then hardly got up from the couch and said :

" Now I understand how you got fat , Gola . Man , I can't believe that I've put on two pounds in just a few days ! "

" Haha , that's life , huh , Edo ? " Gola laughed .

" If you say so... although I'd use to do other awesome stuff as well while I was at Subaru's mansion . " Edo said .

" Like ? "

" Like playing video games... or even dueling ! "

" Oh , you want a duel ? " Gola asked and took out his deck .

" You bet I do ! " Edo replied and took out his deck as well .

" Ok , but let's not make it a real duel . Let it be just a normal card game duel so that the house won't get destroyed . "

" If you say so , Gola . "

Gola got up from the couch as well and walked together with Edo to the dueling table which was lying a few steps away from the couch . They placed their cards on the way a duel had to start and began their game .

Back at the church . Subaru and Tsugumi had finished telling their story to the priest . The old man was impressed by all the suffering they had been through and how they fought for their love . The priest then got up and stared at an icon of Jesus Christ holding the Bible . He then spoke in his mind :

" Such hard crosses You gave them to carry , my Lord ! Now they are asking me to unite their destinies through the Holy Matrimony , but if Subaru's family finds out , only pain and suffering shall be cast upon them ! My Lord , I pray that what I will do will be the right choice ! "

" So , will you marry us , father ? " Subaru asked .

" Yes , my son , I will prepair a wedding ceremony . " the priest answered .

Subaru and Tsugumi smiled happily and looked at each other . At last , after ninety years of waiting , the moment when they would be united through the power of God had finally come . It was only a matter of hours .

Meanwhile , at the Geki mansion . Edo's and Gola's duel was taking place , but it wasn't a kaijudo duel where creatures would appear in the room and cause damage . It was an ordinary card game duel on a normal dueling table .

" I summon Aqua Guard ! " Edo said .

" I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! " Gola said .

" I summon Pipippi , Electro-Raiser ! "

" And I summon Cavern Raider ! "

" Heh , I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand ! " Edo said and then tapped his Pipippi card . " I now attack with Pipippi and reveal the next card from my deck ! "

The card which Edo revealed was Crystal Paladin . Pipippi's effect made Edo take the revealed card to his hand only if it was an evolution creature , an Crystal Paladin was that kind of creature . Edo added that card to his hand and then continued his turn saying :

" Ike , Pipippi , break his shield ! "

Gola took to his hand the card from the shield which Edo broke . Then the fat man drew his next turn , charged mana and showed a card saying :

" I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain one more mana and one more shield ! Now , Cavern Raider , attack , and I will take a Romanesk , the Dragon Wizard from my deck to my hand ! "

" Huh ? Hah , nice strategy , Gola ! "

" Thanks , Edo ! Now , Cavern Raider , break his shield ! "

" Hm... block it , Aqua Guard ! " Edo said with a little confuse voice , for he didn't knew if he really wanted to get his shields broken . " Now that both Aqua Guard and Cavern Raider have died , it's party time ! I evolve Aqua Super Emeral into Crystal Paladin ! "

" Hohoho , going up for a rush , huh , Edo ? "

" You guessed it , Gola ! I attack with Pipippi once again and reveal the top card from my deck ! "

This time Edo's surprise wasn't a good one . The card which he revealed was Cyber Brain and it wasn't an evolution creature . It was a spell , and one which he needed in that moment , but because of Pipippi's effect , it went to the bottom of his deck .

" Heh , Cyber Brain is restricted to one copy per deck and it's a spell which allows you to draw 3 cards ! Too bad you lost it ! " Gola spoke with a little arrogant voice .

" Tsh , Pipippi , break his shield ! " Edo ordered .

Gola calmly took the card from his shield to his hand and smiled . Edo got confused , but then Gola showed him the card and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send your Crystal Paladin to the mana zone ! "

" Heh , thanks for the mana ! " Edo said smiling as he placed his Crystal Paladin and Aqua Super Emeral cards in his mana zone .

" You're gonna need it if you want to keep up with me ! " Gola replied and showed another card . " I summon Romanesk , the Dragon Wizard and get 4 more mana ! "

" WHAT ? " Edo screamed shocked . " Y-you actually got 11 mana now ? "

" Yes , and now , Skysword , the Savage Vizier , break his shield ! "

" Tsh , your fun has come to an end , Gola ! I evolve Pipippi into Emperor Marco and draw 3 cards ! Ike , Emperor Marco , double break his shields ! "

" Hehehe , play time is over ! " Gola said as he placed a red card on his Romanesk card . " I evolve Romanesk into Super Dragon Valkyrias ! With his effect I'll summon Light Divine Dragon Spell Del Fin from my mana zone ! Spell Del Fin's effect will not allow you to cast anymore spells and will force you to show your hand to me ! "

Edo then showed the cards from his hand , which were Invisible Suit , Bullet 'Shirou' Barett and Blue Divine Dragon , Bolbalzak 'Swordflash' Dragon . Gola then smiled and continued his turn saying :

" Ike , Valkyrias , triple break his shields ! "

Edo then took three cards from his shields to his hand and looked at them . The boy then smiled and Gola started sweating . Edo showed two of the cards he got from his shields and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and Cuty Heart ! With their effects I'll return your Spell Del Fin and Skysword back to your hand ! "

" Tsh , I end my turn ! " Gola spoke with a little grumpy voice .

" My turn , I summon Aqua Sniper ! " Edo said .

" WHAT ? "

" Send his Valkyrias back to his hand , boy ! "

" Grr... you'll pay for this , Edo ! "

" We'll see about this , Gola ! Ike , Emperor Marco , break his final shields ! "

Gola took the last two cards from his shields to his hand . The man then desperately showed one of them to Edo and said :

" Shield trigger , I cast Mana Nexus and put Super Spark from my mana zone to my shields ! "

" It's time to put an end to your tricks , Gola ! Ike , Aqua Surfer , break his final shield ! "

" Shield trigger , I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures ! "

" Heh , you just canceled your defeat for a turn... " Edo said while turning his Cuty Heart and Aqua Sniper cards 90 degrees .

Gola stared at Edo's battlezone scared . The brown haired boy had four creatures , while he had no more shields . The fat man needed a miracle to survive ! He then drew his next card and saw that his miracle had arrived . The man charged mana and showed the card he drew saying :

" I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier to gain one more mana and one more shield ! And now I evolve Skysword into Fighter Dual Fang and gain two more mana ! "

" Wow , you have so much mana that my eyes are starting to bleed by just looking at all those cards ! " Edo exclaimed .

" And this is just the beginning ! Ike , Fighter Dual Fang , destroy his Cuty Heart ! "

Edo then drew his next card and a shadow covered his eyes . As he saw that , Gola started to gain more confidence and believed that he would win the duel . The fat man then victoriously spoke to Edo :

" So , wanna give up ? "

" Give up ? Why would I do that when I'm about to win ? " Edo asked and then revealed a sly smile on his face .

" What ? You tricked me , you little ! " Gola spoke angrily .

" Nah , I just having some fun with you ! I now evolve Aqua Surfer into Crystal Zweilancer ! Crystal Zweilancer is a 13000 powered triple breaker which can't be blocked ! We all know what that means... "

" Uh oh... "

" Ike , Aqua Sniper , break his final shield ! "

Gola then took the card from his last shield and stared at it amazed . He then showed it to Edo trembling and said :

" Sh-shield trigger , I-I cast Heaven's Gate and s-summon Romanesk , the Dragon Wizard and Syrius , Firmament Elemental ! "

" You summoned your blockers , but this won't be enough , Gola ! Finish him off , Crystal Zweilancer , totomeda ! " Edo ordered .

Gola then fell on his knees ashamed . Edo packed his own cards and then Gola's cards as well . The brown haired boy walked to Gola and offered him his deck saying :

" Nice match , Gola , you were truly a hard opponent ! "

" H-how could you beat me , Edo ? The only one which ever defeated me was Mutsuhito ! " Gola said while taking his deck . " Not even my sister , Kurumi , didn't manage to defeat me in a duel , and our decks are pretty equal ! "

" Heh , what can I say , beginner's luck ? " Edo laughed . " Now how about we go and watch some more TV ? "

" I'll bring the snacks ! "

Back at the church . The bells from the towers were ringing a loud melody so that the whole nature would hear the great event which was happening in the house of God . The priest was sitting in front of the altar with a Bible opened and a red pillow on which two golden rings were lying . At the doors of the church were Subaru and Tsugumi . Subaru was dressed in a black groom suit and Tsugumi was dressed in one of the most beautiful white bride dresses she had ever seen and was holding an iris and rose bouquet . All those clothes were given to them by the priest , which was lucky to have kept them as 'gift' from a couple . Subaru and Tsugumi then started to advance slowly from the doors of the church to the altar .

" Yesterday I told you that I didn't care for my dreams and that I wanted to make your dream come true . Now I realize that making you happy , Tsugumi , I'll be happier than if I were to become a hero or a leader . You can daily save people or lead them towards prosperity , but only once you have the opportunity to unite with the one you love ! "

" Yes , Subaru , and I pray that this unity of ours will last forevermore ! We have fought so many times and still managed to be together . Now it is the time to seal our bond ! "

After a few minute walk which seemed like an eternity to them , they had finally stopped in front of the priest . Subaru then turned to Tsugumi and gently took off the veil from her head . Then the two looked at the priest as he began reading the wedding ceremony text :

" Dear friends , we have gathered here in this sunlit day of August to witness the union of Subaru Geki and Tsugumi Shirayama in holy matrimony . In the beginning , marriage was instituted by God , a union which was and is to be revered and honored by all peoples . They therefore do not join together light-heartedly , or unadvisedly ; but thoughtfully , happily , and in the fear of God . We share the joy of Tsugumi and Subaru , who now come together in the love of God and one another ; uniting two hearts and lives , blending all interests , sympathies , and hopes . "

The priest then took the rings and handed them to the two .

" Subaru and Tsugumi have chosen rings to be the symbols of their marriage covenant . The ring , made of precious and enduring metal , gold , is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites their hearts in a love which has no end . "

Subaru put the smaller ring on Tsugumi's finger and said :

" I , Subaru , take thee , Tsugumi , to be my wedded wife ; to have and to hold from this day forward , for better for worse , for richer for poorer , in sickness and in health ; to love , honor and cherish , until death do us part . According to God's holy ordinance ; and thereto I pledge thee my faithful love . "

Tsugumi put the bigger ring on Subaru's finger saying :

" I , Tsugumi , take thee , Subaru , to be my wedded husband ; to have and to hold from this day forward , for better for worse , for richer for poorer , in sickness and in health ; to love , honor and cherish , until death do us part . According to God's holy ordinance ; and thereto I pledge thee my faithful love . "

The priest then continued the ceremony by saying :

" And now having pledged your love for , and loyalty to each other , and having sealed the pledge with the marriage rings , I do , by the power invested in me , declair you husband and wife . In the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit . What God has joined together , let no man put asunder . You may kiss the bride . "

Subaru and Tsugumi then looked in each other's eyes . The happiness could be read in both his brown eyes and her blue eyes . Both were swimming in seas of strong love by just a look in the other's eye . The two then hugged each other and united their lips in a kiss which was so filled with love and passion that it made a strange light aura sorround them while that was happening . The priest got amazed of seeing such a miracle and made the cross sign while looking up to a picture with Christ on a cross . Above the church , in the sky , Alphadios and Dorballom were floating and observing how the chosen light and darkness duelists had gotten united through the holy matrimony . Both leaders of those civilizations knew that great things awaited their chosen ones , but for the moment decided to rejoice their union .

The union of Subaru and Tsugumi was felt even at Tabitha's lair . The whole room shook and the witch could hear thunders . She also heard many loud demonic screams coming from the shadows . Tabitha then fired a beam towards her mirror and said :

" For Hades' sake , what's going on ? Mirror , mirror on the wall , show me what's causing this all ! "

The image of Subaru and Tsugumi kissing each other in front of a church altar appeared immediately on the mirror . Tabitha widened her eyes and made a few steps back scared .

" Impossible... Please , tell me that this is not true... " Tabitha gasped and then she shouted . " Subaru and Tsugumi are now husband and wife ! NOOOOO ! "


	64. The honeymoon

Tabitha tried to calm down the earthquake , but it was beyond her powers . All the witch could do was to sit down on a chair and wait for the earthquake to go away . Tabitha put her hands on her head and closed her eyes while the room kept shaking . Then the witch senced something strange in the air and looked in front of her . She saw that a red portal had opened in the floor and a strange evil energy was coming out of it . The witch started sweating as she saw that a bat winged red demon with sharp horns and fangs slowly rised up from the portal . Tabitha then got up while trembling and spoke to the demon :

" Demian , is that you ? "

" Yes , Tabitha Lenox , and I have come with news from our master , the king of all that is infernal , the supreme ruler of evil , the... "

" Oh , just stop with all those adjectives , he's just a fallen angel which is now damned to rule in hell , there's no need to praise him that much ! " Tabitha spoke bored .

Demian then got angry and flew to the witch . He grabbed Tabitha by her neck and pushed her against a wall . Then the demon revealed his sharp fangs and put his claws on Tabitha's face saying :

" Insulting our master will not help you , witch , but cooperating can . "

" O-ok , I'll listen to what you have to say . " Tabitha spoke with a scared voice .

The demon then let Tabitha go and walked to her mirror . The witch used her powers and healed the marks which Demian had inflicted upon her . The demon turned back to her and said :

" You healed yourself pretty fast , witch . "

" Thanks , I've been growing my powers day by day , Demian . I'm just one step closer to becoming the new Queen of Evil ! "

" How about sir Lucy takes your powers away from you because of your failures ? " the demon continued .

" What failures ? " Tabitha spoke frustrated .

Demian waved his hand near the mirror and the images of Subaru's and Tsugumi's marriage appeared on it . Tabitha got shocked because the Forces of Darkness had found out about that event . The demon then turned back to Tabitha and said :

" Look , Tabitha Lenox , the girl named Tsugumi Shirayama had managed to marry the boy she loved ! If Tsugumi ever makes love with Subaru , she'll come to her full powers and then the evil in this country shall be amost completely anihilated ! "

" Believe me , Demian , I have tried all in my powers to separate those two ! " Tabitha said and fell on her knees in front of the demon . " I made a pact with Mutsuhito Geki and revived the Geki clan , I have made Mutsuhito force Subaru back into the family and put a reward on Tsugumi Shirayama's head , I have helped Mutsuhito become the president of this country and now he's ascending in world power , and if that's not enough , I also personally went after Tsugumi Shirayama ! "

" If so , Tabitha Lenox , then why didn't you manage to kill her ? " Demian asked .

" Because she was protected by the Lordi monsters and the soprano Tarja Turunen . But I at least managed to kill one of her friends , and that is doctor Root ! Thanks to me , he is now dead and his friends are still grieving from his death ! "

" Is that all ? "

" What do you mean , Demian ? " Tabitha spoke frustrated . " I have much more planned for these two ! You see , I am now attempting to create a little love triangle which will bring chaos and destruction upon the lives of those two ! "

" Interesting , continue . "

" I have recently discovered that my servant , Hanna , is starting to fall in love with Subaru . I decided to use this in my advantage and casted a spell on her which made her emotions towards him grow by each day that passes . Soon she will become obsessed with Subaru and will not be able to stand a minute without him ! My dear Hanna will do everything in her power to get Subaru all for herself ! "

" Hahahaha , and so the love of Subaru and Tsugumi will be crushed ! " Demian laughed and looked at the mirror . " Those two are in for a big surprise once you manage to bring them back to the mansion ! "

" Yes , chaos will rule over the lives of these humans ! "

" I'm glad to hear this , Tabitha Lenox ! I will tell sir Lucy this great news ! "

Demian then waved his hand again and the room stopped shaking . The demon then flew back to the portal and entered it . As he began to descend back to hell , Demian gave Tabitha one last message :

" Heed our warning , Tabitha Lenox , for if you fail us once again there shall be no mercy in store for you , witch ! "

Then the portal closed and everything went back to normal . Tabitha waved her hand and made a glass of orange juice appear in her hand . The blonde witch sat on her chair and looked at the mirror where Subaru's and Tsugumi's marriage could still be seen . Tabitha then sighed and spoke to herself :

" If my plan won't work this time , it's curtains for me ! I'd better make sure that Subaru and Tsugumi are separated this time before it's too late ! "

After their wedding , Subaru and Tsugumi spent the night at the church and the following day they left to find a place where they could live together . They walked for about an hour through the mountains until they had finally reached the only border of their country which was very hard to access . That was because of the very tight passages they had to walk through and the dangerous pits which were near path . But they had finally found it . Near the border of the country was an abandoned village which was sorrounded by their country's and neighbor country's mountains . Subaru looked at the abandoned houses and said :

" There's a village ! "

" It looks completely abandoned . " Tsugumi added .

" I'll see if any of the houses would be fit for us to live in . " Subaru said and started walking towards the village .

" Wait , Subaru , I'll come with you ! " Tsugumi said and ran after him .

The two descended from the mountain and entered the village . They looked through the houses and stopped by the only one which had a garden where plants still grew . Subaru entered the house and saw that it wasn't a technological updated one . The house was made of bricks and it had a wooden table with two chairs , a stove , a wardrobe , a bed and an old TV . The black haired boy walked to one of the windows and opened it as Tsugumi entered the house .

" Subaru ? "

" It looks like an old farm house from the last century , but at least it's shelter from rain . Heh , kind of reminds me of the farm where we lived back then . "

" It's wonderful ! " Tsugumi said . " It has a kitchen and a bed . And it also reminds me of the times when I was younger... and I had met you . "

Subaru smiled to her and she giggled . Tsugumi then walked to the table and saw that it was all covered with dust .

" Hm... we should tidy up a little . " the blonde girl said .

Until night they had managed to clean up the house , put their own stuff on the table and in the wardrobe and make a fire in the stove to cook what Subaru had taken from the kitchen . Now they had finished dinner and were both sitting on the bed . Tsugumi had her head on Subaru's left shoulder and was sighing .

" Are you tired ? " Subaru asked .

" Only a little . " Tsugumi said .

Subaru layed his head down on hers and closed his eyes . Then the boy opened his eyes again and said :

" Tsugumi , I'm not the same person I was before . I want to protect you from all this sadness . I'll never let you... "

The boy then noticed that Tsugumi had fallen asleep on his shoulder and didn't hear a word he said . Subaru smiled to her and then layed her body on the bed and whispered to her ear :

" Sleep well , Tsugumi . "

Subaru then got up from the bed , damped the fire , closed the door and finally went to sleep with Tsugumi . The moon peacefully watched over the house where the just married couple was resting as the night kept bringing peace upon the mountains .

The next day was sunnier than the last one . This time there were no more clouds on the sky and the sun was free to shine in its full glory . Its rays also entered the house where Subaru and Tsugumi were resting and touched the soft cheeks of Tsugumi . The blonde girl slowly opened her eyes and saw Subaru near her admiring her beautiful face .

" Did you sleep well ? " Subaru whispered .

" Yes , it's been a while since I've had such beautiful dreams . " Tsugumi whispered back

" Same here . "

Tsugumi then took her hand out of the pelt and touched Subaru's right cheek . The boy was surprised , but then calmed down and let himself taken away by the magic of love .

Later that day , the two got out from their house and walked into the garden . They were surprised to see that there were carrots , potatoes , tomatoes , eggplants and other vegetables growing in it , even if the village was abandoned . They gladly took from it as much as they needed and brought them into their house . After that they needed something to drink and also something with which they would build a fire . So the two locked the house with an old key which Tsugumi had found while she was cleaning up the house and then they left in the mountains .

Two hours had passed since they left and all they had found were firewoods . Now they were heading back the way they came and they even passed the church and the bed of flowers .

" We can't find a stream nearby , can we ? " Tsugumi said while carrying two buckets .

" This is still a fairly arid area . Let's keep going a bit further . " Subaru replied while carrying the firewood which they had found .

While they were walking , they passed by the strange cave from before and Tsugumi felt it again . Something was calling her inside and she couldn't deny that feeling anymore .

" What's wrong ? " Subaru asked .

Tsugumi didn't answer him . She just stared at the strange cave .

" Is something there ? " Subaru continued .

" It feels like someone called out to me just now . " Tsugumi said .

" It was just your imagination . "

" I really doubt it , Subaru . "

The girl then entered the cave and the black haired boy followed her . They then saw that the cave was lighted by a strange force , but that didn't stop them . They kept walking through its passage until they ended up walking in a corridor made of bricks . At the end of the corridor was a lighted room . They entered it and were amazed to see a spring streaming in it . The room had white walls and it was filled only with light and that spring . Subaru and Tsugumi stared at it amazed .

" What is this place ? " Subaru asked .

" And how did that spring come over there ? " Tsugumi added .

" It is by the power of our Lord . " a warm voice spoke above them .

The two lovers looked up and saw that a winged angel dressed in white clothes and with a golden halo on its head was descending towards them . Subaru and Tsugumi stared at the holy being as in landed in front of them . The two couldn't believe that such a miraculous thing was happening to them . Subaru even pinched himself and saw that he wasn't dreaming .

" Subaru and Tsugumi , your love has faced so many challenges and yet has triumphed over the evil which was trying to destroy it so far . " the angel said .

" Y-yes... " Tsugumi barely spoke .

" But more challenges are about to come . You must be prepared for what new evil is about to rise against you . "

" What challenges , mister angel ? " Subaru asked . " Tell us ! What evil will be trying to destroy our love ? "

" I'm afraid I cannot tell you this . I am not allowed to reveal to you the cause of this horrible treachery . But I will instead offer you a weapon ! "

The angel then pulled Tsugumi to him and whispered in her ear a beautiful melody which could bring happiness in almost every human's heart . Tsugumi blushed and her heart beated faster and faster by each note the angel sang to her . She felt as if she and Subaru would be together for eternity by just listening to the song . Once he was done , the angel let go of Tsugumi and said :

" The song is now in your memory , Tsugumi . You may use it only when it is really needed . "

" But how will I know when I will need to use it ? "

" Your heart will tell you and then you won't have any doubts . " the angel said and started to ascend back to the heavens . " The song's title is 'Forevermore' . "

" Forevermore... " Subaru said and remembered the moment when the wind whispered to his ear the same words . " Could it be that it has something to do with our destiny ? "

Tsugumi didn't answer to Subaru . She just stared at the angel until it disappeared back in the sky . The girl then took the buckets and and filled them with the water from that stream and the two then headed back to their house .

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion . Mutsuhito had just returned home after more than 24 hours of being at the parliment . The Geki family greeted him with excitement as he was about to tell them what he had done there . They found out that he had not only managed to bring the country in an alliance with the United States of America , but he had also managed to befire their president and make their country USA's most trustful ally .

" And to think that it all happened in a day ! Guess you must be tired , grand uncle . " Kurumi said . " How about I bring you something to eat ? "

" There's no need , Kurumi , I now wish to go see my son ! " Mutsuhito said and was about to head towards the stairs .

" No , there's no need to do that , great grand uncle Mutsuhito ! " Chiharu tried to stop him . " He's been busy lately and would not want to be disturbed ! "

" He is my son , little one ! I decide what to do with his life ! " Mutsuhito said and left .

Aiko and Mariko got a little suspicious of their aunt's and cousin's behaviour . Gola and Edo couldn't care less . The two went back to their normal slacking off in front of the TV while Kurumi and Chiharu ran away in Kurumi's room . Kurumi stared at the sky scared while Chiharu looked at her mother worried .

" What will happen to them once grand uncle Subaru's father finds out what he did ? " Chiharu asked .

" I don't know , my sweet little pumpkin , but good will not come out of it . " Kurumi said and then turned to her daughter .

The mother and daughter hugged each other and Kurumi started praying in her mind for Subaru and Tsugumi to be ok .

Mutsuhito was more than shocked when he saw that Subaru and his personal stuff weren't in his room anymore . The man immediately announced an alarm and all his robots appeared in front of him . Mutsuhito gave them as order to find Subaru and bring him back at all costs . After a few hours , Mutsuhito got news about his son . The man sat on his chair and listened to the robot which said :

" We have received a witness's statement describing a young boy and girl riding a giant lion in the western forest . "

" He's with a girl ? " Mutsuhito thought and then his eyes turned cruel and merciless , while filled with anger . " The Shirayama girl . "

Mutsuhito ordered the robots to go look for Subaru in the whole western side of the country . Then the man turned to the window and stared at the cloudy sky .

Walking in the corridor was Hanna . The blue haired girl was trying to wake up after the deep sleep she had and resume her maid work , but she couldn't take her mind off Subaru . Every time she thought of the boy's face , his dueling style or even his name , she felt her heart beating faster and faster and the certain feeling which she had towards Ichiro was now coming back . The girl couldn't help it . She was in love and she didn't knew that the spell casted by her master was only making her situation worser . Hanna sighed , arranged her black maid dress and stared at the cloudy sky through the window .

" Subaru , you're in love with Tsugumi , but that girl is bringing you only pain . " Hanna said and clunched her fists . " I would never bring you pain , not even for an instant ! "

Night had fallen upon the land after a few more hours . Subaru and Tsugumi had returned to their house with the supplies which they needed . Now Subaru was sitting on a chair and Tsugumi was making dinner .

" Let's live here together , Tsugumi . " Subaru suggested .

" It would be more than wonderful to live a life here , far away from the world , forgotten by everyone . " Tsugumi replied and then turned back to the food . " Dinner's almost ready ! "

After a few minutes , Tsugumi brought a plate with boiled potatoes , cheese and some ham and placed it on the table . Subaru stared at the food greedily as Tsugumi stretched her hands because she was tired . The blonde girl then took out a knife and sliced the cheese . Subaru then took the first slice as it fell and ate it fast . Tsugumi looked at him surprised and said :

" I was going to give you a bigger piece , Subaru . "

" Hehehe , thanks . "

The two laughed and then continued eating . Then they cleaned up the small mess , turned off the lights and went to sleep .

The following day was as cloudy as the previous . The wind was bringing a small soothing breeze , but it wasn't enough to make the people forget the summer heat . Mutsuhito's robots had been searching in the country for more than 24 hours , but with no result . They had damaged cities , harrasted innocent citizens and stolen food , all in the hope that someone would tell them where Subaru was .

Meanwhile , Subaru and Tsugumi were heading back to their house with new wood and water . On their way they met an old man which was passing by .

" Excuse me , young fellow , could you tell me if there's a town ahead of here ? " the old man asked .

" I'm not sure . We're not very familiar with this area ourselves . " Subaru replied . " Are you lost , sir ? "

" No , that cursed Mutsuhito Geki's robot army is currently attacking my city , so I had to flee before they could get me . "

" Robot army ? " Subaru said and turned to Tsugumi .

" Subaru... " Tsugumi murmed and stared at her lover .

Subaru and Tsugumi decided to go and check that city . By sunset they had reached it and a horrifying image was awaiting them . Buildings were on fire , humans were either shot to death or kept in custody , lives were completely ruined... The couple sat on the emerald green hill and stared at the now crimson fiery village .

" What is this ? " Tsugumi asked .

" Do they plan to carry on until they find me ? " Subaru spoke with a disgusted voice . " Tsugumi , stay here . "

" What are you going to do ? "

" They're looking for me . I'll try to get them to release the citizens . "

" You can't ! They'll capture you ! I'll go with... "

" No ! " Subaru exclaimed and then stared at Tsugumi with saddened eyes . " Tsugumi , I can't get you involved . I don't want you to be in danger ! "

" Have you forgotten the vows we took at our wedding ? " Tsugumi said . " We're together in sickness and health until death do us apart ! Together , we might be able to help these citizens and live to tell the table . "

" Tsugumi . " Subaru said while smiling happily .

" It will go well if we're together . I'm sure of it . " Tsugumi said and took Subaru's hands in her hands .

" Thank you , Tsugumi . "

The robots kept detroying the city and killing people . The surviving humans were trying to run but were instead captured by the robots and brought to a cage where others were held captive . There were no laser guns to be found to fight against those metallic monsters . It all seemed hopeless for the humans . All they could do was watch how their homes and close ones were destroyed .

" No sign of Subaru Geki anywhere , sir ! " a robot soldier said to the robot commander .

" Then prepare to blow up this city in 10 minutes ! " the robot commander said .

That was when an alarm started in the robot's computers . They detected two familiar warm human bodies approaching the city . All the robots turned to the hill and saw Subaru and Tsugumi climbing down towards them .

" There's no need to destroy this city ! It's me you want ! " Subaru said . " I am Subaru Geki ! "

" Subaru-sama ! " the robot commander exlcaimed . " Hurry , arrest him ! "

" No ! " Tsugumi shouted . " If it's someone you seek to capture , then that's me ! I am Tsugumi Shirayama ! "

" The Shirayama girl... Hurry , capture her too ! "

The two lovers jumped from the cliff in the middle of the robot army . They then took out their glowing decks and challenged the robots to duels .

" If you wish to get us , you'll have to take us down in a duel ! " Subaru said .

" Our love will keep us strong and united ! We shall not fail ! " Tsugumi added .

" Meh , we'll see about that . Prepare for duel , soldiers ! " the robot commander ordered

Many dueling tables came out and each robot sat at one and took out their decks . Subaru and Tsugumi took out their decks as well and the duels began . Many hours had passed , but Subaru and Tsugumi didn't give up . They managed to take down each robot one by one and whenever one of them would get tired , he or she would look at the other and that would give him or her strength . And so the duels went on...

" Break his final shield , Ancient Giant ! " the robot ordered and a giant creature made of rock which was similar to a living mountain smashed Subaru's last shield .

" Heh , shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer ! " Subaru said and a blue human like creature riding a surfboard appeared above him . " Send his Avalanche Giant back to his hand ! "

" Impossible ! "

" Ike , Aqua Surfer , finish this robot off , totomeda ! "

Aqua Surfer flew towards the robot and made a giant wave of water come and smash it causing it to have a short circuit and blow up . Subaru laughed and then looked at Tsugumi . The blonde girl was doing pretty fine as well . She had Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon and one shield left . Now it was her turn .

" Time to finish this ! " Tsugumi said . " I attack with Bolmeteus and send my last shield to the graveyard in order to destroy your Leonidas , White Knight Spirit ! Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon , finish him off , totomeda ! "

The red robotic dragon roared and flew towards the scared robot . The dragon used the sword which was held in his mouth and slashed the robot in two . The robot blew up and Tsugumi won the duel . The duels kept going on and Mutsuhito's robot army began to reduce its number .

" Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered and a purple six headed bone demon fired a lazor and destroyed a robot .

" Dragon Spirit Ulferus , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered and a golden angel fired a lazor and destroyed another robot .

" Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered and a gray skinned two headed goat demon fired a purple beam from its hands and destroyed another robot .

" Bolpheus Heaven , Holy Super Dragon , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered and angel wielding a long sword and having fire wings and a golden dragon armor roared , flew towards the robot and slashed it with its sword .

" Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered and a giant goat demon with a really big bone armor , a pair of golden horns and a golden tentacle with a goat head above his own head waved his hands and fired a powerful purple beam which destroyed another robot .

" Swordflash Galaxy , Super Champ , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered and a giant dragon with a shiny silver armor weilding lots of swords and guns flew towards the robot and destroyed it in the most sadistic way possible .

" Ballom , Master of Death , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered and a blue skinned bird winged goat demon fired a ball of darkness towards the robot and destroyed it .

" Alcadeias , Lord of Spirits , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered and a golden angel with white wings fired light beams from both its hands and stabbed the robot until it blew up .

" XENOM , the Reaper King , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered and a giant dark blue demon with no face and giant bat wings which was also weilding a staff which reasembled Ballom's head opened its body and released a wave of darkness in which the robot was absorbed .

" White Knight HEAVEN , Lord of Spirits , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered and a giant blue robot angel fired lazors from its hands and destroyed yet another robot .

The robot which was second in command turned to the robot commander and said :

" Sir , these are our last two soldiers ! What should we do if they lose as well ? "

" We shall fight to the end ! If we are destroyed , at least we fulfilled our mission and served Mutsuhito-sama ! " the robot commander said . " Besides , our decks are the most powerful and strategic from the whole army . They won't defeat us easily ! "

Then two powerful beams came out from Subaru's and Tsugumi's cards . The robots turned back at the duel and saw that they summoned the chosen cards . A red winged goat demons with six hands and six golden tentacles which ended up in goat heads appeared above Subaru . Also , a white winged golden robitc angel with six hands which were wielding six giant golden swords appeared above Tsugumi .

" Oh no , it's them... " the second in command robot exclaimed .

" Dorballom , Lord of Demons , totomeda ! " Subaru ordered .

" Alphadios , Lord of Spirits , totomeda ! " Tsugumi ordered .

Both creatures fired such powerful lazors that they destroyed not only the robots , but also the dueling tables and made holes in the ground . The two surviving robots trembled , but didn't give up . Subaru and Tsugumi were filled with sweat and tired , but they could still duel . They gave the robots mean stares and then they both said :

" Surrender , the power of love is stronger than you ! "

" Heh , that's what you think ! " the robot commander said and put his deck on a dueling table . " Shields up ! "

" Heh , as you wish ! Shields up ! " Subaru said and raised his shields .

Tsugumi and the second in command robot also raised up their shields and the duels began . Night had finally fallen upon the land . This time the clouds had completely vanished and the full moon along with the stars shined on them . The fires from the city had finally ceased , but the citizens were still captured in the cage .

" I cast Corpse Charger and return Bloody Squito from the graveyard to my hand ! " Subaru said . " Corpse Charger goes to my mana zone , and now I summon Bloody Squito ! I attack with Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord and sacrifice Bloody Squito in order to draw two cards ! Ike , Belbel De Dios , double break his shields ! "

" My turn , I summon Tekorax and look at all your shields ! " the robot said and then looked at Subaru's shields on which the images of the cards in them appeared for a few seconds .

" WHAT ? " Subaru spoke shocked .

" Heh , this will be easy , you have only one shield trigger ! "

" Tsh , even if I have one trigger , I'll still win ! I summon Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper and attack with Belbel De Dios ! I destroy my Maxval and draw two cards , and now , Belbel De Dios , double break his shields once again ! Heh ,y ou have only one shield left , mister Robotto ! "

" Don't be too confident , boy ! " the robot said and showed a shining card . " I summon Bega , Decaying Vizier and gain one more shield while you discard a card ! "

The card which Subaru discarded was Black Lucifer , Sorcerer of Darkness , but he didn't seem to be so angry about it . The robot then tapped his Tekorax card and said :

" Ike , Tekorax , break his shield ! "

" Got'cha ! " Subaru said smiling and showed a card from his hand . " Ninja Strike 7 ! I summon Hanzou , Menacing Phantom and make your Tekorax lose 6000 power and die ! And that's not all ! Since one of your creatures got destroyed , Bell Hell De Gaul will make me shuffle my deck and reveal the top card from it which I can summon if it's a Demon Command ! "

Subaru shuffled his deck and revealed the top card which was Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade . The boy smiled and placed it in the battle zone . He then chose the race Ghost and looked in his opponent's hand only to be disappointed , because the cards in the robot's hand were Gajirabute Vile Centurion , Mega Innocent Sword and Jenny the Dismantling Puppet . The robot took the cards in his hand and ended his turn . Subaru then drew his next card , charged mana and said :

" I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards ! Then I summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow ! Ike , Belbel De Dios , attack ! I shall destroy Melnia and draw two cards ! Belbel De Dios , break his final shields ! "

The robot took cover as Subaru's creature broke his final shields . The machine got sorrounded by the shield shards and waited for them to unite into cards . Then he took the two cards to his hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate ! I cast Natural Snare and send Gal Volf to your mana zone and Terror Pit to destroy your Bell Hell De Gaul ! "

" Impossible ! " Subaru said as his Gal Volf got sorrounded by a green aura and disappeared , while his Bell Hell De Gaul got smashed by many black demonic hands .

" Now it's time for my comeback , human ! " the robot said .

" Oh no , Subaru ! " Tsugumi exclaimed and stared at her lover .

" You have your own stuff to worry about , Shirayama girl ! " the second in command robot said and showed a shining card . " I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Zweilancer ! Ike , Crystal Zweilancer , triple break her shields ! "

Tsugumi took cover as the giant golden centaur slashed three of her shields . The girl then took the shields to her hand and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Heaven's Gate and summon two Ultimus , Spirit of the Divine Law ! "

" Heh , like that would work . My Gachack , Mechanical Doll is crossed with Invisible Suit and can't be blocked ! Ike , Gachack , break her shield and use your turbo rush to destroy her Light Divine Dragon Sebuns ! "

" This is not good ! Subaru , I won't give up , I will stay in this battle , no matter what ! " Tsugumi thought as she took the cards from her shields to her hands and then she spoke . " My turn , I SUMMON SAINT BOLSHACK , SPIRITUAL DRAGON ! "

A giant fire winged red dragon wearing a shiny silver armor appeared behind Tsugumi and roared . The girl then yelled and attacked with the creature .

" IKE , SAINT BOLSHACK , BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS NOW ! "

The robot took cover as Tsugumi's creature fired a great fire ball which broke its last two shields . The robot got sorrounded by shield shards and then the shards united in two card which it took in his hands . The robot then showed one of the cards and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I summon Aqua Surfer and send Ultimus back to your hand ! "

" Oh no... " Tsugumi spoke scared as she took the card to her hand .

" My turn , I summon Melnia , the Aqua Shadow and evolve it into Crystal Paladin ! " the robot said and Tsugumi stared scared at it while her other Ultimus card went back to her hand . " You are done for , Shirayama girl ! Aqua Surfer , break her final shield ! "

The creature flew with its surfboard and smashed Tsugumi's final shield to pieces . The girl got sorrounded by the shield shards and stood still like a statue . Subaru stared at her worried and then shouted :

" Oh no , Tsugumi , run ! Run and save yourself now ! "

The girl then turned to him and smiled . It was a smile filled with sadness and love and it was telling Subaru that the girl would never leave , no matter how much he'd beg her . Tsugumi then took the card from her last shield and showed it to the robot saying :

" Shield trigger activate ! I cast Impact of Heavenly Violence ! "

" What ? " the robot said .

" I shall send Gachack to your shields and destroy Crystal Paladin ! " Tsugumi said and watched the robot's red robotic puppet disappear and reappear as a shield and his centaur made of blue crystal blow up . " That's the best I could do , Subaru... "

" Tsugumi... " Subaru murmed .

" Heh , it's over , Shirayama girl ! " the robot said and put his hand on his final untapped card . " Crystal Zweilancer , totomeda ! "

The golden centaur roared and ran to Tsugumi . The girl stood there accepting her fate . A dark shadow was covering her face , but tears could still be seen falling on her cheeks . Crystal Zweilancer hit the girl hard with its spears and she flew in the air bleeding . Tsugumi stood in the air and remembered of the moments she spent with Subaru after they ran from Mutsuhito's mansion , their wedding and their honeymoon . The blonde girl then fell on the ground in a pool of blood , but she was still breathing . All this was witnessed by a shocked Subaru who couldn't control himself anymore and was about to scream loud . But he didn't . He just turned to the robot he was facing and said :

" You... you monsters are going to pay for what you've done ! "

" Heh , that's what you think , Subaru-sama ! " the robot replied and showed a card . " I summon Jenny , the Dismantling Puppet and look into your hand ! "

The cards from Subaru's hand were Fernando the 7th Emperor of Mystic Light , Death March Reaper of Death , Miraculous Plague and Grudge Gathering . The robot chose to discard Death March and then ended his turn . Subaru then drew his next card , charged mana and said :

" My move , I cast Cyber Brain and draw 3 cards ! Now it's time to make you pay for what you did to my dear Tsugumi and me , mechanic scum ! IKE , BELBEl DE DIOS , FINISH HIS CIRCUITS OFF , TOTOMEDA ! "

" Got'cha ! " the robot exclaimed and showed him a card from his hand . " Ninja strike 7 , I summon Hanzou , Menacing Phantom and make your Belbel De Dios lose 6000 power and die , thus cancelling your attack ! "

" Impossible , that was my strategy ! " Subaru spoke shocked as he saw his Belbel De Dios get destroyed by the robot's Hanzou .

" Heh , that's what you think ! Now it's time to finish you off and bring you to your father , Subaru-sama ! I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Demon Command ! "

Subaru then revealed the cards in his hand which were Fernando the 7th Emperor of Mystic Light , Miraculous Plague , Olzekia General of Decapitation , Inferno Sign and Ballom , Master of Death . The robot chose to discard Fernando and Subaru lost a shield which was Aquan .

" Heh , time to finish this job ! Ike , Jenny , break his shield ! "

Subaru took the card from his shield to his hand and was disappointed to see that it was just XENOM , the Reaper King . He then remembered that the robot had seen his shields and knew what cards he had . The black haired boy got scared by the simple thought that the robot was a step ahead of him , but he didn't give up . He showed a card from his hand and said :

" I cast Miraculous Plague ! I choose your two creatures and Bronze-Arm Tribe along with Master Weapon – All Yes from your mana zone ! "

" Heh , I send Gal Volf back to my hand and Jenny to my graveyard ! Then I take Bronze-Arm Tribe to my hand and put Master Weapon – All Yes to my graveyard ! Is that seriously all you can do ? And you call yourself the son of Mutsuhito Geki ? "

" SHUT UP ! I NEVER WISHED TO BE HIS SON ! " Subaru shouted .

" Heh , you may not wish this , Subaru-sama , but your fate is still going to be decided by him ! I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Demon Command ! "

The cards from Subaru's hand were Olzekia General of Decapitation , Inferno Sign and Ballom , Master of Death . The robot discarded Ballom and to make it worse , the shield which Subaru lost was Dorballom , Lord of Demons . Subaru sweated as he drew his next card . The boy hoped that it would be something good , but he drew Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King , and that card couldn't help him in the situation in which he was . The boy sighed and showed another card from his hand saying :

" I summon Olzekia , General of Decapitation ! With this creature's effect I'll sacrifice my Olzekia and destroy your Gal Volf as well ! "

" Heh , like that would help you . You'll never defeat me , for I am the commander of Mutsuhito Geki's army ! Surrender while you still can , Subaru Geki ! "

" Never ! I'll never go back to that family ! " Subaru said .

" Fool , you should've accepted to surrender ! Time to take out the heavy artilery ! I summon Gajirabute , Vile Centurion and throw one of your shields to the graveyard ! "

The shield which Subaru lost was Terror Pit . The boy then remembered that the robot told him that he had only one shield trigger . It seemed that Terror Pit was that trigger . The boy got worried as he knew that he had no more shield triggers which could help him . He drew his next card , but that card was Ballom Emperor , Lord of Demons . He was now in deep trouble and his chances of winning the duel were very low . Still , he had that one card which could still help him and he decided to use it .

" I cast Inferno Sign and revive Aquan ! " Subaru said and then used Aquan's effect and revealed the top 5 cards from his deck which were Aqua Surfer , Black Lucifer Sorcerer of Darkness , Bell Hell De Gaul Footprint of the Reaper , Energy Stream and Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord . " Aqua Surfer and Energy Stream go to my graveyard while the rest go to my hand ! Then I summon Belbel De Dios , Death Castle Beast Lord and end ! "

" The time of your defeat has finally come , Subaru Geki ! I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and evolve him into Fighter Dual Fang ! " the robot said and a giant red caped tiger like beast with big fangs and weilding two enormous swords appeared behind it and roared . " Ike , Gajirabute , break his final shield ! "

Subaru took cover as the robot's creature slashed his final shield with a lightning sword . The shield's shards united fast into a card which was Maxval , Electro-Fuuma . Subaru took the card to his hand and waited for his defeat . The robot then tapped his Dual Fang card and said :

" Fighter Dual Fang , totomeda ! "

The giant tiger ran towards Subaru and hit him really hard with the swords . The boy flew in the air bleeding and fell on the ground near Tsugumi . The couple had been captured...


	65. Subaru's birthday

The two victorious robots returned to the mansion with Subaru and Tsugumi in their arms . They had their wounds partially treated by the robots and they were wearing bandages . On their way , the robots went through the capital so that the poor citizens which were thinking of rebelling would see what would happen to them . They were all shocked of seeing the president's son in the hands of the robots , and to top it all , with the daughter of the Shirayamas as well . Tsugumi slowly opened her eyes and saw the situation in which they were . She and Subaru were flying in the air in the hands of the two robots and a crowd of poor people was staring at them .

" So that's the Shirayama girl ? " a man asked .

" She really was alive . " another added . " They say she was running away with Mutsuhito Geki's son . "

" That's really none of our concern . " the first said .

Behind a wall were Kita and Amen . They were listening to the humans talking about how Subaru and Tsugumi were captured and were thinking of what to do .

" What should we do now , Kita ? "

" I don't know , Amen . We could try to rescue Tsugumi . However , at our current strength , we could easily be captured . At least , with this uproar , their efforts to find us have been diminished . Let's go back to the UFO and formulate a plan . "

" We will save you , Tsugumi , I swear it ! " Amen said and stared the captured girl .

Everything was ready at the Geki mansion for the greeting of Subaru and Tsugumi . There were balloons , colored pieces of paper and toys everywhere in the room . There was a long table on which sweets and an enormous chocolate cake were lying . In another room were many robots aligned by two sides of a long red carpet . Mutsuhito was sitting on a cyber throne while one of the robots spoke to him :

" We have brought the Shirayama's daughter . "

" Come forward ! " Mutsuhito ordered .

The room's door opened and Tsugumi entered the room while being held by four robots . The girl rised her head and saw the evil grin on Mutsuhito's face . The robots brought her in front of Mutsuhito and then let her go . Mutsuhito got up from the throne and said :

" I've been eagerly awaiting for this day , Tsugumi Shirayama . I am astounded that you've managed to escape from me for so many times . "

" Mutsuhito Geki... " Tsugumi spoke in her mind while she remembered the scene of her father being slayed by Mutsuhito and falling near the dead body of her mother . " Father's and mother's enemy , and... Subaru's father . "

" It appears that you were still trying to seduce my son , Subaru . Tell me , Shirayama girl , how did you manage to bewitch him in the first place ? Are you intending to destroy the Geki family by taking advantage of Subaru's kindness ? "

Tsugumi didn't answer a question . She just sat there and gave Mutsuhito a deep stare which reminded him of his past . The man then felt like the ghosts of his past were coming back to haunt him , so he decided to end the conversation quickly . Mutsuhito walked to Tsugumi and said :

" Tsugumi Shirayama ! You are to be executed in two days' time ! "

Mutsuhito then turned to his throne and stared at it . He ordered the robots to take Tsugumi away , but the girl then spoke to him :

" Wait ! If I die , will you promise that my friends won't be hurt ? I don't care if I die ! "

Mutsuhito then got angered by the girl's demands . The man ran to her and gave her the gaze of a beast which was about to jump and slash its prey to pieces . He then spoke to her with a growled voice filled with anger :

" Who do you think you are to tell me what to do , kid ? I will never forgive anyone who has helped you ! You will die for the sin of being a Shirayama and your friends will follow you for being the fools which helped you ! "

Mutsuhito then ordered the guards to take her away and he was finally alone . The man then left the throne room and walked back in his office . There he sat at his desk and called for his son . In a few minutes Subaru entered . The boy was dressed in a clean Lordi T shirt and a pair of black sports pants . Mutsuhito stared at his totally inadequate clothing , but didn't have time for criticizing . He went straight to his point and said :

" Subaru , you've been deceived all this time . That girl only made advances on you to overthrow me . She just wishes to avenge her parents . "

" Not even you don't believe in the lies which you're saying ! I've lived a life along with this girl , father , I know her more than well ! " Subaru said .

" You're a fool ! " Mutsuhito spoke with a cold voice .

" I may be a fool as you say , but I love Tsugumi ! Why can't you believe that we truly love each other ? "

" Where are the girl's comrades , the Lordi monsters and that Tarja woman ? "

" I don't know . "

" Who else supported her ? "

" I don't know . "

" Why do you refuse to cooperate with me , boy ? " Mutsuhito said and grabbed Subaru by his shoulders . " This girl belongs to the Shirayamas , our enemies , why do you still love her so much ? "

" Because she is the one which my heart chose , father ! And she feels exactly the same way . Father , I have an important thing to tell you . " Subaru said and fixed his father with his eyes .

" What is it ? "

Subaru then showed a golden ring on his right hand . Mutsuhito then remembered that Tsugumi was wearing the same kind of ring on her hand as well . The man's spine began to shiver as he thought of the worst .

" Father , me and Tsugumi are now married ! " Subaru's words struck Mutsuhito's heart like a dagger .

The man stared shocked at his son . His black eyes widened and his jaw dropped . Mutsuhito then fell on his knees and began sweating hard . The man rubbed his forehead with his hands and then spoke while trembling :

" The blood of the Gekis and Shirayamas has been mixed . My son , my own flesh and blood , is now Tsugumi Shirayamas husband ? "

" This is the proof , father , that our love has triumphed over all ! Our bond is strong and you shall never break it ! " Subaru spoke with a fierce voice . " You may start calling the girl I love Tsugumi Geki , hehehe . "

" NEVER ! " Mutsuhito said and broke a vase while getting up . " You bastard , you don't deserve to be a son of mine ! If I wouldn't need you so much , I'd banish you from the family once again ! Leave me ! Today is your birthday , go enjoy it somewhere else and leave me alone ! "

" Tsh , you don't have to say it twice ! "

Subaru then left the room and walked on the corridor . He then noticed that one room had it's doors open . The boy was curious and decided to enter it . Once he set foot in , he was greeted with balloons , coloured paper , glitter and a big 'happy birthday' shout . He then looked better and saw that Gola , Kurumi , Chiharu and his best friend , Edo , had organized a party for him in the living room .

" Guys , you shouldn't have done this for me . " Subaru spoke modestly .

" Waddaya saying ? It's your birthday , Suby , so let's party ! " Edo said and put a party hat on Subaru's head . " Come , your presents and the cake await you ! "

Meanwhile at the basement . Besides Tabitha's room there was also a section filled with prison cells which had blue laser bars which melted the hands on those which touched them . Tsugumi was now caught in one of those cells and held as prisoner until her execution . The girl was sitting on the floor with a tired look on her face . Her white shirt was stained with blood and her blonde hair was messy . She was staring at the floor and was only thinking about Subaru and worrying about the punishment his father would give him . Tsugumi then heard some footsteps and looked up . She saw a blue haired girl dressed in blue maid clothes . She recognized her immediately once she stared in her blue eyes . It was Hanna .

" I brought you a change of clothes . " Hanna said and gave Tsugumi a blue dress and a pale blue shirt between the bars . " You look so tired , you should get some rest . "

" Hanna , why are you doing this for me ? " Tsugumi spoke confused . " Weren't you Rezo's servant ? Aren't you Tabitha's minion now ? "

" I may be , but this doesn't mean that I don't have a heart ! "

Hanna then stared into Tsugumi's eyes . The girl hoped to see malice and wish for revenge in her eyes , but all she could see was sadness and pity for the Gekis . Hanna decided to stop fooling around and went on with her true intentions saying :

" Please do not toy with Subaru's heart , it's much too pure to withstand it ."

" I truly love Subaru , from the bottom of my heart . " Tsugumi answered .

Hanna widened her eyes and her jaw dropped once she heard those words . The girl then turned away and wanted to leave , but then said :

" Thanks for the conversation , please inform me if you need anything else . "

" Thank you , but I want nothing . " Tsugumi answered .

" I see . Then I shall take my leave . "

Hanna walked through the dark corridors of the basement with an angry look on her face . The girl was more than jealous on Tsugumi for being with the man she loved for so long . All that Hanna wished was for Subaru to feel for her the same thing he felt for Tsugumi . The girl then spoke in her mind :

" I won't be fooled by her saintly face and 'noble' intentions . It's no wonder that Subaru-sama was fooled by such a deceptive air . Tsugumi Shirayama , I will have no rest until I shall win the heart of the man you love ! "

Back at Subaru's party , everyone was having a great time . Gola was eating most of the food , aka his food and the leftovers of the rest . Subaru had eaten most of the cake tho . After that they had a joke telling contest at which Edo won and they all had good laughs . After that they proceeded to open the presents . Subaru got from Gola a special eating set made of a golden spoon , fork , knife and plate . Kurumi and Chiharu gave Subaru a pair of black pijamas , the pijama T shirt having a pink heart on which was written S + T = love . Edo , on the other hand , didn't have any present to give to Subaru .

" Well , Edo-kun , what did you bring me ? " Subaru asked while smiling happily .

" Um... er... I know ! " Edo exclaimed and took out his deck . " A duel ! "

" A duel ? Fine , but my deck pretty much sucks since it lost to one of my dad's robots . "

That gave Edo an idea . The brown haired boy then rushed out of the room and ran all the way to the basement . He went directly to Tsugumi's cell and scared the girl .

" E-Edo-san , you scared me to death ! What are you doing here ? " Tsugumi asked .

" You were with Suby , right ? Tel me , where I could find some cards for him to improve his deck ? He's pretty much sad because he had lost to that robot . " Edo said in a nutshell

" I think I have the answer . " Tsugumi said and took out a round blue deckcase made of carton with Kokujo's face on it and on which Edo could distinguish 3 cards : Giganima the Reaper , Bell Hell De Gaul Footprint of the Reaper and a silver Dorballom , Lord of Demons . " I've secretly bought this deck . It is called Eternal Death and it's based on Demon Command and Reaper strategies . Listen , Edo , I know that today is Subaru's birthday . Please , offer him this deck and wish him a happy birthday from me . "

" Ok , thanks , Tsugumi . " Edo said and ran off with the deck .

Edo ran all the way back to the room where the party was held . He had scared the others with his sudden appearence as well . The brown haired boy then walked to Subaru and gave him the Eternal Death deck saying :

" Happy birthday , Suby ! "

" Thanks , Edo-kun ! " Subaru spoke amazed as he took the deck in his hands .

" And happy birthday from Tsugumi as well ! " Edo whispered to Subaru's ear .

" Tsugumi... " Subaru spoke in his mind . " She gave me this as a present ? That's so lovely of her , I must find a way to free her from my father's clutches ! "

Subaru then took out the cards from his pockets and opened the deck . The boy worked on the deck and added some of his own cards while taking out others . He also replaced the two silver Dorballom cards with his normal Dorballom card and a Ballom Monarch , the Dark Reaper King card . It took him some time , but he had managed to creatte a whole new deck . Then he walked with Edo at the dueling table and played a normal duel . After fifteen minutes of dueling , both Subaru and Edo had two shields left . Subaru had Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper and Giganima , the Reaper while Edo had Aqua Guard , Aqua Sniper and Blue Divine Dragon , Bolbalzak Swordflash Dragon in the battlezone .

" My turn , it's time to finish this , Suby ! Ike , Bolbalzak , break his shield ! " Edo ordered and Subaru took a card from his shields to his hand . " I now untap Bolbalzak and attack with him again ! Break his final shield , Bolbalzak ! "

" Oh no , is Subaru gonna lose at his own birthday ? " Chiharu spoke worried .

" Don't worry , Chiharu-chan , for Edo-kun has just given me the card I needed to win ! " Subaru said and showed the last card from his shields which was Terror Pit .

" WHAT ? " Edo yelled shocked .

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Terror Pit and destroy your Aqua Sniper ! "

" My poor little Snipy ! "

" And now with Bell Hell De Gaul's effect I'll shuffle my deck and reveal the top card ! If that card is a non-evolution Demon Command , I'll summon it for free ! "

Subaru shuffled his deck and then revealed the top card . The top card was Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper . The boy smiled , because Deathraios was a non-evolution Demon Command , and placed the card on the battlezone saying :

" I summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper ! With his effect I will destroy my Giganima and you must also destroy one of your creatures ! "

" I destroy Aqua Guard ! " Edo said sweating .

" Now time to finish this ! " Subaru said smiling and placed another darkness card on his Deathraios card . " I evolve Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper into Ballom , Master of Death ! "

" OH NOOOOO ! " Edo yelled .

" Ballom's effect will destroy all your creatures ! Ballom , break his final shields ! "

Edo took the cards to his hand and was disappointed to see that there was no shield trigger between them . Subaru then tapped his Bell Hell De Gaul card and said :

" Bell Hell De Gaul , Footprint of the Reaper , totomeda ! "

Everyone , including Edo , cheered up Subaru for the victory . Then they continued to party and think of more games to play .

Meanwhile at Mutsuhito's office . The man was sitting on his chair and meditating . He couldn't hear the happy laughs from Subaru's party and he was glad about that . All he now needed was some quality time all by himself to reflect on everything that happened so far . The man was mostly worried about Subaru's and Tsugumi's marriage and started thinking of a way to cancel it . Then he got a mesage through his radio :

" Sir , someone wishes to see you ! "

" Tell that someone that I'm busy ! " Mutsuhito spoke sourly .

" She says it's very important ! "

" Fine , let that she , whoever she is , in ! "

Mutsuhito stood all alone in his office a few more minutes . Then the doors suddenly opened and a woman with long black hair and green eyes which was wearing a long dress with long gloves and a necklace , all of them being black , entered . She walked straight to the man and went down to her subject :

" Mister Mutsuhito , pardon my disrespectful entrance , but we have to talk something really important ! "

" What is it ? " Mutsuhito asked with the same sour voice as before .

" Sir , you are ruining your son's happiness , you're making your own son hate you . When you'll die , you'll have no one to grieve for you... " Tarja said .

" I don't care of my son's happiness , to me my son is just a tool to get ultimate power ! And besides , my son won't hate me anymore once I turn him into my own puppet . "

" You're an animal ! You don't deserve to be a father ! If your son doesn't mean a thing to you , then get another tool and leave him alone ! "

" Foolish woman ! My son IS the tool which I need to use in order to have a heir and become the ruler of the Earth ! Once I retire , he'll take the throne and I'll easily manipulate him from the shadows ! I don't give a damn if I'm not a father as long as my son is the PERFECT tool ! Hahahahahahaha ! "

" Your son is too unobedient ! It would be all easier if you get someone else , someone... easier to control... "

" My son is unobedient , I admit that , but I will eventually find a way to control his will ! There HAS to be a way ! "

" And what happens when you die ? Your son will be relieved instead of grieving for you . Everyone would forget you . Don't you want to leave something behind ? Don't you want the memory of you to live inside your son ? "

" The only memory which I want to leave upon this world is the memory of a fearful leader ! I will do whatever it takes to turn Subaru into that kind of leader , and he'll continue the tyranny once I retire AND after I die ! There's no need to pity the citizens as long as you can take advantage of them . Only fear and death can help you rule over others ! "

" But why him ? Why Subaru ? "

" Because he's my son , my own flesh and blood ! He's the PERFECT HEIR ! I only wish that he hadn't received that warm heart and kindness from his mother... Only looking in his brown eyes makes me remember the woman . "

" So you still feel something for your son... deep inside of you . You loved his mother , didn't you ? Even though she was warmheatred . "

" I loved his mother , I also loved my son . I love my family alot back then... But then my son failed me and I had to kick him out of the family . Shortly after that , my family had met Tabitha Lenox for the first time and she cursed us to die horrible deaths , my wife being the first and me being the last . As I watched my whole family collapse , I started to slowly lose my emotions . All I ever wished since then was to gain power . The more power I got , the more I could forget the pain , and so greed consumed me . Now power means everything for me , and ironically , Tabitha , the one which killed my family , is the one which can help me get that power ! You see , I don't want to love my family anymore , that will only open my scars . Fighting is life and power is its meaning ! "

" If we kill the witch , you'll get everything back... Don't you want to love again ? Don't you want your son to love you again ? Don't you wanna know that at least someone in this world cares about you ? "

" I want , but it's too late for me . I have already chosen my path and my wife and close relatives are dead and my son hates me . There's no need to restore my family anymore . Now all I wish is to become the world's leader , no matter what are the costs ! "

" And what if it's not too late ? If you miss the chance to get everything back , it would be like you're losing it again... "

" There's no need for that... " Mutsuhito said and got up from his chair to stare at the window . " My son would never love me again after all I've did against him and the girl he loves . And then there's the Shirayama girl , the one person which I cannot forgive , no matter how much you'll try to convince me ! "

" Your son is warm hearted , he has the power to forgive . " Tarja said and approached Mutsuhito's desk . " I'm sure that if you let him live his life , he'll forgive you and love you again . "

" I would , but not with that girl ! I would never allow my own blood to mix with the Shirayama's blood ! "

" It's not her fault she's a Shirayama ! She hasn't done anything to you ! And besides... if you forget that , you'll be able to proove your love to your son . "

" To forget what the Shirayamas did to me and my family ? Never ! I swore I would never forget what they did to us until the last one of them is dead ! If I must , I will die unloved by my son , but I will make sure that I will pull Tsugumi in the grave with me ! This is an oath ! "

" Tsugumi did nothing to you ! "

" THE SIMPLE FACT THAT SHE'S A SHIRAYAMA IS AN INSULT TO ME ! " Mutsuhito yelled and turned to Tarja with a face which was darkened by anger . " I swore that I would kill every last one of their kind... including her ! Her greatest sin was the fact that she was born ! "

" She's no different than the others ! It's not her fault she's a Shirayama ! " Tarja said and stared at Mutsuhito with fierce eyes . " And besides , think of what you did to her ! "

" If you were in my place , Tarja , you'd think otherwise . It's Tsugumi's problem that she was born under this family name , but I will personally make sure that she will die , no matter what the costs are ! You'll never understand why I hate the Shirayamas , so don't even try to get under my skin ! "

" What would your wife say about your behaviour ? What would she think of what you are now ? "

" My wife... "

Mutsuhito then remembered how his wife died . They were both in a room filled with expensive objects . Mutsuhito's wife was lying on the bed and he was sitting on his knees next to her , holding her hand . She was breathing hard and her eyes were tired .

" Mutsuhito , promise me one thing . " the woman barely spoke .

" Anything , my dear , anything ! " Mutsuhito said .

" Promise me that you'll always take care of our son , Subaru... "

The woman's eyes then closed and her breathing and pulse stopped . She was dead . Mutsuhito stared at her dead body , still shocked of her final wish .

The flashback ended and Mutsuhito hit the desk with both his fists . He then stared at Tarja with even more anger in his eyes and growled to her :

" Get out ! GET OUT IN THIS INSTANT ! "

" I'll leave now , I've got nothing more to tell you... I know realized that I'M RIGHT ! "

" You're just trying to fool me ! I am doing the right thing now , and I and Tabitha know it ! You can never deceive me , woman , I know what I'm standing up for ! "

" Tabitha ? If it wasn't for her , none of this would've happened ! " Tarja said as she was about to leave , but instead she turned back to the man . " You want revenge on the Shirayama girl , but what about Tabitha ? "

" Tabitha ? No , no , I could never harm Tabitha ! " Mutsuhito said and sat back on his chair . " She's the one which gave me all this power ! She helped me become president ! I'd have nothing if it wouldn't be for her ! "

" Wrong ! You'd have everything – your wife , your son... their love ! And you'd have been a better person . "

" I wouldn't have had Subaru , since I've banished him out of the family . It was Tabitha the one which suggested to accept Subaru back in the family in order to have a heir ! It's because of her that I have him by my side now ! "

" You never know... But... you don't have him now . You have his body , but you don't have his love ! You're not a father to him ! Which means that he's not your son ! "

" I couldn't care less ! As long as I gain my precious power , Tabitha shall remain my personal helper , and Subaru my puppet ! You cannot change this ! "

" And when you have all the power in the world... what are you going to do with it ? "

" I'm gonna enjoy controlling everyone's lives . I'm gonna enjoy bossing around . I'll be the absolute leader ! "

" Would that bring back your wife ? Oh , and one more thing... Why does Tabitha help you ? She cursed you , now why does she help you ? "

" That... is what I don't know . No matter how much I ask her , she keeps saying that she's doing it because we have the same goals... "

" And what if she's just using you ? What if you're her puppet ? "

" Hahaha , you're making me laugh ! Me , her puppet ? She never showed any signs of bossing around , she always obeyed my orders , she even feared me when I threatened to kick her out in the streets with Hanna . And besides , I can smell someone manipulating me from a mile ! How could she even THINK of making me her puppet ? "

" And what if she's just acting... trying to fool you... to make you think this way ? "

" And what if YOU'RE the one which is acting , to fool me ? I see it now , you're trying to make me lose faith in my only trustworthy ally , for what ? For a past which is lost ? I've buried my past fast , and Subaru will have to do it as well ! Tabitha is our future ! "

" I have no use of fooling you... I'm just trying to make you see my point . And besides... I'm not a witch . The past is not lost... not yet ! You could still get it back... only if you want to . "

" You're lying , I can't get it back ! My wife's dead , I only have power left ! My only hope is Tabitha ! Now stop wasting my time with your lies and leave , woman , before I call the guards ! "

" Why would I lie to you ? Your wife's dead , but you still have a son ! He's the only thing she left you with . Keep him ! Get his love back ! And your wife would be proud of you . They say dead people watch their loved ones... what if she's watching now ? "

" She's watching me ? " Mutsuhito said and turned to the window to stare at the sky once again . " I was dead , I was in hell and I couldn't find her anywhere , which must mean that she probably vanished... There's no way she could be watching me now since I never met her while I was dead . "

" And what if she's in heaven ? " Tarja asked .

" Hah , foolish woman , heaven is a lie ! Only eternal fire awaits us when we die ! "

" How do you know ? "

" I fell in hell once I died... and Shagrath gave me an awful trip... "

" Then how do you know that heaven doesn't exist ? You couldn't be there... You'll never go there if you continue like this... "

" I was a just man in my former life ! The only 'crime' which I commited was staining my hands with the blood of the Shirayamas , but those bastards got what they deserved , so I actually made justice when I almost wiped out their whole family . "

" Killing people and leaving a girl without her parents is enough ! "

" Not my fault that I didn't knew she survived... "

" See ? You can't go to heaven... but... if you make your son forgive you , then maybe God would also forgive you and send you to your wife . "

" Stop talking nonsense , woman , heaven doesn't exist and I have already chosen my path ! You know what ? I regret nothing ! I don't regret the fact that I killed the Shirayamas and made this country's population suffer ! My only regret is the fact that I failed at killing Tsugumi back then... "

" Why do you resist to believe ? Because you'll understand that you were wrong all this time ? We're humans ! We all do mistakes... But we shouldn't lie to ourselves about them... Believe me , if you don't stop all this , it would only get worse . "

" I don't want to hear one more word ! " Mutsuhito said and pressed a button from his desk which made five robot guards appear in the room . " Escort miss Turunen out of this mansion ! "

" No need to , I'll leave by myself ! " Tarja said and turned to the door . " But , Mutsuhito , think about it , and also think about the reason why you don't want to listen to me ! YOU KNOW I AM RIGHT ! "

" When this is all over , we'll see which one of us was actually wrong , Tarja Turunen ! "

Tarja then left and Mutsuhito's robots closed the doors and went back to their posts . The woman walked through the corridor and concentrated on the real mission . She had to find Subaru and help him rescue the imprisoned Tsugumi before it was too late . After a few minutes of searching she had found the room where Subaru and the others were celebrating his birthday . They were all amazed of seeing the famous soprano Tarja Turunen come to their party and they greeted her , but Tarja grabbed Subaru's arm and said to the others :

" I'm sorry , guys , but I'll party with you some other time . Me and Subaru have some urgent matters to take care of ! "

" We do ? " Subaru asked .

" It's about Tsugumi and how we can free her . " Tarja whispered to his ear .

" I mean , yeah , we do ! Don't worry , guys , I'll be back ! "

" Ok , be fast , Suby , you don't wanna miss the fun ! " Edo said and waved to them .

" I'll try , Edo-kun . "

Subaru and Tarja left the party and ran through the corridors . On their way , they spoke of a plan to free Tsugumi :

" Do you know where they're keeping her ? " Tarja asked .

" Most likely she's held in the prison from the basement . " Subaru answered . " The cell's doors can be opened by those which have the DNA of a Geki . "

" Ok , I know what we must do now . "

" You do , Tarja-san ? "

" Yes , you will go and free Tsugumi while I get out of the mansion and contact Mr Lordi . He will then come with our UFO and we'll be able to escape with Tsugumi . "

" Excellent plan , Tarja-san ! See you at the front door of the mansion ! " Subaru said and ran towards the basement .

Meanwhile at Tsugumi's cell . The girl had fallen asleep on the cold metallic floor . Then the voice of Subaru shouted towards her and woke her up .

" Tsugumi ! "

" Huh ? What's going on ? " Tsugumi said and then woke up and saw Subaru . " Subaru , what are you doing here ? "

" There's no time to explain ! " Subaru said and put his hand on a small scanning piece of metal .

Subaru's palm was scanned and then the computer's screen shined green . The cell's laser bars then disappeared and Tsugumi was free . Subaru grabbed the girl's hand and ran away with her .

" Subaru , where are we going ? " Tsugumi asked .

" I told you , I don't have time to explain , just hurry this way ! " the boy spoke with a serious voice .

Subaru and Tsugumi got out of the basement and ran towards the exit of the mansion . They could see Tarja by the exit , waving to a UFO and giving it indications to land . Then an alarm was started in the whole mansion .

" Why was the alarm launched all of a sudden ? " Tsugumi asked once again .

" Probably the guard robots which were defeated by the UFO had launched the alarm to warn the others of the danger . We don't have much time left ! " Subaru answered .

The two lovers had finally reached the exit of the mansion . They saw the UFO land and Tarja run in it at safety . Subaru then kissed Tsugumi on the lips and hugged her .

" Thank you for the lovely birthday present ! I love the deck you gave me ! " Subaru said after letting go of Tsugumi .

" I'm glad that you liked it . " Tsugumi replied while blushing . " It's the least I could do , even though I was captured . "

" I understand . Now hurry and leave ! "

" But , Subaru... "

" I'll be fine . Hurry ! "

" No . Come with me . "

" Tsugumi , if I run away again , they'll just catch me . I'll find a way for us to be together that doesn't involve running away . Now go ! "

Tsugumi then ran to the UFO , but stopped while climbing the stairs to its entrance . The blonde girl turned back to the black haired boy and said :

" Subaru ! "

" Don't worry . Even if we're apart , we're still together . " Subaru said and smiled to Tsugumi .

" You're right , we'll still be together in our hearts . " Tsugumi replied while smiling back to him . " We're married and we're together till death do us apart . "

The girl then entered the UFO and the spaceship slowly took its fly . Subaru then ran back to the mansion only to come face to face with Tabitha . The witch's presence was a big surprise to him . The boy made a few steps back shocked .

" What are you doing here , Tabitha Lenox ? "

" Don't play dumb with me , Subaru , you already know that I'm working for your father ! I'm now here to make sure that you'll never have to do anything with Tsugumi , ever again ! " Tabitha said and took out her glowing deck .

" Heh , we'll see about that , filthy witch ! " Subaru replied and took out his Eternal Death deck as well .

Two duelnig tables suddenly came out of the floor . Subaru and Tabitha placed their decks on them and raised up their shields . Then they both drew five cards and started the duel .

" I summon Fuuma Ravaal , the Reaper ! " Subaru said .

" I summon Melgainer , Electro-Spectre ! " Tabitha said .

" I summon Bloody Squito and break your shield with Fuuma Ravaal ! "

Tabitha took cover as Subaru's creature broke her shield to pieces . The shield's shards united into a card which Tabitha took to her hand . The witch smiled and showed her card saying :

" My turn , I summon Moora , Emperor of the Gods ! I now attack Fuuma Ravaal with Melgainer and draw a card ! "

" Block the attack , Bloody Squito ! " Subaru said and then showed a card from his hand . " My turn , I cast Corpse Charger and take Bloody Squito from the graveyard to my hand ! Ike , Fuuma Ravaal , break another shield "

" Heh , thanks for the help , Subaru Geki ! " Tabitha spoke with an arrogant voice . " It's time for your end ! "

" What are you talking about ? "

" I summon Mani , Emperor of the Gods ! Godlink ! I unite the two Gods and create Moora Mani , Emperor of the Gods ! When Mani links with another God , I'll draw a card ! Now , ike , Moora Mani , break his shield ! "

The giant two headed dragon roared and fired two powerful lazor beams which broke one of Subaru's shields . Subaru took cover , but the shield shards and lazor still hit him . The boy fell on his knees and the witch laughed evily . The simple hearing of Tabitha's voice made Subaru more determined to not lose . The black haired boy slowly got up and stared at the blonde witch . His eyes were filled with hate and anger , and that made Tabitha pleased .

" Heh , the more angry you get , the more you lose your energy on me ! "

" We'll see about that , witch ! " Subaru said and showed another card . " I summon Deathraios , Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy my Fuuma Ravaal ! "

" Meh , I'll destroy Mani , and Moora stays ! " Tabitha said and the blue dragon blew up , leaving only the purple one .

" I also summon Bloody Squito ! Your turn , Tabby ! "

" Heh , I've dealt with many overconfident chaps like you in my days . You're more than easy to beat , dear ! "

" I'm not your dear , witch , now do your turn ! "

" Fine , but you won't like it ! I summon Vishu , Emperor of the Gods ! " Tabitha said and another purple dragon appeared behind her . " Godlink ! I unite Moora and Vishu ! Now that Moora has been linked , I will discard Adge , Emperor of Gods from my hand and return Mani to my hand ! "

" Huh ? But why would you sacrifice a strong creature such as Adge for a weakling such as Mani ? "

" You'll see soon , son of Mutsuhito Geki ! Ike , Moora Vishu , break his shield ! "

Subaru didn't block the attack because he needed more cards in his hand . The boy just put his hands in front of his face and waited for the lazors to hit his shield . Once his shield was broken , the shield shard went towards him , and this time only his hands got wounded . Tabitha laughed once again and said :

" Hahaha , did you really think that I was that easy ? Think again , fool ! I have evolved since the last time you've faced me ! "

" You may evolve how much you want , Tabitha , but I will win this duel ! " Subaru said and smiled with confidence .

" Still thinking that you can win ? Your determination is quite remarkable . "

" And so is this ! I summon Gal Volf , Dark Wolfblade and choose the race God ! "

Subaru looked into Tabitha's hand and saw that she had Energy Stream , Terror Pit , Change the World Blue Divine Dragon and Mani , Emperor of the Gods . Subaru discarded Mani and Tabitha lost a shield which was Aqua Surfer .

" Ike , Deathraios , break her shield ! " Subaru said and his creature slashed one of Tabitha's shields with its long red sword .

The shield shards sorrounded Tabitha and she grinned . Her grin made Subaru's spine shiver . He knew that something big was going to happen . The shield shards united into a card which Tabitha showed to Subaru while saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Inferno Sign ! I shall summon Adge , Emperor of the Gods from my graveyard ! "

" So that's why she discarded Adge ! " Subaru said in his mind while staring at the giant three headed black dragon which appeared behind Tabitha .

" Now it's time to show you something new ! " Tabitha said .

Suddenly a strange thing happened . A black rectangle filled with stars appeared on Tabitha's right and Subaru's left . It looked as if a part of the space had been brought in their duel . On that piece of the cosmos was floating a strange darkness card with silver corners and strange little lightnings drawn around the card's mana cost number and creature's picture . Subaru stared amazed at the wonder which he was seeing .

" What in the world is that ? " Subaru asked .

" That , my dear , is a new zone of the dueling table , the hyperspatial zone ! In the hyperspatial zone lie only psychic creatures , like the one there . Psychic creatures are brought to the battlezone using special spells such as this one ! " Tabitha said and showed a darkness spell which had the same lightnings around the mana cost number and picture . " I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole ! Now I shall summon from the hyperspatial zone a creature with the cost of 9 or less ! Arise , my dear Suva , Temporal Menace ! "

A horned demon wearing a dark purple armor appeared behind Tabitha . Subaru stared at it while sweating . He was both fascinated and scared by the mighty creature .

" This is not good... " Subaru murmed .

" Godlink ! I unite Adge with Moora Vishu ! " Tabitha said and the three headed dragon united with the other two dragons . " Adge Moora Vishu , destroy his Deathraios ! "

" Block it , Bloody Squito ! "

The red insect flew in front of the blue skeletal demon sorrounded by clouds and spread its feet while creating a web barrier to protect it . The giant dragon with many heads fired alot of lazors and managed to take down the barrier and fry the red insect , but the skeletal demon had survived .

Subaru was now becoming desperate . Tabitha had pulled out her strong creatures whilst he had only two pathetic demons . He needed a plan if he wanted to get out of the situation alive , but he was too panicked to hatch one . Tabitha senced the despair in his eyes and stared at him while grinning , hoping to intimidate him more . The black haired boy then drew his next card and started his turn fast by placing it on his Deathraios card and saying :

" I evolve Deathraios into Ballom , Master of Death ! "

The card glew with a purple light which was so powerful that it was lightning the whole corridor . A giant blue skinned bird winged goat demon wearing a bone armor and a pair of red pants appeared behind Subaru and spread its blue feathers .

" Heh , too bad that all my creatures are darkness creatures and Ballom's effect can't destroy them ! " Tabitha spoke sarcastically .

" Grr... IKE , BALLOM , BREAK HER FINAL SHIELD , NOW ! " Subaru shouted and Ballom waved its hands and fired a ball of darkness from them which broke Tabitha's last shield .

" Oh , too bad for you , shield trigger , I cast Terror Pit and destroy Gal Volf ! "

" Oh no... "

" Oh yes ! This is your end , Subaru Geki ! "

Subaru sweated while staring at Tabitha , which showed a darkness card from her hand and then placed it on the table , uniting it with the other three .

" Godlink ! I united Adge Moora Vishu with Suva , Emperor of the Gods ! "

A horned dragon wearing a dark purple armor appeared behind Tabitha and united with the others . Now Subaru had in front of him a giant dark dragon with many heads . Not even in his worst nightmares had he seen such an atrocity . Tabitha grinned once again and spoke to her opponent :

" Heh , now it's time to teach you something about the psychic creatures ! "

" Huh ? What's so special about them ? "

" Psychic creatures aren't only creatures which stay in other zones and which can be summoned by using Hyperspatial spells ! Their unique thing is the fact that they can turn into an even more stronger creature if a condition is respected ! " Tabitha said and pointed at her Suva card . " Suva , Temporal Menace is a 5000 powered Demon Command which can't attack and is also a blocker . But when I unite a God with 3 other Gods like I just did now , I may simply flip my Suva and turn him into something bigger ! "

Tabitha then flipped her card and the demon's armor fell . Subaru then saw one of the ugliest and scariest demons which ever existed ! The demon's face was beyond description and his skin was dark red . He also had two enormous red swords .

" Meet Psychic Suva , the Awakened God ! " Tabitha said smiling . " Psychic Suva is a 12000 powered triple breaker and when he's summoned , I'll destroy all our non-God creatures and mana , except for Psychic Suva ! "

" This means... " Subaru spoke shocked .

Subaru's Ballom blew up and all the cards from his mana zone went straight to the graveyard . Tabitha had lost six mana and had only Ana , Emperor of the Gods left in her mana zone .

" Heh , so this is how my opponents felt when I used Dorballom against them... " Subaru spoke with a rather sad voice .

" You don't like a taste of your own medicine , huh ? " Tabitha spoke arrogantly . " Time to finish you off ! Psychic Suva , break his shields ! "

The red demon roared and slashed Subaru's last three shields with its swords . There weren't any shield triggers in the shields , and even if there were , they wouldn't have helped Subaru that much . The black haired boy raised his head up and honorably waited his defeat .

" This is the end of the Subaru Geki we all know ! " Tabitha said . " Happy birthday , here's my present ! Adge Suva Moora Vishu , totomeda ! "

All the dragon's heads roared and fired multiple lazors at once . Subaru stared at the beams which would bring him his death and spoke in his mind :

" Forgive me , Tsugumi , I will always love you ! "

The boy then closed his eyes and flew in the air hit by the beams . He was more than certain that he would die , but then something happened . Tabitha teleported herself above him and put her hand on his forehead .

" What's the meaning of this , Tabitha ? " Subaru barely spoke .

" Magic spell , magic hand ,

Erase his memories !

Make his mind feel better

And forget Tsugumi ! "

The hand shined and Subaru felt a strange headache . IN the next moment he was lying on the ground . He was hurt and unconcious . Tabitha sat in front of his body and said :

" Yes ! At long last , I did it ! I've erased all his memories of Tsugumi ! This is it , their love is gone forever ! Hahahahaha ! "


	66. The lost memories: A chance for Hanna

Subaru floated above a strange pit of darkness . The boy was confused and didn't knew why was he there . Then the image of Tsugumi appeared in front of him . Her warm and caring face was staring at him , making him feel as if he was protected by her . Then the image was broken into pieces like a mirror by none other than Tabitha . The witch flew to Subaru and then spoke :

" This is it , Subaru Geki , you and Tsugumi shall never be together again ! "

The witch then pushed Subaru and he fell in the pit of darkness . The boy's screams for help easily faded away . Now he was endlesly falling in darkness and with each hour that passed he started forgetting what Tabitha wanted him to forget . Slowly , he forgot the fact that his father was working with Tabitha , that his father was forcing him to become his heir and most important , he had forgotten everything about Tsugumi !

Subaru woke up and saw that he was back in his room . He was dressed in white and blue pijamas and was lying on his bed . Next to him was Hanna . The girl was sitting on a chair and was looking at him with a worried look on her face .

" Subaru-sama , you finally woke up ! " Hanna exclaimed .

" Huh ? What happened ? Why am I here , Hanna ? "

" You fell on the floor after you left from your birthday party . I found you and immediately took you to your room and nursed you until now . "

" My birthday party... " Subaru said and then the images of Edo , Gola , Kurumi and Chiharu appeared in his mind . " Oh yeah , what a great party ! "

" Subaru-sama , I want to ask you something . "

" What is it , Hanna ? "

" Tell me , Subaru-sama , do you know who this girl is ? " Hanna asked and showed Subaru a picture of Tsugumi from the 'wanted people' section of the cyber newspaper .

" I don't even have a clue who this person is . Does she even matter ? " Subaru said .

Hanna's heart beated faster and the girl's face got the happiest look she ever had . Her mouth opened wide , her cheeks got red and her eyes shined with the light of love . The girl then remembered what really happened to Subaru after he lost the duel .

_Subaru fell on the floor unconcious and Tabitha packed her cards and his as well . Hanna then rushed to the dueling place as soon as she heard the explosion . The girl was shocked of seeing what had happened there ._

" _Tabitha-sana , you just... "_

" _Don't worry , Hanna . " Tabitha said and got a psycho figure on her face . " From this moment on , Subaru is yours , all yours ! Hahahahaha ! "_

The flashback ended and Hanna got up from her chair . She told Subaru that she would go to get him something to drink and she left the room . As she was walking on the corridors , tears of happiness fell on Hanna's red cheeks .

" Finally , after all these months of loneliness , I got another chance ! Subaru-sama , nothing will ever stand between us , I'll make sure of it ! I will make everything in order to have you love me the way I love you ! I can't believe it , this is the happiest day of my life ! "

Little did Hanna know that Tabitha had been watching her all that time . The witch was enjoying to see that her plan was working . She had manipulated everyone exactly as she wished . Now that Hanna had her chance to be with Subaru , Tabitha got up from her chair and got out of the basement . The witch went straight to Mutsuhito's office and once she entered it , she saw Mutsuhito staring at the dark and cloudy sky from the window .

" How did it go ? " Mutsuhito asked .

" Everything went out as I planned ! " the witch replied smiling .

" Perfect . "

" So now you've completely settled the score with your son , eh ? "

" Yeah , now that he has forgotten everything about the Shirayama girl . "

" Guess I won't have much fun to see from now on . "

" That's not true at all , Tabitha . From now on... I am going to show you how I ascend to global power ! " Mutsuhito said and a lightning stroke .

The following days were golden for Mutsuhito . The man had managed to become a much closer friend to the president of the United States . With this , he finally had acess to all the secret service agencies of the USA , such as CIA , FBI , etc . With the help of Tabitha , the man easily got the images of their secret files in his head . With that , he could gain access to their laboratories and computers easily . Then he easily managed to slip into their operation bases and manage to destroy them . Afterwards , Tabitha casted curses upon each member of those organizations and they all died horrible deaths .

With the organizations out of his way , Mutsuhito's final obstacle was the president . One day when he was having an official visit to the president's house , he revealed his true intentions . The president was more than shocked of seeing that Mutsuhito had deceived him all that time and had killed all his secret forces . As the man was about to be arrested , Tabitha appeared in front of him and created a barrier around Mutsuhito and her which separated them from the rest . After that she had casted a spell and released toxic gas in the whole room , thus killing the United States of America's president and his whole elite guards .

Mutsuhito then declaired himself as the president of the United States and almost every citizen from the US had to obey him and worship him . The man then waged a war with all the countries which didn't wish to cooperate with him .

August the 17th . Mutsuhito's empire slowly starts to be built . Having the USA and Japan as main bases , he had managed to conquer all the countries from the American continent , the whole south-eastern part of Asia , both northern and southern Korea , Australia and a big part of the islands from the Pacific . The world had become split in two groups : those who were conquered and forced to obey Mutsuhito and those who still resisted and fought against him . Thus , Mutsuhito Geki had the whole European continent , Russia and China as declaired enemies , but he didn't care . His army of powerful robots and Tabitha's spells had helped him conquer a big part of the globe within a week . The world was soon going to head to a dark age where Mutsuhito was its law .

The week passed more calmly at the Geki mansion . With Mutsuhito and Tabitha gone to take care of warfare , the situation was a little different . Hanna was spending most of her time with Subaru and was trying to get closer to him . With the whole war thing being on every TV channel , Gola got bored and left Edo all alone to slack off . The fat man then implicated in his daughters' lives more by giving them advices to look prettier and attract boys and by forcing them to play with their little cousin , Chiharu .

It was a sunny day . Chiharu was playing outside with her elder cousins , Aiko and Mariko . Subaru was watching them from his room's window and was thinking of his birthday party . A strange thought that something special happened to him back then couldn't leave him alone . Hanna then entered the room and he got swept out of his thoughts . He turned back and saw that the girl had brought him his Lordi T shirt all cleaned up and a pair of jeans .

" Here , I thought you might need this sooner or later . You do wish to get out of the room , right ? "

" Yes , thank you , Hanna . I'm gonna change now and go downstairs to see what's going on . " Subaru replied and took the clothes from the girl's hands .

" Ok , call me when you're done . " the girl said and left .

Subaru changed his clothes in a few minutes and then got out of the room . To his surprise , Hanna was waiting for him in front of the door . The girl was still dressed in her black maid dress , but her long hair looked a little more 'free' , as if she was about to take a break from her job that day .

" Did you actually wait for me to get changed ? " Subaru spoke surprised .

" Yes , Subaru-sama , and that's because I wish to take care of you until you fully recover . I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you . " Hanna said .

" I understand . Oh well , let's go see what's happening downstairs . "

The two took the elevator down to the first floor and walked through the corridors . The house looked as if it was never damaged by a duel , and that was because of Tabitha's resurrection spells . That way Subaru wouldn't suspect a thing about what really happened on his birthday and Mutsuhito wouldn't get made if he found out what happened to his mansion .

Subaru and Hanna entered the living room and saw that a duel was happening on the normal dueling table . To their surprise , it was Gola VS his own sister , Kurumi .

" Huh ? Gola-san , you are dueling your own sister ? " Subaru asked .

" Yes , uncle Subaru , my sister Kurumi is a very strong duelist , despite her appearence . But I still am the champion at eating , hahahaha ! " Gola laughed .

" As if someone would be able to defeat you at that... I wouldn't be surprised if you'd eat the whole family to really become a champion . " Kurumi thought .

" Gola is still a strong duelist ! " Edo said from the couch . " Don't underestimate him , Suby , he might surprise you with his skills . "

" If you say so , Edo-kun . " Subaru said .

" Let's get this started ! " Kurumi said and arranged her cards for the duel .

Gola did the same as Kurumi and the duel started . After two turns , Gola showed a spell card from his hand and said :

" I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana ! "

" I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana ! " Kurumi said .

" I summon Cavern Raider ! " Gola said .

" I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier and gain one more mana and one more shield ! Bronze-Arm Tribe , break his shield ! "

" Hah , if that's all you can , you have a long way to defeat me , little sister ! " Gola said and took the card from his shield to his hand . " My turn , I summon Ral Absorber , Light Divine Dragon ! I now attack with Cavern Raider and with his effect I'll take Fighter Dual Fang from my deck to my hand ! Ike , Cavern Raider , destroy her Bronze-Arm Tribe ! "

" Oh , big brother , but I have much more in store for you ! " Kurumi replied smiling and showed a light/fire card from her hand . " I summon Jet R.E , Brave Vizier and gain one more shield while I also destroy your Ral Absorber ! Skysword , suicide with Cavern Raider now ! How did you like that ? "

" I think that it's time for my little sister to learn a little lesson ! I now summon my ace card , Romanesk , the Dragon Wizard ! Romanesk will give me four more mana and... "

" Of course , you always didn't have enough of anything , you greedy pig . "

" How dare you ? You'll pay for that , insolent sister ! I cast Crest of Mother and replace Romanesk with Bolshack Cross Nex ! "

" What ? " Kurumi spoke shocked and stared at Gola's card . " Bolshack Cross Nex... "

" Its effect makes the players unable to summon creatures with the cost of 4 or less . Also , it's a speed attacker and triple breaker . " Edo said .

" Oh no , watch out , Kurumi-san ! " Subaru added .

" Yeah , watch out , little sister , or I might beat you badly , hahahaha ! " Gola laughed and tapped his Bolshack Cross Nex card . " Ike , Bolshack Cross Nex , triple break her shields ! "

Kurumi took three cards from her shields to her hand and smiled . Gola then sweated and Kurumi showed him a green card saying :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Natural Snare and send Bolshack Cross Nex to your mana zone ! "

" Heh , thanks to you , I now have 11 mana ! " Gola said and put the card back to his mana zone .

" Also , shield trigger , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn the last shield you broke into a shield trigger ! " Kurumi said smiling . " So , shield trigger , I summon Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon ! "

" Uh oh , that's not good . "

" You can bet that again , big brother ! I generate Glorious Heaven's Arm and cross Jet R.E with it ! Ike , Jet R.E , break his shield and Glorious Heaven's Arm will give me one more shield ! Nice deal , huh ? "

" Grr... I've had enough of your pathetic tricks , sister ! It's time to show you how real duelists duel ! I summon Ral Absorber , Light Divine Dragon and then cast Dragharian Energy and tap Ral Absorber ! Now I'll search my deck and summon another Ral Absorber ! And to my delight , Ral Absorber's effect makes all your creatures break only one shield , haha ! "

" Very well then , brother , I just regret the fact that you'll lose your Dragons soon . "

" Huh ? What do you mean ? " Gola asked looking confused .

" I mean this ! I summon two Samurai Lupias ! " Kurumi said . " I now attack with Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon and put a shield to my graveyard , but my Samurai Lupias give me two more shields instead ! And with Bolmeteus's effect I'll destroy your untapped Ral Absorber ! Ike , Bolmeteus , attack his tapped Ral Absorber and destroy it as well ! Ike , Jet R.E , break his shield and give me one more shield ! "

Gola looked angry because the card in his shield was good for nothing . He feared that he would lose and would make a fool out of himself in front of those kids and his uncle . Then he felt something strange . He felt as if the next card from his deck would be a card which would bring him victory . He then drew his next card and smiled .

" Time for my comeback ! " Gola said smiling . " I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to gain one more mana and then Mana Vortex , I summon Ladio Yaesar , Super Divine Dragon ! Ladio Yaesar's effect will put two more cards on my last two shields ! "

" Heh , nice strategy , brother . Now the chance for you getting shield triggers is bigger . " Kurumi said .

" Yes , and now Ladio Yaesar , destroy her Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon ! Your turn ! "

" Tsh , I summon Skysword , the Savage Vizier to gain one more shield and mana ! Then I attack with Jet R.E and gain one more shield thanks to Glorious Heaven's Arm ! Ike , Jet R.E , break his shield ! "

" Heh , shield trigger activate , I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures ! "

" Tsh , good one , brother ! "

" Thank you , little sister , and now it's time to finish this ! " Gola said and showed a green card and a yellow one . " I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and Ral Absorber , Light Divine Dragon ! Now , Ladio Yaesar , double break her shields ! "

Kurumi took the two cards to her hand and then smiled . The woman showed them both to Gola and said :

" Shield trigger activate , I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers ! Shield trigger , I now cast Invincible Aura ! "

" WHAT ? " Gola screamed .

" Invincible Aura will give Kurumi-san 3 more shields ! " Subaru said .

" And all her 10 shields are now shield triggers ! " Hanna added .

" Oh no , Gola , watch out , pal ! " Edo said .

" I... I end for now... " Gola said and layed his head down .

" Fine , then I cast Crest of Mother and put Skysword to my mana zone and replace him with Alephtina , Spiritual Princess ! " Kurumi said and smiled . " I won ! "

Kurumi's words made everyone's spines shiver . The fast and natural accent in her voice when she said those two words hit them like a bullet in the heart . What did she mean by winning ? How could that happen ? She had just summoned a creature .

" You... won ? " Gola asked .

" Yes , I did ! " Kurumi said and crossed her arms .

" But , Kurumi-san , how did you win ? " Subaru asked .

" Easy , I summoned Alephtina , Spiritual Princess ! Alephtina is a double breaker which gives me one shield when I have none left and my opponent is giving me the final attack , but her special thing is that when I have at least 10 shields , Alephtina makes me automatically win the game ! Nice duel , Gola ! "

Gola stared at the dueling table , still amazed of how his sister had defeated him . The man looked at his last shield and saw that the cards in it were Super Spark and Bolshack Cross Nex . He smiled , knowing that he could've defeated Kurumi in his next turn and then turned to his sister and said :

" Hahaha , look at us , Kurumi . Grown ups fighting like kids because of a duel . How pathetic is that ? "

" I don't find it pathetic at all , big brother , for this makes me remember of the days when we were kids . "

" Yeah , it does... " Gola said and packed up his cards . " Oh well , I'm gonna go back to watching TV . Wanna join me ? "

" No thanks , I'm going to see what our daughters are doing . " Kurumi said and left the living room .

Gola walked back to the couch and joined Edo at watching a comedy show . Hanna got a little closer to Subaru and said :

" What a great duel , right ? "

" Yeah , I guess... " Subaru said and then blushed as he saw Hanna holding his hand in hers . " H-Hanna , what are you doing ? "

" Oh , nothing , I just wish to see how your temperature is . " the girl said and approached Subaru's face , touching her forehead to his . " Ok , it's normal , you should be 100 % back to normal really soon ! "

" O-ok , b-but why must you be so close ? It's kinda weird... "

" Oh , but it's not weird at all . " the girl said and giggled .

Two more days had passed since that event . Gola and Edo saw that Mutsuhito had managed to conquer China and all the countries from the African continent . There was no way anyone could rebel against him , for his robot soldiers were patrolling every city from his conquered countries and were immediately arresting , torturing and killing anyone who gave signs of rebellion . There was no way anyone could even insult Mutsuhito in his own empire . His word was law , and who didn't respect it had to die .

Now the evil ruler had sent his troops to put an end to the Middle East conflict and take over all those countries from it while he and Tabitha returned home to his mansion for a small break . Mutsuhito was greeted home , to everyone's surprise , by a crowd of citizens from the capital which were gathered in front of his mansion to tell their complaints about his tyrannic and corupt regime which was stealing their food and money . Tabitha used her powers and teleported herself to the basement , while the robots sorrounded Mutsuhito for protection . He then advanced with those robots to his house . The people then started shouting towards him :

" We want our food back ! "

" We want our money back ! "

" We want our freedom back ! "

" We want you to leave the president's chair ! "

At first Mutsuhito tried to ignore them , but then one man threw a tomato and hit his head with it , turning his hair red . The man got angry and turned to that citizen saying :

" You're lucky that my son is watching from the window , otherwise you'd know what pain means ! Listen up , citizens , these measures are only temporary ! Your food and money is invested in the Holy War which will create my empire ! Once I will have the whole world under my command , everything will be back to normal... no , everything will be much better than before ! You will just have to wait and... "

" Liar ! Liar ! " everyone shouted .

Mutsuhito stared angrily at the crowd and was about to yell a killing order , but he tried to calm down as he saw that Subaru was still watching him from the widnow . The man then rushed into the mansion and the robots stood outside to protect the entrance . Mutsuhito then wiped off the sweat from his face with a handkerchief as Subaru walked to him .

" Father , why were they yelling at you ? "

" Foolish peasants who cannot understand the complicated ways of my politics , Subaru . There's nothing to worry , they won't be bothering us soon ! " Mutsuhito replied .

" I understand . I will go to my room now . " Subaru said and left .

Mutsuhito then headed to his office and sat down on his chair . He then looked at the furious crowd at the screen of his computer and smiled . The man then pressed a button and said :

" All robot units , attention ! Eliminate all the protesters ! I do not want anyone to escape this place alive ! "

Subaru entered his room and the first thing he did was walking to the window to see if the crowd had left home . He saw that they were still protesting , but then he was also shocked to see a robot raise up a laser gun and shoot a teenage boy in a matter of seconds . The crowd then yelled his name and protested even harder . They began throwing rocks at the robots and the robots in response shot even more people . Subaru fell on his knees when he saw what atrocities were going on outside .

" Oh my God... I can't let this happen ! I have to stop them ! " the boy said .

Subaru was about to run downstairs , but then he noticed something . He saw that his wardrobe was half open . The black haired boy walked to it and was surprised to find a hooded black robe in it .


	67. The Leo Reaper

The fight between the humans and the robots was cruel and bloody. There were many innocent people shot to death by the machines and the surviving ones kept challenging the robots by throwing more stuff at them. Mutsuhito was enjoying the whole scene from his office. The more blood was spelt, the happier he felt. The man then heard a voice behind him say:

"A little revolt, huh, Mutsuhito?"

The man turned and saw Tabitha dressed in a blue dress and holding a glass of wine in her right hand. The witch was sitting on one of his chairs and was staring at him with the curious stare of a woman.

"Those peasants were thinking that they could convince me to give them back their food and money, but they have forgotten who is their ruler. I'm just teaching them a lesson, and let this be an example of what anyone who dares to oppose me will get!"

"Indeed, with such a great army of robots in your hands, you're practically invincible. By the way, where did you get them, Mutsuhito?"

"I won them at a T.V contest." Mutsuhito said and laughed.

Outside it seemed that the massacre would never end. More and more people were shouting as the robots were shooting them. Then they all heard a strange voice from the roof yell at them:

"Stop this at once!"

The humans and robots turned up and saw on the roof a mysterious dark figure all dressed in black. The wind blew and its black clothing got flopped like a strange, yet desired flag of justice which had been rised up the tyrant's roof. The dark figure then jumped from the roof towards everyone's shock and landed on one of the robots. The machine was crushed on the ground and the strange person jumped on another and did the same thing. The robots got confused at the sight of the stranger and decided to wait for Mutsuhito's order. The man watched what was happening at the window amazed and then turned to his desk and grabbed the microphone. Mutsuhito shouted in the microphone with an angry voice:

"What are you idiots waiting for? Destroy the damn intruder!"

The robots then turned to the strange intruder dressed in a black robe and started shooting towards him. The dark figure ran in circles and the robots kept shooting after it until they ended up shooting none other than themselves. Mutsuhito was more than furious when he saw that his small robot elite got destroyed that easy by a that strange dark figure.

The person dressed in black robes stopped in front of the poor people and they saw that he was also wearing a black hood and had a golden mask which resembled a lion cover his face.

"Who are you?" one of the poor citizens asked.

"My friends, I am the one which has come to bring justice to this country! No longer will you be oppressed by the mischievous and unjust minions of the president, Mutsuhito Geki, for I have come to teach them that their duty is to serve the people, not themselves! Have no fear and sleep calmly at night, residents of this country, for the Leo Reaper is watching upon you!"

"The Leo Reaper! Who in the bloody hell does this clown think he is?" Mutsuhito spoke frustrated.

"Hm... a potential new enemy of yours which has decided that it's time to start a rebellion?" Tabitha said.

"Heh, like I will allow this to happen."

Mutsuhito then turned back at the window and to his surprise saw that the Leo Reaper had convinced the people to peacefully leave the mansion with some of the corpses of those which were shot. Then the Leo Reaper suddenly disappeared into thin air. The man was amazed of seeing such a strange act from his new 'declared enemy'.

"What's wrong with this guy? Didn't he want to start a rebellion against me?"

"Hm... that's weird. I wonder what's this guy up to, Mutsuhito."

"Well then, Tabitha, you use your tricks and find out who he is and what he wants! In the meantime, I'll come up with a new plan." Mutsuhito said and sat down at his desk.

"And what will this plan be?" Tabitha asked while staring at him cross armed with her usual curious look.

"I'm going to offer the price for Tsugumi Shirayama's head DOUBLED if someone brings me this Leo Reaper dead or alive! This way he won't be able to find any allies for a rebellion, hehehehe."

"Wait! Before you do that, Mutsuhito, let me use the plan which I have in mind. Give me two weeks! If I won't be able to find out what you need in two days, you're free to put on your reward."

"Tsh, do as you want."

Tabitha then left the office and closed the doors. Mutsuhito pulled down the curtains and stood alone in the dark room. He began contemplating at his final triumph as the world's ruler and the way he would unmask the Leo Reaper and reveal his indentity to the whole world right before he would sacrifice him in a stadium. And so Mutsuhito spent the rest of the day dreaming in his office.

Tabitha, on the other hand, walked to Hanna's room. The witch opened the doors and saw the girl resting on her bed after another tiring day as a house maid. As the girl saw Tabitha, she was about to get up, but the witch spoke to her fast:

"Stay where you are and get some rest, Hanna, for you'll need it tonight."

"But what is tonight?" Hanna spoke confused.

Later that night in the middle of the capital. It was the same annoying silence of which everyone started to get sick. Since no one had much money or food left, they couldn't afford going out or even have parties. Most of the citizens were in bed by 9 PM, but they couldn't sleep because of the noise coming from a level 5 suspended house. A robot was forcing a family to pay their taxes, even if their last saved money were for food, which was rare.

"Please, sir, these are our last savings. We've paid president Mutsuhito many taxes, he should at least leave us alone this once!"

"The authority of the president shall not be disobeyed!" the robot said and pushed the father of the family. "I shall personally enter and reclaim not only your money, but also your household objects."

"Stop right there!" a strict voice ordered.

The robot turned and saw a strange figure lying on the air cyber street. It was the Leo Reaper. The robot searched in its database and realised the figure's identity.

"You're the criminal whom president Mutsuhito wants captured."

"Yep, and this 'criminal' is here to stop the injustice made by you."

"How could you call injustice the perfect word of our lord Mutsuhito, foolish one?"

"Mutsuhito's word has nothing to do with your corrupt behavior!" the Leo Reaper said and took out a circular deckcase in which was shining a deck. "I challenge you to a duel, you traitor of the state!"

"We'll see who's the traitor." the robot replied and took out its deck as well.

The family and other neighbors gathered at their windows and watched how the Leo Reaper faced one of Mutsuhito's tax collecting robots in a duel in the sky. The duel didn't last too much, for the Leo Reaper's superiority had shown itself faster than anyone expected.

"Time to finish this. Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper, totomeda!" the Leo Reaper ordered and a blue skeletal demon sorrounded by a blue cloud slashed the robot and caused it to blow up.

Everyone then started to cheer up the Leo Reaper. Everyone began throwing flowers from their windows towards their new hero, even if those flowers were almost completely dry. The Leo Reaper smiled to them and then said:

"I will not always be here for you, citizens! If you truly wish to put an end to this injustice, then those of you who know how to duel will have to stand up by yourselves and defeat these cruel oppressors! Do not worry, for one day justtice will prevail once more in our country!"

"Leo Reaper! Leo Reaper!" everyone chanted his name.

A few more hours had passed and everyone was asleep. The Leo Reaper was sitting on a sharp roof and was staring at the clear sky filled with shiny blue stars. The wind was blowing on him and was making his black robe seem like a flag.

But the Leo Reaper was fast swept out of his thoughts as he saw someone break in a supermarket and come out with two bags filled with food. He was disgusted by that low life behavior and decided to stop the burglar and call it a day. The Leo Reaper got up and shouted:

"Hey, you there!"

The burglar turned and saw the hero in black robe. The Leo Reaper then jumped at the burglar but suddenly got his robe stuck in the antenna of the building on which he had sat for a while.

"Oh, for the love of God!" the Leo Reaper spoke angrily and tried to free himself.

"Is this guy really a hero?" the burglar asked while sweating.

The robe finally got torn and the Leo Reaper fell from the building and landed in a garbage can. The burglar then thought that it was the perfect moment for a disappearance and ran away. But just then the Leo Reaper came out of the trash like lightning and appeared right in front of the criminal.

"Let's see now who is behind all this!" the Leo Reaper said and then made a step back as he saw the burglar's face. "Impossible, you're... Hanna..."

"How did you know my name?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Impossible! Out of everyone from the Geki mansion I would've never thought that you would do such a thing!"

"And how exactly do you know about the people residing in the Geki mansion?" Hanna asked and stared at the Leo Reaper with a curious look on her face.

"I know everything." the Leo Reaper said as he cooled down. "And you shall not stop me, Hanna! I will see that you stop doing this injustice and correct your ways!"

"Hah, you and what army?"

"This army." the Leo Reaper said and took out the Eternal Death deck case which in a couple of seconds disappeared and a normal card deck appeared in his right hand. "I will do anything in order to bring justice to this country!"

"Heh, you've just made the wrong move by choosing to face me." Hanna replied and took out her deck which was glowing with a bring yellow light. "This will be the end of the Leo Reaper!"

Two dueling tables came out of the ground. Both players placed their shuffled decks on them and raised their shields up while also drawing five cards to their hands. Thus the duel between Hanna and the Leo Reaper had begun.

"I summon Deathproof, Shadow Reaper!" the Leo Reaper said.

"Ooo, you're using a Reaper deck? This is sure gonna be interesting. "Hanna replied and then showed a card. "I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"I summon Bone Amigo, Undead Reaper!"

"I summon Sepa, White Knight Monk!"

"And I see that you're also using a White Knight deck. White Knights VS Reapers... I think you're right, miss Hanna, this is really going to be an interesting duel." the Leo Reaper said while smiling under his golden mask. "My turn, I fortify one of my shields with XENOM, the Reaper Fortress! This fortress makes all my Reapers cost 1 mana less and it will make you discard a card from your hand in the turn when I fortify a shield with it!"

Hanna then lost a card from her hand which was Leonidas, White Knight Spirit. The card fell on her graveyard and she stared at it.

"Amazing, how did he randomly choose EXACTLY the card which I was about to summon in my next turn?" Hanna thought while sweating. "There's something really odd about this Leo Reaper guy."

"Is there a problem? It's your turn, miss Hanna." the Leo Reaper said.

"Ok, my turn, I cast Primal Scream and put the top 4 cards from my deck to my graveyard!"

The cards which went to Hanna's graveyard were Aldora White Knight Spirit, Heaven's Gate, White Knight Spark and Astinos, White Knight Spirit. Hanna decided to return Astinos to her hand and then she ended her turn. The Leo Reaper drew his next card, placed it into his mana zone and showed another card from his hand while saying:

"I summon Crooked Digger Reaper! Now every time a Reaper of mine is destroyed, this guy will let me draw a card! Ike , Bone Amigo, break her shield!"

" Heh, I won't block." Hanna said smiling and watched how one of her shields got broken into pieces.

"Deathproof, break her shield!"

Once again Hanna didn't block. The girl just sat back and noticed how her shields got broken. Then she waited for the shards to unite into cards so that she could take them to her hand. Then it came her turn. The girl showed the card she took from her graveyard and said:

"I summon Astinos, White Knight Spirit! With his effect I'll reveal the top 3 cards from my deck and add all the White Knights to my hand while the rest go to the bottom of my deck!"

The cards which Hanna revealed were Nero Gryphis Mystic Light Emperor , White Knight HEAVEN Lord of Spirits and Ghastly Drain. Hanna only added HEAVEN to her hand. Then she continued her turn by tapping her Sepa card and saying:

"I attack with Sepa, White Knight Monk and destroy your Deathproof!"

"Crooked Digger Reaper lets me draw a card! Now it's my turn!" the Leo Reaper said and smiled once again. "Here's a card which I really love! Let me introduce you to... Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper!"

A giant six headed demon made of bones appeared behind the Leo Reaper. Hanna stared at the majestic creature with a shocked expression on her face. The girl then remembered the times when she dueled Ichiro when they were at Rezo's castle.

_Ichiro and Hanna were dueling in the thronw chamber because Rezo was gone on Earth to take care of Kokujo and the rest. Ichiro had one shield left while Hanna had three. It was Hanna's turn. The girl tapped one of her cards and said:_

"_Sepa, White Knight Monk, break his final shield! This is it, I won! Natalia, White Knight Light Weapon, totome..."_

"_Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy your Natalia!" Ichiro said smiling. " And if that's not all, Bell Hell De Gaul will activate his effect!"_

_Ichiro shuffled his deck and revealed Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper, which was a non-evolution Demon Command, so he summoned it for free._

"_With Deathraios's effect I will sacrifice my Deathproof!" Ichiro continued._

"_I sacrifice my Sepa!" Hanna replied._

"_Now it's my turn! I evolve Deathraios into XENOM, the Reaper King!"_

_Hanna made a few steps back as the giant demon scared her. Ichiro attacked with XENOM and broke her last three shields. As the cards got to her hand, she suddenly lost them._

"_Huh? How did that happen?" Hanna spoke confused._

"_XENOM's Break Bonus makes you discard a card for each shield he broke! Good duel, Hanna! Bell Hell De Gaul, totomeda!" Ichiro ordered._

The flashback ended as Hanna was still staring at the Leo Reaper's Bell Hell De Gaul. The uncertainness could be read in her eyes. She was trembling as if she was seeing a ghost from her past. The Leo Reaper looked at her confused and said:

"Are you alright?"

"The black robe... the Reaper deck... the passion for duel... are you really him?" Hanna asked.

"What are you talking about?" the Leo Reaper spoke even more confused than he was before. "Who do you think I am?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing... Just forget it. Continue your turn, Leo Reaper!"

"Fine then... I should attack your shields now, but I won't! Your turn, Hanna!"

"Heh, you'll regret not doing anything! I cast Miraculous Meltdown! Since I have 3 shields left, you'll have to choose 3 of your own shields and this spell's effect breaks the shields which you didn't choose!"

"Hmph, I choose the fortified shield and the two next to its right!"

The other two shields of the Leo Reaper got instantly broken by the spell's effect. The Leo Reaper then looked into his hands and was shocked of what he saw. Never had he expected to get such cards into his hand. Now it was his opportunity to create a new Reaper combo. The Leo Reaper started his turn by saying:

"Ok, time to show you what it means to face the wrath of the Leo Reaper! I summon Dark Strike, Reaper Beast!"

A not very big brown horned monster with purple wings appeared behind the Leo Reaper and roared. Hanna wasn't very impressed of what she was seeing. But then the Leo Reaper grinned and showed another card.

"I also summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! With his effect I'll sacrifice my Dark Strike!"

"I sacrifice my Sepa!" Hanna said .

Both creatures blew up. The Leo Reaper then showed another card from his hand as the Dark Strike card from his graveyard glowed with a purple light.

"This is not all, miss Hanna! When Dark Strike is destroyed I'm allowed to summon a Demon Command with the cost of 7 or less from my hand! So I evolve Deathraios into XENOM, the Reaper King!"

Suddenly a giant dark blue goat demon which lacked a face but had giant bat wings and a scepter with a ballom head appeared behind the Leo Reaper. Hanna trembled even more as she made a few steps back.

"Impossible! This cannot be!"

"XENOM, triple break her shields!" the Leo Reaper ordered.

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!" Hanna said. "This time I have learned from my mistakes! You're never gonna use that Break Bonus on me again!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. But whatever... Bell Hell De Gaul, double break her shields!"

The demon made of bones created a giant ball of darkness with its mouths and casted it towards Hanna. The girl took cover as two of her shields got broken by the bal . The shield shards united fast into two cards which floated in the air while glowing. Hanna took them and showed them to the Leo Reaper saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Crooked Digger Reaper! "

"Well then, you managed to pull out a comeback afterall. Your turn now, Hanna!"

Hanna looked at both Bell Hell De Gaul and XENOM and the shaked her head. The girl closed her eyes and remembered the image of Ichiro when he was posing as the masked duelist. He was wearing the same type of robe, but his mask was representing the emblem of the darkness civilisation. Then she opened her eyes and for a moment she thought that she was seeing Ichiro instead of the Leo Reaper.

"You cannot fool me!"

"What do you mean?" the Leo Reaper asked.

"I'm going to expose who you really are! YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ME!" Hanna yelled and showed a yellow card. "I cast White Knight Gate and summon a White Knight from my hand for free! I evolve Astinos into White Knight HEAVEN, Lord of Spirits !"

A robotic angel with white wings which was made of gold painted in blue appeared behind Hanna. Then XENOM and Bell Hell De Gaul disappeared and the Leo Reaper gained three more shields.

"HEAVEN's effect sends all non-light creatures to their owner's shields! How do you like that?"

"Hehe, pretty nice move indeed, miss Hanna!" the Leo Reaper said.

"This is the last time I'm allowing you to play games with me!" Hanna growled and then she screamed uncontrollably. "IKE, HEAVEN, ATTACK NOW AND BREAK THREE OF HIS SHIELDS!"

HEAVEN created a powerful yellow lazor ball and then casted it towards the Leo Reaper which tried to duck. The attack broke three of the Leo Reaper's shields and the shield shards hit him. First his cloak fell off his head and revealed his hair. Hanna then smiled and yelled:

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW, ICHIRO!"

The last shield shards his the Leo Reaper's head and made his golden mask fall. Hanna was shocked when she saw who was actually the Leo Reaper. The shock which she had received was even bigger than the one which the Leo Reaper had when he saw that Hanna was the burglar. Hanna trembled even more and she barely spoke:

"Impossible... how can it be? ... you're... Subaru?"

Subaru then arranged his hair a bit and then stared at Hanna with a sad look in his eyes. Now someone had found out his secret identity as the Leo Reaper. The boy then sighed and spoke to the blue haired girl:

"Yes, Hanna, it's me. I am the Leo Reaper!"

"But... why?"

"I'm doing this because there are so many corrupt people in my father's system. I just want our country to be freed of these leeches! My father is too busy with his political stuff, so I thought that it was up to me to do this. I hope you'll understand."

"This is just... too much for me." Hanna said.

"I'm sorry, Hanna-san, but you're standing in my way, so I will have to take you down! " Subaru said and showed two cards. "Grave Evolution! I summon not one, but two Death March, Reaper of Death! Ike, Death March, break her final shield! Any shield trigger?"

Hanna fell on her knees with the card from her shield. It wasn't a shield trigger, but she didn't care. The girl then spoke with tears falling from her eyes:

"It's just impossible! Subaru... black robe... masked duelist... Reaper deck... Ichiro..."

"Hanna, are you feeling alright?" Subaru asked.

"I'm all yours, master!" Hanna said and bowed.

"Ok, then I'll finish this duel and fix things up!" Subaru said and tapped his other card. "Death March, Reaper of Death, totomeda!"

The creature attacked Hanna and the blue haired girl floated in the air. She was tired and she wanted to get some rest. Then the images of Ichiro and Subaru appeared into her mind and the girl smiled. She closed her eyes hoping to have found at last peace.


	68. Hanna's happiness, Tsugumi's sadness

Tsugumi slowly opened her blue eyes and tried to realise what had happened. Everything was blur so she rubbed her eyes with her fists. Then she could distinguish the light of the sun reflecting on metallic walls. She got up and saw that she was back in her room with pink pijamas on her. Tsugumi then spoke to herself:

"What happened? How did I get back here?"

Then the images of Subaru running with her towards Tarja and the UFO came in her mind. She also remembered the cell where she was hold captive and basically everything which happened to her on Subaru's birthday. Tsugumi tried to get out of the bed, but then the door of her room opened and Tarja and Awa entered. Tarja was wearing a long red dress and had red lipstick on her lips, partially resembling her image from the Sleeping Sun videoclip. Awa had her long black hair all messed up, was wearing big silver earrings and her bride dress had been mixed with a green superhero costume.

"Ah, thank goodness you're awake!" Tarja said and hugged Tsugumi. "I thought we were going to lose you!"

"Huh? What happened?" Tsugumi asked.

"After we took off with the UFO you collapsed all of a sudden on the floor." Awa explained. "You stood unconcious for more than 4 weeks."

"We connected you to machines in order to keep you alive. I'm so happy that you didn't die, Tsugumi! I was really worried!"

"Gee, thanks, Tarja-san! But does this mean that we're in October now?"

"Yes, today is the 1st of October. Your birthday is approaching, Tsugumi!"

"Thanks for remembering, Awa-san. But I really think that you guys have better things to do on the 10th of October than to celebrate me. Anyway, what happened while I was unconcious for so much time?"

"Oh, alot happened! First of all, Tsugumi, I'm going to give you some bad news. Two weeks ago, Kita had received a cyber message from his galaxy. His alien race told him that they needed him back to help them in their war. So with regret I announce you that Kita is no longer a member of Lordi!" Awa said and wiped a tear off her eyes.

"Oh, that's awful! I feel bad for you guys. So who will take care of the drums from now on?" Tsugumi asked.

"Mr Lordi, Amen and OX went in a journey through time and space to find a new monster which would be willing to join us."

"Which means that the UFO is all ours for the next couple of days!" Tarja said with a triumphant look on her face.

"Haha, great! Anyway, what else happened?"

"Now it's time for some good news, Tsugumi." Tarja continued. "While Mutsuhito was busy with his world dominating buisness, more and more people have started creating a rebellion movement! Their group is still pretty small, but it can develop into something good if we give it a try."

"Awesome! We should talk to them some day!" Tsugumi said.

"But wait, there's more!" Awa intrerrupted. "Besides these rebels, another mysterious person called the Leo Reaper had started fighting all by himself against the robots and forces which were agressing the citizens and were also stealing their stuff!"

"Hm... interesting... And who is this person?"

"He's calling himself the Leo Reaper. He's wearing a black robe with a hood which covers his head. Also, his face is covered by a golden mask which represents a lion."

"Hm... the Leo Reaper... why does this sound so familiar?"

Tarja then looked towards Awa and the vampire countess nodded to her. Then Tarja turned back to Tsugumi, which was playing with her hair, and said:

"Well then, we're going to get breakfast ready. See you at the eating room in 15 minutes!"

"Ok, see you, guys!" Tsugumi replied and got out of her bed.

As she found herself alone in the room, Tsugumi walked to the window and saw that the UFO was parked on an abandoned plain. Even though the trees' leaves were falling fast, the sun was still shining brightly. Tsugumi then smiled and spoke to herself:

"Ah, what a lovely weather! But that aside, what is Mutsuhito up to? And that witch, Tabitha, what is she doing with a man like him? God, Subaru, I can't stand the thought that you're still trapped in that house. I hope you're alright, my love!"

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion. Hanna slowly opened her blue eyes and saw that she was back in her room. She was lying on a bed with pink sheets and was dressed in a white kimono. Next to her was Subaru sitting on a chair.

"Hanna-san, I thought you'd never wake up!"

"Subaru... what are you doing here?"

"I've stood by your side for a whole month and I was very worried!"

"Why so?"

"Hanna-san, don't you remember what happened in that night?" Subaru changed his voice's tone and almost whispered.

Hanna then remembered how she had lost to Subaru, who had been posing as the Leo Reaper. Then as Death March attacked her, everything got blank in her mind. Hanna turned to Subaru and said:

"But what happened after I was knocked unconcious?"

"I took the food back in the market and then packed up our cards. Afterwards I carried you in my arms back to the mansion and you stood like this for four weeks." Subaru said and then whispered to Hanna's ear. "No one saw me dressed up as the Leo Reaper. Please, Hanna-san, I beg of you, don't reveal my secret identity to anyone! This country's sake lies in the Leo Reaper's hands, and both you and I know that!"

"I understand. Don't worry, Subaru, your secret is safe with me!" Hanna answered.

"Thank you so much, Hanna-san! Now I gotta go and bring you your breakfast. I'll be back in 15 minutes!"

As Subaru got out of the room, Hanna put her head back on the pillow and giggled. The girl then touched her cheeks and felt them hot. She was blushing. The girl realized that the feeling which she had lost once Ichiro died had come back to her. Her heart was once again happy. She could see the beauty in life once again.

Suddenly, Tabitha appeared in the room out of nowhere. She was wearing a long sleeved red shirt with an orange jacket and orange pants and had her long blonde curly hair looked more lively. Tabitha walked to Hanna with a satisfied look on her face. The witch sat on the bed and said:

"Well well, are you feeling better, dear?"

"Tabitha-sama... am I feeling better? I've never felt so happy in my entire life!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Hoho, it's good to hear!So, Hanna, have you accomplished our plan?"

"You mean the plan where you sent me to steal food from that market so that the Leo Reaper could come after me? Yes, and I've also found out who's the Leo Reaper!"

"Oh, really? Well then, who is it, dear?" Tabitha asked and widened her eyes due to curiosity.

"It's Subaru." Hanna said, but then she felt a pang in her heart.

The blue haired girl fell on the bed and put her hand on her chest. She felt thousands of needles stabbing her heart once she had revealed to Tabitha Subaru's secret. Tabitha then put her hand on Hanna's chest and her palm glew with a blue light. Hanna then felt the pain slowly fading away.

"What happened, Tabitha-sama?"

"I don't know, but my spell has healed your heart." Tabitha said and then an evil grin appeared on her face. "So, dear, Subaru is the Leo Reaper?"

"Y-yes..." Hanna said and sweated because she realized that she had divulged Subaru's secret and broke her promise.

"Hehe, it couldn't be more perfect! Mutsuhito's son is thinking that his father's minions are corrupt and he's trying to put them to justice, but he doesn't realize that his father is behind all this injustice. Hahaha, this is going alot better than I've ever expected!"

"Please, Tabitha-sama, don't reveal the identity of the Leo Reaper to Mutsuhito-sama! I don't want Subaru to be angry on me!"

"Don't you worry a tiny bit, Hanna! I won't reveal Subaru's secret to Mutsuhito because the Leo Reaper will never plan a rebellion against his own father! Hahaha, with you as his new girlfriend and the Leo Reaper not bothering Mutsuhito, Subaru has ceased being a threat for me! Hahahahaha, talk to you later, Hanna, I'm going to party now!" Tabitha said and disappeared in the same way as she appeared.

Hanna blushed even harder after what she heard from Tabitha. The girl put her hand on her cheeks once again and spoke to herself:

"Subaru's... girlfriend? God, this is too good to be true!"

Hanna then felt tears falling from her eyes on her hand. She wiped them fast as she saw that the door was opening. Subaru entered the room with a mini flying table on which were a plate with two fried eggs, two slices of toasted bread and a glass of milk. The boy put the flying table at Hanna's level and handed her a fork and a knife.

"Here, eat as you wish." Subaru said and smiled to the blue haired girl.

"Gee, thank you so much, Subaru!" Hanna said while getting up from the bed and hugging him. "Never in my life have I felt so much affection from someone!"

Subaru blushed as he heard those words. He slowly sorrounded Hanna with his arms and they lay hugged for a few moments. Then Hanna sat back on her bed and started eating.

A week had passed since both Tsugumi and Hanna had come back on their feet. At Kokujo's UFO things were moving fast. The Lordi team hadn't found a new member, so Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa were still all by themselves. But that didn't mean that they would neglect their work. Throughout the whole week they tried to find a way to start a rebellion which would bring down Mutsuhito once and for all. Tarja was monitorising the world through satelites and was noticing how Mutsuhito's troops were fighting the only resisting force left, Russia. The rests of Europe and Asia were finally under his law and the biggest state on the planet was the only thing standing in his way. While this was going on, Awa was searching daily throughout the whole country for rebels, and when she would find them, she would bring them to Tsugumi.

Now Awa was teleporting herself to the UFO along with two teenage rebels. In a few seconds they all appeared in a metallic room with no decorations. The teens panicked a bit and one of them spoke to Awa:

"I hope this is not a trick, witch!"

"Calm down, everything is alright." Awa replied and then pointed to the darkness.

The two boys looked and saw a girl with really beautiful long blonde hair come out. Her clothing consisted of a pale blue dress and purple shoes. At first they were about to laugh, but then the boys looked into her eyes and got intimidated by the fierce look from the two blue crystals from her face. They immediately knew that she really was the leader of the revolution, despite her looks.

"Are you really Tsugumi Shirayama, the last survivor of the Shirayama clan, who was a declared enemy of the Gekis?" one of the teenagers asked.

"Yes, it's me. I have brought you two here because I need you to help me in this fight." Tsugumi said. "This man has brought too much savage on our country, someone must take matters into their own hands and punish this tyrant! Mutsuhito Geki must give up the presidency!"

"You really are a rival of Mutsuhito's, aren't you?" the other teen replied.

"So when will we start our work?" the first teen asked.

"You will be taken by Awa to a hotel at the seaside. That hotel serves as our secret base and there you'll find other rebels." Tsugumi said and handed the two a small metallic ball. "Press the red button and a hologram with the instructions of the rebellion will appear. Thank you so much for your help!"

"We thank you too, Tsugumi-san, and we hope to see you soon!" the two teens said.

Tsugumi then turned to Awa and nodded. The vampire witch then walked to the two kids and waved her hands. In a few seconds they disappeared.

Tsugumi sighed and left the room. The girl walked to the bathroom and took off her clothes. She then turned the hot water on and took a fast shower. It had been an exhausting day for her and that shower was the only thing which could make her clear her thoughts. As the water was falling on her pure white skin, Tsugumi was staring at the blue wall and at the metallic jet which was pouring the water on her.

"With these kids we should have over 1000 rebels now. It's still not enough, but it's pretty much for just one week. I just hope that more of them are to be found." Tsugumi thought and then the image of Subaru appeared in her mind. "My love... try to hold on a little more, I'll come to free you soon!"

After ten minutes, Tsugumi turned off the shower and covered her body with a white and blue towel which had a dolphin drawn on it. The blonde girl got out of the bathroom and walked towards her room. But on her way she met with Tarja, who was rushing towards her.

"Tarja-san, is there a problem?"

"Tsugumi, you've just received a video message!"

"So what's so special about that message?"

"You don't get it, Tsugumi. The message is from Kokujo!"

"From Kokujo-kun? What does it say?" Tsugumi spoke with the voice of an excited child which had just gotten its first birthday presents.

Tarja showed her a metallic ball and let the machine float in the air. The ball then shined powerfully and a hologram of Kokujo appeared in front of the two girls. Kokujo was shirtless and full of sweat. He also had many scratches on his body. Both girls panicked when they saw the boy, but then he started speaking:

"Hello, girls, and don't worry, I'm 100% fine! Don't ask any questions about where I am and what I'm doing, because this is not important right now and you'll find out later!"

"Then why did you call us, Kokujo-san?" Tsugumi asked.

"I called you because I heard what had happened with you guys once I left and I wanted to lend you my help. You may not know this yet, but my sources had informed me that Subaru had been defeated by Tabitha Lenox in a duel after you ran away from the mansion on his birthday."

"WHAT? Is he okay?"

"Stop worrying, Tsugumi, Subaru is just fine now. But the reason I called you is because my sources had told me that Tabitha used psychic creatures to defeat Subaru. And since psychic creatures haven't been released yet anywhere in the world, I decided that I should send one psychic creature to you to even the odds."

"A… psychic creature?"

"Yes, look into the carcass of the hologram ball."

Tsugumi put her hands on the hologram ball which was in the center of the hologram of Kokujo. She noticed a small carcass and opened it. There the girl saw three light cards: a creature and two spells. Tsugumi took them in her hands and read their names:

"Dravita, Temporal Pressure Spirit and Hyperspatial Dravita Hole? What's up with these creatures?"

"Dravita, Temporal Pressure Spirit is a psychic creature. Psychic creatures stay only in two zones: the battle zone and the hyperspatial zone. The hyperspatial zone is a zone located on the far right of the dueling table and only psychic creatures are allowed there. When a psychic creature leaves the battle zone, it automatically goes back to the hyperspatial zone. Also, the psychic creatures can be summoned only through spells with the words Hyperspatial and Hole in their names." Kokujo explained.

"But what's so special about Dravita? It's just a 5500 powered Angel Command which taps my opponent's creatures whenever he or she casts spells. Oh, and after it wins a battle, it untaps. What's the big deal? I could just use Super Spark combined with Uberdragon Sunburst NEX from the new DMC, Ultra Nex."

"Look at the back of the card, Tsugumi."

Tsugumi turned the card and was amazed to see that on its back was another card. If the first one depicted a red Angel Command, the second card had a red dragon angel with fire swords in its hands. The girl slowly read the creature's name:

"Vermillion Dravita, the Awakened Pressure Dragon… A 12000 powered Angel Command/Armored Dragon which can attack untapped creatures. This creature also doesn't allow the opponent to cast spells and is a triple breaker. But how, Kokujo?"

" Psychic creatures have two sides on the card: a weaker side and a stronger side. You can turn the weak creature into a strong one by 'awakening' it. To 'awaken' a creature, you must fulfill some tasks. For Dravita to awaken, you must have two more Flame Commands or two creatures with NEX in their name in the battle zone."

"That is totally awesome!" Tsugumi cheered and admired her new creature. "Thank you so much, Kokujo-san!"

"Heh, good luck on using the new card, and make sure you defeat that Tabitha!" Kokujo said and then the hologram disappeared.

Tsugumi was still staring happily at her new cards while Tarja took the metallic ball and put it in her pockets. The black haired woman then turned to Tsugumi and said:

"So what will you do now?"

"With Dravita in my deck and the Ultra Nex DMC which I've just bought, nothing can stop me!" Tsugumi spoke with confidence in her voice. "Let's go back to the Geki mansion and save Subaru!"

"But the number of our rebels is still a small one. Why can't we just wait until we have more?"

"Look, Tarja-san, I'm not planning to start a rebellion now. All I want is to infiltrate in the Geki mansion and save Subaru."

"This is still a risky thing to do, Tsugumi!"

"Not if Awa-san helps us infiltrate inside the castle with her magic. Come on, Tarja-san, don't be skeptical now. I can't stand another minute without Subaru, and you know that his place is not in that house!"

"I know, Tsugumi, but I think that we should wait and plan our moves carefully. Who knows what Tabitha and Mutsuhito have planned for us?"

"Don't you worry, Tarja-san, we'll have Subaru out of there in no time!" Tsugumi said and winked to Tarja. "Now if you excuse me, I have to build up a new deck!"

Tsugumi rushed happily to her room and started working on her deck. In the meantime, Tarja walked to the kitchen and pressed a button which made a hologram appear in front of her. On the hologram were the statistics of rebels which were on their side and those of which they still hadn't recruited. As she was reading those statistics, Awa appeared behind her and said:

"Oh well, that's all for today."

"You scared me!" Tarja jumped from her seat. "Gosh, Awa, don't do that again!"

"Didn't mean to, hehe."Awa laughed. "So what's going on?"

"Just checked the statistics and saw that there are still many rebels out there. If we manage to gather up all of them, we might be able to fight back Mutsuhito and his army of robots."

"Yeah, the fall of Mutsuhito is slowly approaching. But, Tarja, what's with the worried look on your face?"

" It's Tsugumi. Kokujo just sent her some cards and now she wants to free Subaru from the Geki mansion as soon as possible."

"What? Kokujo sent her a message?"

"Forget about him for now, Awa, the important thing is the fact that Tsugumi is determined to free Subaru fast. She intends to make you use your magic to get us fast in the mansion and save Subaru."

"And what's the problem with that? I could easily get us inside there and find Subaru. The problem is that Tabitha might sence my presence, so we'd have to act fast."

"That's my worry as well, Awa. Tabitha might be up to something, and that something might not be good at all!"

"Oh well, we could always give it a try. And besides, with Subaru on our side, the chances of defeating Mutsuhito and Tabitha will be bigger! Don't worry, Tarja, tomorrow we might wake up at the end of the day with a new ally!"

"I hope so, Awa…"

The next day the UFO was parked strategicly in a plain where nobody went and had its camouflage mode on, which made it invisible. With that problem solved, Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa were heading to the Geki mansion by foot. With Awa's magic they were all invisible to anyone but themselves, so they were able to easily pass all the robot guards without being noticed.

Now they were in front of the mansion's gardens. The three girls were sitting there and admiring the might of the mansion and its majestic gardens. Although Tsugumi and Tarja had been there before, they still couldn't believe that a man would build such an architectural structure only with a handful of robots.

"So, shall we go inside?" Tsugumi whispered.

"Ok, but let's be careful or we might get lost." Tarja replied.

The moment they set foot on the mansion's domain an invisible wave was unleashed and it went all the way to the basement. There Tabitha was having a nice bath in her pool and was thinking of annihilating Tsugumi once and for all, but she couldn't conceive a good plan no matter how hard she tried. That was when the wave hit her and she got announced of what was going on. The witch grinned evily and spoke to herself:

"Heh, so they're here. I'd better announce Mutsuhito before they escape again and... wait a minute! Why announce Mutsuhito and ruin all the fun when I can leave them be." Tabitha said and conjured up her crystal ball where the image of Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa walking in the mansion could be seen. "Atta girl, Tsugumi, go and find Subaru. When you'll see what he is doing, you'll wish you had stayed in coma, hahahaha!"

The three girls wandered through the main hall of the mansion until they found that it was separating in three different corridors. The corridor from the left was decorated with Renaissance paintings, the corridor from the right was decorated with valuable ancient sculptures, but the middle one was an empty corridor which only had walls paved with gold.

"So what should we do now?" Tarja asked.

"We're gonna separate. Tarja-san, you take the left corridor, Awa-san, you take the right one, I will go through the front one." Tsugumi said and walked into the corridor.

The blonde girl left her two friends staring at her. Awa was trying to make sure that there were no traps in Tsugumi's way while Tarja was just worried for the girl.

"Awa, I've got a bad feeling about this!"

"Why? There are no traps in her way whatsoever."

"I wasn't talking about any physical traps. I just can't help but to worry that something even worser might happen to Tsugumi."

"Nah, you're just worrying too much, Tarja."

"I pray that you are right, Awa, I really do!"

Tsugumi walked through the corridor for 5-10 minutes without seeing anything different. Everything at her left and right was gold but she could see a way out of the long corridor. The girl wasn't suspecting anything and kept walking as Tabitha was watching her through her mirror.

Tabitha was sitting on a chair wearing a grey kimono and was having a manicure. The witch laughed and then spoke to the mirror:

"Hahahaha, Tarja is more than right to be worrying, Tsugumi. The corridor in which you are now traveling is an artificial one which was made specially for you. It will take you straight to the fountain in the garden, and there you will see the scene of your lifetime!"

After more minutes of walking, Tsugumi had passed through the mansion's length and finally reached the corridor's exit which lead exactly into the garden.

"Hm… what a weird corridor this Mutsuhito made…" Tsugumi said as she got out of the mansion and stepped on the grass. "I wonder how are the girls doing in the mansion."

"Oh, Hanna, stop it!" a boy's voice resounded.

"Huh? Is someone else here?" Tsugumi thought and walked to the place where the voice came from.

The girl made a few steps and saw a small lake surrounded by bushes. There were sitting a girl and a boy and because of the sun's rays she couldn't recognize them. Tsugumi slowly approached them while making sure that she wasn't seen.

"Why is it that important to you?" the girl asked.

"I don't know. Something deep down my heart says that I should cling to it for the rest of my life…" the boy answered.

As Tsugumi was approaching, she managed to distinguish the girl's face. The blonde girl stopped a bit and spoke in her mind:

"Huh? What is Hanna doing there? And what's she talking about?"

The girl didn't want to waste time and hid in the bushes while still walking to the two. As she was approaching she could hear their conversation better.

"Is it more precious than me?" Hanna asked.

"I… don't know…" the boy replied and layed his head down.

"Then why don't you give it to me to prove that I really am more precious to you?"

Tsugumi then stopped for a minute and stared at the two with a shocked look on her face. The girl's body froze as she stared at the boy's face. It was Subaru!

"Come on, Subaru, it's not a problem, right?" Hanna continued.

"Ok, I'll give it to you then." Subaru replied.

Then under the petrified eyes of Tsugumi the scene which would break her heart happened. The black haired boy took the blue haired girl's right hand in his and then he put on her finger the very ring which he had gotten from Tsugumi on his wedding. He then let go of it and Hanna hugged him and kissed him on the lips.

Tsugumi's cheeks got wet with warm tears. The girl couldn't bear to watch anymore and rushed as fast as she could back to the mansion.

"Subaru, you're too cruel! You swore on the day when we put those rings on that we would live together happily ever after till death do us apart! And now you've forgotten of both me and the ring's importance!" Tsugumi sobbed as her tears swelled. "Subaru might never remember me again and everything will end up as if our love never existed! Even though I think of you every minute, Subaru, you have hurt me like never before!"

Meanwhile at the basement. Tabitha's evil laugh could be heard throughout the whole room as she was watching Tsugumi being in misery.

"Take this, blondie! Your worst nightmare came true! Now that your heart is broken, it is time to finish you off for good!" Tabitha said and made a jar filled with frogs appear. "It's time to conjure up a Warrior of Darkness and send him to defeat you for good!"

Tabitha put one of those frogs in her bowl and then a powerful ray came out of it and went straight to the garden. The ray landed in front of Tsugumi and took the shape of a duelist in a black knight armor. The girl stopped from running and stared scared at the proud knight which stood in front of her.

"W-what do you want?" Tsugumi asked.

"Tsugumi Shirayama, I have been conjured up by the Forces of Evil to bring an end to you once and for all!" the knight duelist said and took out a glowing deck.

"Tsh, you don't know with who you are messing here, buddy!" Tsugumi replied and took out her deck. "Let's do it, shields up!"

Meanwhile at the mansion. Tarja was searching through the rooms without knowing whose room was it until she found something under a pillow. The black haired woman took out of the sheets a cyber notebook and after she read what was written on its cover, she smiled evily. Awa then appeared behind her and scared her without intention.

"I told you not to do that again!"

"Sorry, Tarja, but Tsugumi is in trouble!" Awa exclaimed.

"I knew something would go wrong! What's happened?" Tarja asked.

"She's outside dueling somebody. This means that we've been located and we must leave immediately before Mutsuhito sends his army of robots to capture us!"

Awa then grabbed Tarja and the two got teleported to the place where Tsugumi and the knight were dueling. There were two giant creatures by each player's side. Both duelists had all their shields. Tsugumi had Dragon Spirit Ulferus and Light Divine Dragon Sebuns in the battle zone while the knight duelist had Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye and Ludvica the 2nd Leopold the 2nd, God of Mystic Light into the battle zone.

"My turn, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Sebuns!" the knight duelist said and many demonic hands grabbed Tsugumi's dragon and smashed it to bits. "Then I attack with Romanoff the 1st and re-use Terror Pit to destroy Ulferus as well! Romanoff, double break her shields!"

Romanoff pointed his laser gun to Tsugumi and in a few seconds fired a powerful beam which broke two of her shields. But the girl didn't back down. She took the cards to her hand with a fierce look on her face and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all of my shields into shield triggers! And now, shield trigger activate, I summon Bolshack NEX! With his ability I will summon Cocco Lupia from my deck for free!"

"Heh, like this would save you… Ike, Ludvica the 2nd Leopold the 2nd, break her last three shields now!"

Tsugumi watched how the two united knights pointed their guns in the same time and fired two lasers towards her managing to break her last shields. The girl then took the cards to her hand and with the same fierce voice she spoke:

"Shield trigger activate, I evolve Cocco Lupia into Valkyrie Lupia, Sky Lord Dragon-mech! Then, shield trigger activate, I evolve Valkyrie Lupia into Uberdragon Sunburst NEX!"

A red dragon equipped with an enormous green armor which had many weapons in it appeared behind Tsugumi and Bolshack NEX. The knight duelist made a step back and stared amazed at Tsugumi's creature. Then the knight received a telepathic message from Tabitha and said:

"Hah, you may win this duel, Tsugumi Shirayama, but you have still lost the heart of the boy you love!"

Tsugumi stared at him as if she got struck by an arrow. She knew that her opponent was right and nothing she could do would change the situation in which she was. The girl fell on her knees and started crying loudly. Tarja was about to run and comfort Tsugumi, but Awa stopped her because it was too dangerous.

"Subaru… Subaru! Why did you do this to me? What happened to you?" Tsugumi spoke as she remembered the happy moments she spent with him in the mountains, how he had come to rescue her from Mutsuhito's cell and even their wedding. "Had you forgotten about me so easy? Or did you feel like I wasn't the right one?"

"Hah, you're just too easy!" the knight duelist laughed. "I didn't manage to bring you down yet, but some simple words brought you on your knees in a couple of seconds! Hahahaha!"

"You!" Tsugumi growled with anger and got up. "I am sick and tired of you! This is where it all ends!"

"Huh?"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hyperspatial Dravita Hole!"

The card shined with a bright yellow light as a part of space appeared on Tsugumi's right. Out of it came the certain card which Kokujo gave to her. That card landed on the table and the part of space disappeared.

"I summon Dravita, Temporal Pressure Spirit!" Tsugumi said. "And now it's my turn! Since I have two creatures with NEX in their name in the battle zone, I will awaken Dravita!"

The card then floated in the air and flipped into a much more colorful card which depicted an angel dragon wearing a giant red armor and wielding two two fire swords. The creature from that card appeared behind Tsugumi and roared. The knight duelist then fell on his back and trembled.

"Meet Vermillion Dravita, the Awakened Pressure Dragon! Vermillion Dravita is a 12000 powered triple breaker which can attack untapped creatures! Also, as long as Vermillion Dravita is in the battle zone, you cannot cast any spells!"

"W-what? But my deck is a Knight deck, and it's based around spells!" the knight duelist spoke while sweating inside his armor.

"Get ready to taste the fury of the chosen light duelist! I summon Saint Bolshack, Spiritual Dragon!" Tsugumi said and a red dragon with flame wings which was wearing a shiny silver armor appeared behind her and joined her other three dragons. "You will pay for what you just did to me!"

"Hah, not my fault you don't know how to reach a boy's heart…" the knight laughed.

"SHUT UP! UBERDRAGON SUNBURST NEX, DESTROY HIS ROMANOFF THE 1ST!" Tsugumi yelled and her dragon smashed Romanoff to pieces. "Sunburst NEX untaps after he wins every battle, so all your creatures are done for!"

"W-what?"

"SUNBURST NEX, TAKE CARE OF LUDVICA THE 2ND! THEN BRING DOWN LEOPOLD THE 2ND!" Tsugumi kept yelling as her dragon destroyed all of the knight duelist's creatures.

"Heh, it doesn't matter how angry you get, girly. That boy is not yours anymore, so get used to it!" the knight duelist spoke arrogantly.

"Why can't you just SHUT UP? It doesn't matter, I will shut you up for good!" Tsugumi said and turned to her dragons. "UBERDRAGON SUNBURST NEX, BOLSHACK NEX AND SAINT BOLSHACK, BREAK ALL OF HIS SHIELDS NOW!"

The knight duelist took cover as all three dragons fired their beams and destroyed all of his shields. He looked at his cards and even if he had gotten shield triggers, they were all spells and Vermillion Dravita didn't allow him to use them. Tsugumi then put her hand on the final card she had untapped, the creature she had received from Kokujo, and said:

"VERMILLION DRAVITA, FINISH THIS BASTARD FOR GOOD! TOTOMEDAAAAAAAAA!"

The angel dragon swung both his swords and with just one move the knight duelist had been destroyed forever. There was no more left of him, as if he never existed. All the dragons disappeared and then Awa and Tarja ran to Tsugumi.

"Tsugumi, are you ok?" Tarja asked.

Tsugumi then hugged Tarja and cried loudly. The black haired woman put her hand on the blonde girl's head and tried to console her. Awa then snapped her fingers and her astral plane appeared out of nowhere in front of them.

"Let's go home, girls, our job here is done…" Awa spoke with the voice of one which was defeated.

Tabitha watched how the girls flew off with Awa's astral plane. The witch then waved her hand and then spoke to the mirror:

"Everything worked as planned. The invisible barrier I put between the dueling tables and the lake worked perfectly. Subaru didn't hear nor see what was going on, and even better, he had given to Hanna the one and only thing which symbolized his love to Tsugumi. Things just couldn't get any better!"

Later that night, the girls had reached the UFO and were flying in the opposite direction of the Geki mansion. Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa were sitting at the table from the kitchen and were discussing what had happened that day.

"Huh? Subaru has forgotten all about you?" Awa spoke shocked.

"And to make matters worse, he's now with Hanna?" Tarja added with a calmer voice.

"Yes, and not only that. The wedding ring which I had put on his finger… He offered it to Hanna!" Tsugumi said and wiped a tear from her left eye. "Subaru might never remember me again."

"Don't lose hope yet, Tsugumi! If he can't remember you then we will make him!" Awa said and got up from her chair. "I've got some tricks of my own to make people like him remember stuff. In a couple of weeks he'll be back to normal!"

"But leaving this subject aside, look what I've found!" Tarja said and put on the table the book which she had found at the mansion.

"Huh? A cyber notebook?" Tsugumi asked.

"What's written on it?" Awa added.

"The one thing which will change the odds in our favor!" Tarja spoke with a smile on her face and showed to the girls what was written on the cover of the book: 'DIARY OF MUTSUHITO GEKI – Do not open!'.


	69. A cruel tyrant: Mutsuhito's past

Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa stared at the cyber notebook lying on the table. That simple object, a mere diary, was containing the deepest secrets of their sworn enemy, the leader of the whole world, Mutsuhito Geki. To be in the possession of such an item would be the biggest honor any person on the planet would've had in those times. And now that certain object was in front of the three girls. All thanks to Tarja, who had accidentally found it.

"Ok, girls, shall we open it?" Tsugumi asked.

"Go on, I can't wait to see what's in it!" Awa spoke excited.

"Yeah, it's just that it brings shivers on my back knowing that I'm about to discover the secrets of this man. He's not just any man, he's Mutsuhito Geki, the murderer of my family and father of my lover. By opening this book I am taking a very important step in the journey towards the freedom of my love."

"I know it's a very important moment, Tsugumi, but we can't wait anymore. Come on, open it so we can find out what's inside!" Tarja said.

"Ok, here goes nothing."

Tsugumi then took the cyber notebook in her hands and opened it. Out of the pages a hologram of Mutsuhito appeared in front of them. The man was wearing his grey uniform and had a rather calm expression on his face.

"Welcome to the secret diary of Mutsuhito Geki, the future ruler of this world!" the hologram spoke to the girls.

"Wow, such modesty this man shows." Tarja joked.

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion. Mutsuhito's politic allies were gathered in a grandiose meeting chamber filled with chairs and having a tribune in front of them all. Mutsuhito entered the room along with Subaru. Mutsuhito was dressed in his official uniform while Subaru was wearing his dark green businessman suit. All the guests got up and ceased their discussions. The head of the Geki family sat at the tribune while his son stood at his left. With a fierce voice the man spoke in the microphone:

"Beloved fellows, I have gathered all of you here today for a special announcement. But before I begin this announcement, I would like to introduce to you my son, Subaru."

Subaru made a step forward and bowed down before the guests. All the rich politicians applauded for a few moments and then the boy walked back to his place. Mutsuhito grinned as he proudly stared at his obeyant son. The man then turned back to the guests and said:

"I will now proudly announce that my son will take a well-deserved holiday at the seaside, for his work on supporting his father had been very helpful!"

"A holiday at the seaside? You've never mentioned this…" Subaru spoke surprised.

Mutsuhito then got up and walked to the boy. He leaned his head down and whispered to his son's right ear:

"Take some time off, you deserve it. Also, Hanna is coming as well."

"Huh? Hanna?"

"Hehehe, have fun, son, and don't forget to make your old man proud!"Mutsuhito whispered and then spoke loudly. "You may go and pack up for the trip."

Subaru bowed to his father and walked away. With Subaru out of the way he could freely discuss with his politicians about the war with Russia and his tyranny. Also, with Subaru and Hanna gone to the beach there was a chance of him developing a new emotional relationship and thus forget the Shirayama girl forever. Mutsuhito laughed a bit to himself and spoke silently:

"Things are going on even better than I've planned…"

An hour passed and Mutsuhito had presented to his allies the plans for the final attack on Moscow which would bring down Russia once and for all and also the plans for his hierarchy once he would become the ruler of the world. His plan was to offer to each of his allies a part of a continent on which he or she would be supreme commander and do whatever he or she wanted to the people. As Mutsuhito finished his plans everyone applauded.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency, your plans are wise and full of truth!" a woman dressed in luxurous clothes spoke to the leader of the Gekis.

"Yes, your ideas were planned well and with carefulness on each detail. You truly are a mastermind when it comes to world ruling!" the woman's husband added.

"Heh, thank you very much! You may now leave, my friends, but get ready, because very soon we will rule upon this forsaken planet! And every worthless soul shall bow down to the mighty power of the Gekis!" Mutsuhito declaired while clenching his right fist.

As the guests were leaving from the mansion, Mutsuhito walked to the gardens in the dark of the night. There he found Kurumi with a flash light yelling at a running Chiharu to be careful. Mutsuhito changed his rageous attitude to a calmer one and walked to the woman. He smiled to her and spoke with a rather friendly voice:

"Kurumi, what are you doing out here at this time of the night?"

"My daughter wanted to play in the garden's small park. You know how reckless these kids are."

"I sure know…"

"You know, I've heard your plans of conquering the world just now."

"What?" Mutsuhito spoke with an irritated voice.

"They were truly great designed, but aren't you forgetting one thing?"

"And what would that be, Kurumi?"

"Once you've become the supreme ruler of the world, how long will it take until all the starving people of the planet, which are like three quarters of the planet, start a giant rebellion against you?"

"Heh, strict as always."

"Anyway, how is Subaru doing these days? I see him rarely on the corridors, and when I do, he is with that maid Hanna."

"Subaru is just fine. He has finally come to his senses and started working on becoming a true Geki and, hopefully soon, my heir."

"I guess we both suffer from our children, eh?" Kurumi spoke with a sad voice and Mutsuhito stared at her surprised. "In times to come they will be our family's future, yet now they're recklessly doing all sorts of crazy stuff typical to their age as if the Gekis were a normal family."

Mutsuhito then turned away his head. Kurumi knew that she had penetrated his thoughts by the look on his face and sweat on his body. The woman then continued her speech:

"Don't deny it, Mutsuhito, no matter how much you try, Subaru will never accept to follow your path, he is too different from you."

"You're wrong!" Mutsuhito almost yelled but tried to calm himself down.

"In the deep corners of your heart you know I am right! Even with his memories erased, he'll never follow you."

"How did you know that?" Mutsuhito said while staring at Kurumi as if he had seen a ghost from his past.

"It's not that hard to figure out since he's now with another girl. I've seen the look in his eyes before, he's deep in love with that Shirayama girl. And no matter what you do, you can never change that! One day he will get his memories back, and then you'll regret it!"

"Leave me alone! I do not wish to see you in the face anymore, Kurumi!" Mutsuhito spoke with a cold voice.

"As you wish, oh, head of the Gekis." Kurumi said and turned to the small park. "Chiharu, we're going to bed! Come, darling!"

As Kurumi and Chiharu left, Mutsuhito stood all alone in the darkness and contemplated on what Kurumi had said. A few moments later a rocket flew away to the seaside with Subaru and Hanna in it. The man stared at his son's happy face as he was waving his hand to him. Then Gola appeared out of nowhere with a chocolate bar in his right hand. The fat man walked to Mutsuhito and said:

"I've heard what you talked with Kurumi. I couldn't expect less from my sister."

"She truly is a strong woman." Mutsuhito replied.

"I've heard rumors that she had once helped Tsugumi while she ended up hurt in front of our mansion. It's because of her that the Shirayama girl and uncle Subaru got reunited, and subsequently married."

Mutsuhito widened his eyes at the news of such rumors. The man remained silent while Gola laughed. The fat man bit the chocolate bar and then spoke with his mouth full:

"But you can't dare to hurt a member of your own family. Kill her and soon everyone will find out and the family's reputation will slowly fade."

Mutsuhito kept the silence and didn't even turn his head to Gola. The fat man then approached Mutsuhito and put his hand on the leader's shoulder.

"By the way, I came to talk about something else. Kurumi was right, we all know that Subaru would never follow your steps. So why don't you take my daughter Aiko as your child?"

"What?" Mutsuhito spoke with an even more surprised voice.

"Don't worry, her family name is 'Geki' so no one will notice. If Subaru really won't become the head of the family, then you'll need a new heir. And adopting a son would not be too wise because in these days we must keep the family blood 'pure'."

At the hearing of the word 'pure' Mutsuhito froze. Gola tapped his back and walked back in the house. Just then a rain started, but the tall man remained there and let the cold drops fall on his body.

Meanwhile at the UFO. Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa were listening to Mutsuhito's hologram telling the man's story. From the first information the girls had remained petrified.

"My name is Mutsuhito, but in reality I am not a Geki. I am the son of a prostitute."

From that moment they knew that they could use that to overthrow their enemy from his beloved power. The girls kept listening to the hologram as it continued speaking.

Back at the Geki mansion, Mutsuhito was sitting in the living room waiting. Edo was quietly watching TV and minding his own business. Then Gola entered the room with Aiko and Mariko, both girls being dressed in expensive dresses because it was a moment of celebration.

"Mutsuhito! I've brought Aiko." Gola said and approached the man.

"My deepest regrets for having kept you waiting." Aiko said and bowed down respectfully to the head of the family.

"Aiko, my dearest, from this night on you are Mutsuhito's daughter! You shall inherit his vast kingdom, so do your best in working to reach his level of gratitude and honor."

"I want you to know that I am counting on you, Aiko." Mutsuhito said while signing the papers for adopting Aiko.

"Yay, go sister!" Mariko cheered.

"Oh, what a happy day for our family!" Gola cheered as well. "Shall I bring the food?"

"Yes, and make my meal double!" Edo added.

"No, don't bring food." Mutsuhito intrerrupted. "It's been a long time since I've last dueled. What do you say of a little game, Gola? I'm more in this mood tonight."

Gola was surprised of having to duel Mutsuhito, for he was expecting a party instead. But the fat man didn't complain. He took out his deck and walked with Mutsuhito to a normal dueling table. There they set their five shields, drew five cards and started the duel.

Back at the UFO. Mutsuhito's hologram was still spoiling to the three girls more details about the man's past. It told them of how he once lived in poverty and would clean someone's shoes just to gain a penny as a child.

"I remember one night, as I was wiping someone's shoes at my mother's brothel, a raging man came outside and slapped me. Then he left and my mother came to me and hugged me. Through tears she told me that she had been slapped as well and that that man was my father. That was the first time in my life when I felt hatred and rage."

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion. It was Mutsuhito's turn. The man tapped a red card and spoke while trying to keep his anger under control:

"I tap Ken Gou, Crimson Lord ~The Sundering~ and with his effect I will destroy all your creatures with power 2000 or less!"

Then something happened. The card glew with a powerful red light and the room shook. The dueling table got split in two parts and then the shields had materialized along with the creatures. Behind Mutsuhito was a giant bird with red armor and fire cape which roared and spat fire upon Gola's Bronze-Arm Tribe, Cavern Raider and Skysword, the Savage Vizier, destroying them.

"Take it easy, Mutsuhito!"

"I'm afraid not, Gola!" Mutsuhito replied as a card came out of his deck and placed itself on his Ken Gou card. "I evolve Ken Gou into Lord Gou Ken, ~Symphony of Swords~!"

The bird was sorrounded by a fire aura and turned intself into a mighty dragon dressed in a golden armor and which was having swords instead of fingers. Gola made a few steps back and trembled. Then Kurumi ran into the room with Chiharu, both dressed in pajamas. Mutsuhito turned at them and gave them an evil grin.

"Musuhito, what is the meaning of this? Why are you dueling my brother at this time of the night?"

"Your brother has insulted me, Kurumi, by suggesting that I should adopt his daughter and reject my own son out of the family!" Mutsuhito spoke with his strict voice.

"B-but it's true! Subaru will never want to follow you, and besides, you've already signed the documents and adopted Aiko!" Gola tried to defend himself.

"THIS MEANS NOTHING!" Mutsuhito yelled out loud.

Back at the UFO, the girls were getting more and more fascinated about Mutsuhito's tragic past. They were holding their heads in their arms while staring at the tiny hologram speak the story of a tortured child.

"My mother died when I was 10. It was because of the horrible conditions we had to endure by living in that brothel and because my father, who was a politician, did not want to have me and my mother under his protection."

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion. It was Gola's turn. The fat man showed a yellow card which shined powerfully and said:

"I cast Heaven's Gate and summon two Syrius, Firmament Elemental!"

"Tsh, wrong move, grand nephew!" Mutsuhito said and tapped the red card on his table. "I tap Lord Gou Ken and with his effect I'll destroy all your blockers!"

Gola watched helplessly how his creatures got destroyed one by one by Mutsuhito's strong dragon. The fat man then truned to the cruel leader and spoke desperately:

"Forgive me, Mutsuhito, I only asked you to do this for your own sake! You've got to believe me, please!"

Mutsuhito didn't listen to his grand nephew's words anymore. He just watched him tremble as another card came out of his deck and was placed on his Lord Gou Ken card. The dragon in golden armor evolved into an even bigger dragon with a spiky golden armor and who was wielding a giant black sword. Everyone stared at the giant creature as Mutsuhito spoke to them with a triumphant tone in his voice:

"Feast your eyes upon the one creature which shall bring the rise of my empire! I bring you Ken Geki, Absolute Ruler ~Final Flare~!"

No one knew it, but inside Mutsuhito's mind he was remembering his past, having in his mind exactly what the diary was telling to Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa then. After telling them how Mutsuhito had managed to find the Gekis and convince them to adopt him, the hologram went on with his earliest evil plots:

"For the sake of my own ambitions, I have become adopted by the Gekis. I poisoned their heir, and became head of the Geki family. The first thing I did back then was to find out who was my father. Soon it was revealed to me that he was an ally of Ken Shirayama, a very important politician of high rank, and the one which was responsible for the growth of poverty back then."

"Ken Shirayama… that was my grandfather!" Tsugumi exclaimed. "I never knew that my family was involved in politics for such a long time…"

"I took my revenge upon that bastard which I had to call father." the hologram continued. "I sent two of my most trusty agents and they brought him to me all tied up. They tortured him and made him feel what my mother felt while she died. Then I asked him more about the Shirayamas, and once I found out that they were also the ones which were pressuring my father to not marry my mother, I swore deep revenge upon them. They were a family of criminals, and a criminal can be stopped only by another one!"

"No, that's not right, my family wasn't a family of criminals!" Tsugumi shouted.

"I was the one which stabbed my father to death, and thus my mother's death was avenged. I had become a heartless criminal and thus I was ready to fulfill my revenge upon the Shirayamas. I had heard that their family was a family of duelists which were manipulating strong creatures from another world, so the only way to fight fire with fire was by becoming a duelist myself. I trained well and so did the rest of my family. Then the moment of my son's birth came. I named him Subaru, which in Japanese meant the Pleiades, a constellation visible to the naked eye which many people admired at night. His name was also the name of a car manufacturer. My superstitious wife had told me that we should have been proud of my son, because he was born in the month when the sun was in Leo. With her ridiculous zodiac stories she told me about how my son would grow up to become a true leader with warm heart and generosity which everyone would love and admire. Hah, foolish woman, I never had such a future planned for my son…"

"You monster! No wonder Subaru doesn't love you!" Tsugumi shouted once again.

"Tsugumi, it's just a hologram, he can't hear you." Tarja tried to calm her down.

"Two months after my son's birth, Ken Shirayama's son had become the father of a girl whom he called Tsugumi. The news that the Shirayamas were having a heir had brought an even greater rage than the one before!" the hologram said, and for the first time since the girls opened the diary, changed its facial expression to an ugly one where anger could be read on it easily. "Since then I brought the Gekis in a competition against the Shirayamas. We were racing in the race of who was the wealthiest, the strongest, and basically, the best! After many failures of defeating them fair and square, I decided to end it once and for all. I sent an agent who bribed one of their guardians at night. That guard offered us a small entrance, and I along with a group of duelist agents had infiltrated inside their mansion. We dueled them, and with every scream and every drop of blood falling in the air I felt more and more strong." the hologram said and its face became darker and darker. "Slowly, one by one, they all fell! And then I killed the top three on my list just like a good Christian prays to the trinity. I first killed that old bastard, Ken Shirayama, and thus the blood of my mother had found its rest. Then I killed his daughter-in-law, whom I enjoyed to see the precious look on her face full of despair as the blood from her stomach was staining the floor. And, finally, the son of Ken Shirayama had fallen by my hands as well. And to make things better, his daughter Tsugumi had witnessed the whole scene!"

"I can't take it anymore!" Tsugumi yelled and closed the diary.

The blonde girl then closed her eyes and put her hands on her head. She had caught a headache and was breathing hard. Tarja put her right arm on her shoulder and walked together with her to get some fresh air while Awa took Mutsuhito's diary and hid it in a drawer. It was over, they had found out enough about Mutsuhito Geki's past.

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion. The situation didn't look good for Gola at all. Mutsuhito had pulled out his strongest creature, Ken Geki, and in his next turn he would attack with it and cause total chaos. The tension in the room was high. Everyone was staring at Gola, as he slowly drew his next card. It was so silent that even the tiniest fly could have been heard. Gola then showed a card and said:

"My turn, I summon Romanesk, the Dragon Wizard! Romanesk's effect will give me 4 more cards in my mana zone and at the end of my turn I'll put a card from my mana zone to the graveyard! I put Super Dragon Valkyrias to my graveyard and end!"

Mutsuhito was staring at Gola with great hate in his eyes. But it wasn't Gola the one he was seeing. In front of him he was seeing his whole past and the miserable life he had as a child. Not being able to hold his anger anymore, the man turned to the ceiling and screamed worser than a beast. His face got filled with sweat as he turned once again to Gola. With the growl of a demon he spoke to his opponent:

"Tsugumi Shirayama, I will destroy you!"

"W-what? Open your eyes, Mutsuhito, I am not that Shirayama girl!" Gola yelled. "Look at me better and come to your senses, please!"

"I cast Spiral Gate and send Romanesk back to your hand!" Mutsuhito said. "IKE, KEN GEKI, BREAK FOUR SHIELDS NOW!"

The giant dragon roared and swung his mighty sword. Gola trembled and took cover as the creature slashed shield by shield until two were left. The fat man got surrounded by many shield shards which united fast into four cards. Gola took all the cards to his hand and showed one saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Mana Nexus and put Super Spark from my mana zone to my shields!"

Once again it was silence as Gola began his turn. He drew his next card and showed it to Mutsuhito, saying:

"I summon Light Divine Dragon Spell Del Fin! This creature's effect will make you play from now on showing your hand to me and you also cannot cast any spells!"

"Heh, look at my whole hand, I have nothing to hide!" Mutsuhito replied and showed the cards from his hand which were Hell's Scrapper, Wan Ken Crimson Lord ~Full Speed Ahead~, Cuty Heart, Metal Cook's Timer, Aqua Hulcus, Ken Crimson Lord ~Playing with Water~, Whilrwind Tailspin, Wan Ken Crimson Lord ~Moonlight Howl~ and Aqua Surfer.

"Impossible, when did you get so many cards?" Gola spoke shocked.

"You idiot, I never charged mana ever since I summoned Ken, Crimson Lord ~Journey's Beginning~. I only tapped that creature and evolved it using its effects. It was a piece of cake until I brought you in the situation you are now."

Thunders were heard from outside as the rain began falling faster and faster. A storm was about to come above the Geki mansion. A storm which would change their lives forever. Mutsuhito then stared at Gola with psychopathic eyes and said:

"The time has come for this actor to exit the play! Your role has finished, Gola!"

The man tapped the red card and with a loud scream he gave the order to his creature:

"KEN GEKI, ABSOLUTE RULER ~FINAL FLARE~, BREAK THIS MORTAL'S LAST SHIELDS NOW!"

Gola took cover as the giant dragon casted a powerful beam of fire which destroyed his last three shields. To his disappointment, he didn't find any shield triggers between those shields. All that Gola could do was to watch how Mutsuhito was about to kill him. The fat man got terrified by Mutsuhito's cold stare and then he showed a card saying:

"I'm not gonna die, not by your hands! I summon Bolshack Cross NEX! Ike, Bolshack Cross NEX, break his last three shields!"

A dragon dressed in samurai armor and with a crown on its head appeared behind Gola and then jumped towards Mutsuhito and smashed his final shields with its giant paws. As the head of the Geki family got surrounded by the shield shards, he gave everyone a maniacal laughter which sounded as crazy as Kokujo's. Kurumi hugged Chiharu, which was scared, while Edo hid under the couch. Aiko and Mariko sweated as they stared at their father who was in danger. Mutsuhito seemed out of control as he was freeing from his mouth the sound of diabolical victory. His laugh was the signal to Gola that it was far from over. The fat man sweated as Mutsuhito showed one of the cards which was in his shields and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Spell Del Fin back to your hand!"

That was it, Gola had lost. All that he could have done was to beg for mercy, but he knew that it couldn't have worked. The fat man looked around, first at the snacks on the couch, then at Edo who was getting out of the couch. Then Gola looked at his sister, Kurumi, and at his niece, Chiharu, and then he stared at his daughters, Aiko and Mariko. The man's eyes got filled with tears as he remembered the happy moments he had spent with the girls before Mutsuhito had come into their lives. The man then spoke his final words to them:

"Kurumi, Chiharu, Mariko, forgive me for not having run together from Mutsuhito when we had the chance. And you, Aiko… forgive me for putting such a weight on your shoulders!"

"THE TIME OF GOODBYES IS OVER! NOW DIE, GOLA!" Mutsuhito yelled. "FEEL THE POWER OF THE GEKI FAMILY! KEN GEKI, ABSOLUTE RULER ~FINAL FLARE~, TOTOMEDA!"

The giant dragon waved its sword once again and in just a few seconds it stabbed Gola. The sword's stab was so strong that it teared the fat man's body in half. As they watched the horrible scene, Mutsuhito turned to them all and stared at them with a psycho face.

"Will you still follow me?" he asked with his cold voice.

Everyone stared at Mutsuhito with shocked expressions on their faces. They were all trembling because of the horrifying scene they had just seen. Kurumi then made a step forward and spoke to the cruel tyrant saying:

"You animal! You have just killed Gola, my brother, your own blood! You have spilled the blood of the Gekis! How could you? You, the head of the family, should be the last person on the planet to do such a thing!"

"I do not believe in foolish blood ties, I just believe in the unity of a family! A family is like an army: it's strong only if it has all its members and someone to guide it."

"You're a monster!" Kurumi spoke with disgust to Mutsuhito.

"Now, I repeat my question once again, will you still follow me?"

"I will certainly not!" Kurumi said and left the living room while holding Chiharu's hand.

"Me neither!" Edo added and rushed after the two.

"Well, I guess this leave me with you two." Mutsuhito said while turning to Gola's daughters who were still shocked. "Will you two follow me?"

"Yes!" both spoke in fear.

"Then kneel down before me!"

Both girls fell on their knees and layed their heads down. The floor was cold, the position was painful for them, but having to see the blood of their father spilled right before them was even worse. Mutsuhito approached them and spoke with his fierce voice:

"If you wish to follow me, forget about love and friendship! Dispose of the rest and try your best to gain power! Do this and together we will rule the world!"

After 15 minutes from the incident in the living room, Kurumi and Chiharu were running downstairs with two suitcases in their hands. As they were about to reach the exit door, a boy appeared in front of them and blocked their way. The two stopped and were relieved to see that the boy was Edo.

"Phew, for a moment I thought it was the end for us." Kurumi said.

"Please, take me to wherever you may go. No matter how many awesome things this house has, as long as I don't have any friends this isn't a place for me!"

"Good, then let's get outta here fast, Edo! We'll be going to a special place."

"Huh? Where?"

"To the seaside to find Subaru and tell him what has happened!"

"Suby? Then let's go, I can't wait to meet my best pal again!"

In the night the three were running. The powerful rain was making their journey difficult, but was also hiding them from any guards Mutsuhito would have sent to capture them. Even if Edo was using a flashlight it was still too difficult to see properly. The rain drops were heavy, as if God was throwing rocks on them. But no matter how tough it was, they kept going and going, for they knew that what awaited them at the seaside was their final light of hope.


	70. Subaru's memories

After a rainy night filled with many events the clouds were finally leaving the sky. The sun's rays were slowly trying to bring back the light to the celestial sphere which had been filled with nothing but darkness for the latter part of the day.

Tabitha was sitting on a chair in the garden and enjoying the atmosphere created by the rain which had fallen the other night. She picked a wet flower from the grass, smelled it and then made it pale in front of her eyes.

"Ah, nothing like good ol' fresh air to make your mornings bright in order for you to cause evil and havoc, hehe!" Tabitha said and burned the pale flower in her hands. "Oh well, since today is the day when Hanna and Subaru arrive at their hotel from the seaside, I guess I should pay them a visit and see how they're doing. But first I have something more important to do!"

Tabitha then teleported herself to her chamber in the mansion's basement. She walked to a dark corner and looked through her magic items. The witch threw away the stuff she didn't need in that moment, such as her crystal ball, her spell book, her flying umbrella, her skull necklace, her bat fan and crocodile, which she didn't know how it got there. Finally, she had found her treasure chest. The witch smiled while taking out her Lunatic God deck, and said:

"At last, I found it! Now it's time to update my deck a little bit."

Tabitha made a ray come out of the treasure chest and scan her deck. The witch waited with the same evil smile on her face until the chest finished its scan and then opened. The witch's eyes widened as she saw a glowing deck case in the treasure chest.

"Amazing… it's God Kingdom!" Tabitha exclaimed while taking the deck in her hands. "This is the deck which Xanagazu had used until she died. Combining my God strategies with hers I will surely become a true master of the Lunatic Gods! Hahahaha, they will all bow down and tremble in front of me!"

Meanwhile at Hanna and Subaru. The two had finally arrived at Mutsuhito's summer house from the seaside. The house was located a few feet from the beach, so anyone could go out and take a swim at any hour of the day. The house also had a security system in case anyone dared to attack Mutsuhito while he was on vacation. Inside it was a fairly modern building with a futuristic kitchen which also had a TV with 1000 channels all over the world, a bathroom and a room with a two person bed. It wasn't too much, but everything was perfect for Hanna. The girl was blushing while admiring the sight of the small house.

"It's great! The kitchen's equipments can help me cook for Subaru. Also, I can scrub his back while he's taking a bath after a good swim. And last but not least, we will sleep together! Everything is perfect! By the time the sun sets he will be all mine!"

"Ah, finally we're here after this tiring trip!" Subaru said while stretching his arms. "If you don't mind, Hanna-san, I'll change fast in my speedos and go for a short swim. I'll return later for breakfast."

"Did you just say speedos?" Hanna exclaimed while blushing even harder than before. "I mean sure, I will wait for you with breakfast!"

Meanwhile at a hotel near the beach. Kokujo's UFO landed in front of the building, and Tsugumi along with Tarja and Awa got out of it and entered the hotel. Inside it was a big crowd of people dressed in short clothes and having marks painted on their faces as if they were going to war. As they saw Tsugumi enter they cheered:

"Tsugumi Shirayama! Tsugumi Shirayama!"

The blonde girl stared fiercely at them and then raised her fist in the air and spoke:

"Great citizens of this country, there is no need for me to tell you of all the chaos Mutsuhito has brought upon this country and world these last four months. You have already experienced the worst of it. What I am going to tell you is to stay strong! This resort is the perfect place for us to hide from Mutsuhito's troops for a little while. Since our number had grown considerably I have decided that the time for our training had come! I will personally come and teach each one of you the arts of dueling while hoping to create real kaijudo duelists out of you!"

"But when will we attack? We can't wait too much or Mutsuhito will find us for sure!" a man shouted from the crowd.

"The attack is scheduled on the 1st of December! That is when we will make our first move in this chess game! And if we all cooperate and make sure that nothing wrong happens, we will live to see the day when Mutsuhito receives his well deserved check-mate!"

"Tsugumi Shirayama! Tsugumi Shirayama!" everyone shouted.

After a long speech Tsugumi finally left the hotel. Awa had used her spells to make the hotel's manager turn to their side and not divulge their presence to the authorities. Also, she made sure that all the rebels had been granted a place in the resort. With that being done, the three girls went back in the UFO. Tarja went to take a shower while Tsugumi was changing her clothes.

Awa, on the other hand, left the UFO upon seeing that her two friends were busy. The ghost witch went to the beach to see what was going on. It was 8 AM and the beach was empty. That was because it was the month of October and not many people were visiting the seaside at that time of the year. Awa stretched her hands while looking at the sea and said:

"I love early morning walks! Tsugumi and Tarja have no idea what they're missing."

Awa then noticed that the beach was not completely empty. She saw that a boy had just come to it and entered the water. Just because the presence looked familiar to her, Awa walked on the sand and approached the shore. There she recognized him. It was Subaru. The boy was swimming calmly through the waves as if he was one with the sea.

"Huh? Subaru? What a surprise to see him here. Tsugumi must find out of this!"

The boy then turned to Awa and gave her a smile. He got out of the water and walked to her while arranging his long hair.

"Excuse me, miss, but I had the strangest feeling when I saw you." Subaru said.

"Hehe, most men tell me the same thing." Awa replied.

"No, it's not about your looks. I just felt that we had met somewhere before."

"I'm afraid I must go now."

As Awa was about to leave, Subaru caught her hand tight. The boy pulled her back to him and looked her in the face. The ghost witch was amazed to see that his eyes were filled with curiosity for the first time.

"Listen, I have come to swim here just because I felt I needed to search for something. I don't know what it is, but I can tell you that for a moment I felt that I've found it while looking at you. Now tell me, do you have any idea of what am I supposed to find?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you everything." Awa said to Subaru. "But I can reveal to you only one thing: an important part of your memories had been erased."

The ghost witch then freed herself from Subaru's grip and teleported back to the UFO. The black haired boy was left all alone on the beach with the wind blowing through his rich long hair. Awa's final words had set him on a giant meditation. He didn't understand what she meant by saying that he had lost a part of his memories.

The boy headed to the summer house slowly while staring at the sand he stepped on and still having the wind blow his hair to his right. The house's door was open and Hanna was waiting at it with a sandwich in her hands. As Subaru entered the house, he said:

"What a great day this is, Hanna."

"It sure is. I've just finished your breakfast." Hanna replied and put the sandwich on the table along with the other plates filled with food. "What took you so long to come?"

"It's just that I feel strange. These past few days I've felt like I had lost a part of my memories. So I went swimming to see if I could remember while relaxing my mind."

"Is that all?" Hanna asked with a cold tone in her voice.

"Yeah. Hanna, can you tell me what happened to me on my birthday that I ended up unconscious on my bed?" Subaru's words struck the girl like an arrow.

"I already told you. You had fallen off the stairs and hit your head."

"More details, please. What was the cause of my fall? Why did I not have any wounds when I woke up?"

Hanna's face got filled with sweat. She started to tremble as Subaru's questions were hitting her worse than creature attacks. The girl couldn't take it anymore. She hit the table and yelled at the boy:

"What do you really want to remember? Or better yet, is it a who that you want to remember? It's Tsugumi, right?"

"Tsugumi…" the boy murmured.

Then the image of a blonde girl waving good bye to Subaru and rushing in a UFO appeared in his mind. The boy then snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Hanna walking out of the house.

"The breakfast is on the table. I'm going for a walk." the blue haired girl said and disappeared from the boy's sight.

Subaru sat at the table and started eating the sandwich. The blonde girl's image kept appearing in his mind along with Awa's words. The black haired boy tried to put the information he had so far, but it still didn't make sense to him.

Meanwhile at the UFO. Awa had told the incredible news to the other two girls. The happiness could be read all over Tsugumi's face. She got out of her room with her new pink bikini and said:

"If you told him that, then it must mean that you've planted some seeds of doubt in his mind. Subaru might remember me in the end!"

"Yeah, I didn't spoil everything to him because I feared he would not believe me at all." Awa said. "If we take it slowly on him then he will realise it all by himself."

"Isn't it great, Tsugumi?" Tarja said and hugged the girl. "Happy birthday!"

"Huh? Today's my birthday?" the blonde girl spoke surprised.

"Yes. And we didn't get you any presents, sadly, but we can help you get Subaru back!" Awa spoke with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, together we can make sure he remembers!" Tarja added.

"Girls… thank you so much! You two are too nice!" Tsugumi said while letting the tears fall from her eyes.

Later that day. Tarja and Awa decided to celebrate Tsugumi's birthday by offering her a party in three at the beach. The girls went to the same place where Awa met Subaru and started installing their stuff there. Awa put a clean white sheet on the sand while Tarja brought the food she cooked for the party. Tsugumi did nothing but to come with them and enjoy herself a bit. Surprisingly, only she was dressed for a swim out of all them. Awa then took out her keyboard and started playing some Lordi keyboard songs while Tarja and Tsugumi were eating.

"Ok, girls, let's get this party started! I'm now gonna play Dynamite Tonite on keyboards!" Awa said and the keyboard resounded with party-like notes.

"Wow, you're really talented!" Tarja said. "I'd love to join you on vocals but I'm now eating, haha."

"Don't worry, I bet you'll have the chance to give us a great show, Tarja-san." Tsugumi said while biting a sandwich.

But little did the girls know that behind a palm tree Subaru was watching their party. The boy had recognized Awa immediately, Tarja also looked familiar to him, but Tsugumi was the one which caught his attention. He didn't know why, but his heart was beating faster and his body felt a strange excitement by just looking at the blonde girl.

"That girl… could she be the same as the one from that memory? If yes then who is she?"

Then Subaru saw Tarja take out a plate with a big chocolate cake with 17 purple candles on it. The woman offered it to Tsugumi and said:

"Happy birthday, Tsugumi!"

"Yeah, happy birthday!" Awa added and played the happy birthday song on piano notes.

Tsugumi then wished in her mind for Subaru to come back to her and then blowed off the candles. The black haired boy, who had witnessed the whole scene, spoke to himself:

"Tsugumi, that's the same name Hanna talked about. And she looks exactly like the girl in that memory. What is with this girl? Does she have the key to my lost memories?"

"She wants you back, Subaru." Awa suddenly sent a telepathic message to the boy.

"Huh?"

"You and Tsugumi were once very close, Subaru. This girl would once make your life very happy, but something happened and you forgot everything about her, about your true friends."

"Shut up, this is all too confusing!" Subaru almost shouted, but lowered his voice's tone in order to not be heard by the rest.

Suddenly the skies got covered by black clouds and thunders started making their concert of terror while lightning were striking in the sky and making their fantastic but deadly show of lasers. Then an evil laugh froze brought chills to everyone's spines as a dark figure appeared in the sky. Tarja and Tsugumi got up and ran with Awa to the seashore. There they saw that the one who was coming was Tabitha. The witch was sitting with her arms crossed and was riding her broomstick.

"Hahahahaha, greetings, my ladies! What a pleasant afternoon this is, right?"

"Tabitha! I should've known that sooner or later you would come!" Awa said.

"You can say that again. And now that I am here it is time to put an end to Tsugumi Shirayama once and for all!" Tabitha said and stared at Tsugumi with the eyes of a predator who was about to jump at its prey.

"I can't just stand here and watch how she's killed!" Subaru said and ran back to the summer house. "I must do everything in my power to protect that girl, no matter the cost!"

Meanwhile at the house. Hanna was cleaning up the dishes while trying to think of a way to make Subaru stop asking about his past. As she was wiping the water off a plate with a towel, Subaru busted in the house and rushed in the sleeping room.

"Subaru, what's wrong?" Hanna asked.

"An evil witch had come to the beach and she's threatening the lives of three girls!" Subaru said while unpacking one of his suitcases.

"That must be Tabitha-sama. This means that she has come to finally finish off Tsugumi. At last, Subaru will be all mine!" Hanna said in her mind.

"I must do something to help them!" Subaru said and got out of the room with his Leo Reaper outfit on.

Hanna got shocked the moment she saw the Leo Reaper in front of her. She knew that he would go out there and get killed by Tabitha if he tried to interfere in her plans. Hanna could not let such a thing happen. As the Leo Reaper was about to rush out the door, she caught his hand and said:

"No, you're not going out there! I can't risk losing you!"

"Hanna, let go of me! I must save those girls!" the Leo Reaper shouted.

"No, you mustn't go there!" Hanna said and pulled the boy to her. "Listen, whatever you do, don't get into that witch's way! She's way too powerful even for you!"

"Hanna, I know that you're worried for me, but no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you."

"Oh, Subaru…" Hanna said and approached her lips to his.

But just then a powerful lightning hit the beach. The Leo Reaper turned his head away from Hanna's and saw that. He then freed himself from Hanna's grip and rushed towards the place where the confrontation would take place.

The blue haired girl fell on her knees and tears fell from her eyes.

"Subaru, wait, don't leave… don't leave me alone! Subaru…" the girl cried.

Back at the beach, Tsugumi and Tabitha were face to face. The witch had jumped off her broomstick and made two dueling tables appear out of the sand. Tarja and Awa were sitting right behind Tsugumi in case the blonde girl would need them. Tabitha took out her glowing deck and said:

"Feast your eyes on the new and improved deck of Tabitha Lenox! I bring you the Lunatic God Kingdom!"

"You don't scare me!" Tsugumi said and took out her deck. "It's high time I put an end to your evil!"

"Wait, don't!" a voice shouted.

All the girls turned their backs and saw a strange figure wearing a black robe and a golden lion mask. Tarja's and Awa's jaws dropped as they recognized who the figure was. Both girls shouted in the same time:

"It's the Leo Reaper!"

"Huh? That's the mysterious rebel you've been talking about?" Tsugumi asked.

The Leo Reaper then jumped in the air and landed in front of Tsugumi. He then got up and stared at Tabitha. The witch smiled evilly as she knew the identity of the mysterious hero.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the almighty rebel. What brings you here, Leo Reaper?"

"I am here to stop you evil witch from destroying these innocent lives! Your evil actions shall not be tolerated!"

"Hoho, such big words from such a pathetic boy." Tabitha spoke arrogantly.

The Leo Reaper then turned to Tsugumi and gave her a smile. The blonde girl blushed and spoke shyly to him:

"What do you want?"

"I want you to go to your friends where you are safe. This is my battle, miss." the Leo Reaper said and offered Tsugumi a rose. "Now go!"

"Y-yes, but be careful! Tabitha is powerful opponent!" Tsugumi warned him and rushed to Tarja and Awa.

The Leo Reaper turned back to Tabitha and showed her his glowing deck. Both players put their decks on the dueling tables and set up their 5 shields. Afterwards they both drew 5 cards.

"I think you know in what kind of mess you've entered. You should've backed down and let me kill that girl when you had the occasion! Now you'll both die at my hands!" Tabitha spoke with a cold voice.

"I don't care if I live or die. As long as I know that there is no more evil and injustice in the world, I will be happy to die!" the Leo Reaper answered.

"Tsh, stupid heroic fool. Oh well, let the game begin!"

The duel between the Leo Reaper and Tabitha had started. A few turns had passed and the duel had already started to get life. Both players had lost a shield. The Leo Reaper had only Giganima, the Reaper in the battle zone while Tabitha had only Moora, Emperor of the Gods in the battle zone. Now it was Tabitha's turn. The witch drew a card and said:

"I charge mana and summon Bronze-Arm Tribe! This creature will give me one more mana! Then I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana as well!"

"I summon Bell Hell De Bran, Battle Reaper, and with Giganima's effect I'll return Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper to my hand from the graveyard!" the Leo Reaper said.

"Tsh, that's nothing compared to this! I summon Amaterasu, Founder of the Blue Wolves and cast Crest of Mother from my deck! With Crest of Mother's effect I'll send Moora to my mana zone and replace him with Adge, Emperor of the Gods!" Tabitha said and a giant black dragon with three heads appeared behind her and roared. "Bronze-Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

The Leo Reaper watched the green horse break one of his shields with its big fork. The Leo Reaper then took the card from his shield to his hand and started his turn.

"My turn, I charge mana and summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! With Giganima's effect I return Bone Amigo, Undead Reaper to my hand and destroy my Deathraios!"

"I destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe!" Tabitha said and her green horse blew up. "My turn, I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods and end! Gah, why must I have such a bad hand?"

"I don't know, but I'll soon win this!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, boy?"

"I summon Crooked Digger Reaper and Deathproof, Shadow Reaper! I now attack with Bell Hell De Bran and destroy my Deathproof! Crooked Digger Reaper lets me draw a card and Bell Hell De Bran can attack untapped creatures!"

"Oh no…" Tabitha murmured.

"Bell Hell De Bran, destroy Adge!" the Leo Reaper ordered and his demon in black armor roared and hit Tabitha's dragon with one of its iron balls, destroying it.

Tabitha made a step back and for a moment she actually got scared of the Leo Reaper. But then she remembered who the one she was facing. It was Subaru, and she had defeated him before. That was the thing which gave the witch confidence. Tabitha then drew a card and said:

"I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods and Ana, Emperor of the Gods! I shall link Moora and Ana to Mani and draw 2 cards! Then you'll have to send one of your creatures back to your hand because of Ana's effect!"

"I'll send Giganima back to my hand!" the Leo Reaper said.

"Ana Moora Mani, destroy Bell Hell De Bran!" Tabitha ordered and her creature roared and fired many lasers from its multiple heads on the Leo Reaper's demon until it blew up.

"This shall not end that easily! Grave Evolution, I evolve Deathproof into Death March, Reaper of Death! Then I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy Death March! Also, Crooked Digger Reaper lets me draw a card!"

"Heh, I destroy Moora, but Ana and Mani stay! My turn, it's time to show you what hell looks like, kiddo! I cast Violence Heaven!"

Then all of a sudden it started raining with black swords from the sky. Awa created a force shield to protect herself and her friends. Tabitha also created a shield, but to protect herself only. The Leo Reaper had to duck and witness how all of his creatures were being stabbed by the swords. When everything was over, the only creature standing in the battle zone was the blue dragon with 4 heads, Ana Mani. As the Leo Reaper got up, both Tabitha and Awa made the force shields disappear.

"You've got no creature left on the field. Face the facts, kid, I'm much more stronger than you. Now do the smart thing and back off while you still can!" Tabitha said.

"Never! If I shall fall, then I will fall in an honorable fight!" the Leo Reaper said.

"Foolish mortal, I could have spared you, but your heroic stereotypes are getting on my nerves! Ike, Ana Mani, break his shield!"

The dragon roared and fired a powerful laser from its mouth, breaking another shield of the Leo Reaper's. The boy took cover this time, because the creature's attack was powerful. He then took the card to his hand and smiled. He got up once again and spoke to Tabitha:

"It's time I showed you who's the winner around here! Grave Evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death! And now I evolve Death March into Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King!"

A giant goat demon with a really big bone armor, a pair of golden horns and a golden tentacle with a goat head above his own head appeared behind the Leo Reaper. Tabitha was amazed by the creature, for it was the creature which had brought Rezo's death.

"I can't believe it! It's been many months since Rezo's death, yet this creature still brings fear in my veins!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"Huh? Rezo?" Subaru spoke in his mind and then the image of him along with his friends defeating Rezo appeared in his mind. "Why do these images keep popping in my mind?"

"Are you done with your turn? I'm not gonna wait forever, you know." Tabitha said.

"Ok then. Ike, Ballom Monarch, attack Ana Mani!"

"I destroy Mani, but Ana stays!"

"And since Ballom Monarch won a battle, I shall revive Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! With the effect of Deathraios I will sacrifice him and your Ana! Your turn, almighty witch!" the Leo Reaper spoke sarcastically.

"Don't you think that this is over! I summon Moora and Adge! I shall link them both!" Tabitha said and two black dragons appeared and united behind her. "Ike, Adge Moora, break one more shield!"

The Leo Reaper took cover as another shield of his got broken by Tabitha's creature. Suddenly the image of him dueling Tabitha at the Geki mansion appeared in his mind.

"Huh? I had dueled this witch before? Why is it that she looks so familiar all of a sudden?" the Leo Reaper thought and then turned to the witch as he received the card from his shield in his hand. "Ok, witch, I've had enough of you! And you know what? I think that if I'll defeat you, I'll get some answers I'm looking for!"

"Huh? Could it be possible that he knows he had lost his memories?" Tabitha thought.

"Grave Evolution! I summon not one, but two Death March, Reaper of Death! This is where your game ends, witch! Ballom Monarch, triple break her shields!"

Tabitha took cover as Ballom Monarch created a huge purple laser ball in its hands and casted it upon three of her shields, destroying them. Then she witnessed how the Leo Reaper ordered one of his Death Marchs to break her last shield to pieces. The girls started cheering the Leo Reaper, for his victory was imminent.

"That Reaper deck, the dueling style, Ballom Monarch… why does this guy remind me so much of Subaru?" Tsugumi thought. "Wait a minute! That smile he had when he offered me the rose! Even if he had a mask covering the upper part of his face, I'd recognize that smile in a thousand! Impossible, the Leo Reaper is Subaru?"

The blonde girl got woke up from her thoughts as she heard Tabitha's evil laugh. The witch then showed one of the cards from her hand and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Death March to your hand! You were so close, yet so far from victory, Leo Reaper!"

"Gah!" the Leo Reaper exclaimed as he took the card in his hand.

"It's time to end this charade! I summon Vishu and Suva, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! I shall unite all 4 Gods and create Adge Suva Moora Vishu, Emperor of the Gods!" Tabitha exclaimed as a giant dark dragon with many heads appeared behind her and roared so loud that it shook the beach and made the whole sand move back with half a meter. The Leo Reaper stared at the giant creature as he got in his mind a whole flashback of how Tabitha had defeated him using Psychic Suva and those 4 Gods.

"Aqua Surfer, break his last shield!" Tabitha said and the blue surfer rode through the Leo Reaper's last shield. "This is it, you are all mine, Leo Reaper!"

"This strange feeling of fear, why does it seem so familiar?" the Leo Reaper asked.

"Adge Suva Moora Vishu, totomeda!" Tabitha yelled and the 4 Gods attacked the Leo Reaper with all they had.

The Leo Reaper then floated in the air as the beams of Tabitha's creature were burning his clothes. Then the beams disappeared, but the boy was still in the air. The girls saw his black robe fall along with his golden lion mask, and thus his identity was revealed.

"Subaru!" Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa yelled.

As he was floating in the air, Subaru got one final flashback in his mind:

_The boy then closed his eyes and flew in the air hit by the beams. He was more than certain that he would die, but then something happened. Tabitha teleported herself above him and put her hand on his forehead._

"_What's the meaning of this, Tabitha?" Subaru barely spoke._

"_Magic spell, magic hand,_

_Erase his memories!_

_Make his mind feel better_

_And forget Tsugumi!"_

_The hand shined and Subaru felt a strange headache. In the next moment he was lying on the ground. He was hurt and unconscious._

The flashback ended as Subaru spoke silently to himself:

"Now I remember everything! I now understand, Tabitha had erased a part of my memories so that I wouldn't remember my friends and most importantly…"

Then Tabitha flew above Subaru and once again put her hand on his forehead. The hand glowed with the same bright light it had a few months ago. The witch then spoke to Subaru while grinning evilly:

"Did you think that I'd let you remember her after all those efforts to keep you as a pawn on my chessboard? Hah, think again! I will take your memories out of your mind and implant you some artificial ones so that you will never remember her again!"

"Subaru! Let him go now, you filthy witch!" Awa yelled and threw 3 spears towards Tabitha.

Not being able to destroy all the spears with one hand, Tabitha threw Subaru in the sea and then fired a red beam which not only that destroyed that spears but it also hit Awa. The ghost witch disappeared quickly in the sand while Tarja tried to distract Tabitha's attention using her voice's powers.

Subaru's body landed in the water, but Tsugumi rushed in it fast and made sure the boy didn't drown. The blonde girl pulled the boy to the shore and then tried to wake him up. But just then Tabitha turned to her.

"Now that I'm done with him, it's time I took care of you three once and for all!"

"Tabitha, what have you done to him?" Tsugumi asked worried.

"Oh nothing, just took out all the memories from his brain and turned him into a living vegetable. Now that I have no use of him, he's all yours, dear!" the witch spoke cruelly.

"You monster!" Awa yelled from Tabitha's behind and stabbed the witch with her astral sword. "Just how heartless can you be?"

"Heartless enough to defeat you!" Tabitha said and casted a spell on Awa's sword which reversed its position and stabbed the ghost witch as well.

Awa fell on the shore next to Subaru's body. Tsugumi helplessly watched how Tarja tried to use her voice amplifier and defeat Tabitha. But the witch had created a sound barrier around her and was not affected by her singing. Tabitha then threw a lightning on Tarja and the woman rolled on the sand and ended up next to Awa and Subaru.

"I'm sorry, Tsugumi, I tried…"

"It's ok, Tarja-san."

Tabitha then waved her hands and the three girls floated in the air. The witch clapped her hands and her enemies then ended up surrounded by an energy cage which was blocking their powers. The witch laughed maniacally and then flew to the cage and said:

"This is it! Your lives will end here and there is nothing you can do about it!"

"I c-can't move…" Awa barely spoke.

"At this rate she'll kill us all." Tarja added.

"Subaru, run away!" Tsugumi shouted, hoping to wake the boy up. "If your memories hadn't been taken away then get up and escape as fast as you can!"

"Hah, foolish girl, your precious Subaru doesn't remember a thing! All his memories had been taken away from him!" Tabitha said.

Then, all of a sudden, Subaru slowly got up and stared at the witch and the energy cage. He then spoke to them with the voice of a lion who was about to roar:

"I remember everything! She erased my memories trying to make me forget about my true goals and destiny!"

"Impossible, his memories weren't taken away from him?" Tabitha spoke shocked.

"It seems that I was fast enough to stop you from doing so, Tabby." Awa said.

"Subaru, does he remember me?" Tsugumi asked with fear in her voice.

"Hah, even if he does, I will still destroy you three!" Tabitha said with an evil smile.

"I won't let you!" Subaru shouted and the witch looked at him again. "Those three girls are the ones I must protect! Especially you, TSUGUMIIII!"

"SUBARUUUU!" Tsugumi shouted back to him.

Then the silver Leo pendant from Subaru's neck shined with a bright golden light. The boy took out his Deathliger card and let the pendant's light touch it. Out of the card came a giant demonic lion made out of bones and with a blue mane. It was Deathliger, the creature which had almost killed Tabitha months ago.

"Get her, Deathliger!" Subaru ordered and the demon jumped on the witch.

Then Tsugumi's Libra pendant shined with a bright golden light as well. Its light went to Subaru and mixed with his pendant's light and thus created a strong energy which was all they needed to destroy Tabitha's cage.

In the meantime, Deathliger tried to rip Tabitha apart, but the witch kept jumping back. Then Tabitha fired two red lightning on the lion's face and the creature made two steps back. As she was thinking was she would win, Deathliger jumped in the air and landed right in front of the witch. The lion demon roared and bit off Tabitha's right sleeve. It would have bitten off her whole right arm if she wasn't fast enough to run away. The witch ran to the shore and took her broomstick. She saw Deathliger coming after her and took off just when the creature was about to scar her with its sharp claws. Tsugumi, Tarja and Awa watched Tabitha fly away as the clouds were disappearing from the sky.

"I may have lost today, Tsugumi Shirayama, but I swear that I will be back! This isn't the last you've heard of Tabitha Lenox!" the witch shouted and then disappeared in the sky.

As Subaru was watching the witch flee, Tsugumi walked to him. The black haired boy turned to the girl and said:

"Tsugumi?"

"Subaru? Finally… You finally remember me! Subaru!" Tsugumi cried happily.

"Tsugumi." Subaru spoke with his tender voice while he smiled to her.

"Subaru!" the blonde girl yelled and hugged him.

As the couple was reunited once again under the pleased sights of Tarja and Awa, it seemed that everything would go back to normal.

But little did they know that behind the same palm tree where Subaru was a few hours before was sitting Hanna. The blue haired girl had witnessed everything that happened at the beach. With tears in her eyes she said:

"I've lost you, Subaru! You'll never come back to me again!"


	71. The wind brings back a friendship

It was a night with full moon. Awa and Tarja were walking back from the beach with proud faces on. Both were happy for the things that had happened in that day, for they knew they worked hard to get their well deserved happy end.

"Oh well, Tarja, it seems that Subaru has remembered everything and is once again with Tsugumi. This requires a celebration party!"

"Don't get too hyped up, Awa. Subaru getting back his memories will have both good and bad effects. The good part is that Tsugumi has been reunited with her love, but on the other hand, if Tabitha tells Mutsuhito what happened, we might wake up with an army of robots surrounding our UFO before we even knew it. And that girl Hanna, I don't think she's up to any good…" Tarja said but then Awa intrerrupted her.

"Oh come on, girl, it will all end up the way we want in the end, I promise! Now how about we go back to the UFO and have a nice cup of tea?"

"Tea? You're kidding, right? Bring in the soda, popcorn and action movies!"

The two rushed to the vehicle in order to spend the night partying for the miraculous thing which happened that day.

Meanwhile at the beach. The full moon was being reflected on the sea as its rays were warming up the reunited couple. Subaru was lying on a rock in the sea with Tsugumi sitting on his legs. The boy was wearing the speedos he had on him in the morning while Tsugumi was wearing her new pink bikini. To their luck the wind wasn't blowing at all in that night. They could sit there and listen to the music played by the sea's waves as they would warm each other with their bodies. Subaru was offering Tsugumi a small massage on her shoulders while the girl was singing to him whatever love song she remembered. Then she suddenly stopped and turned to Subaru while saying:

"I still can't believe it, your memories have actually returned!"

"Oh my dear Tsugumi…" Subaru said while approaching his lips to the girl's.

The girl then put her hand between their lips and Subaru sweated.

"I don't get it, why won't you let me kiss you?" he asked.

"We kissed so much back then that you ended up forgetting me! I don't want to risk you getting amnesiac on me again!" Tsugumi said and laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll never forget you again!" Subaru said and kissed the girl's lips with much passion.

The girl let herself be embrace by the boy and then she surrounded him with her arms as well. Their hugs and kisses were so passionate and filled with emotion that they ended up in the water but they didn't stop kissing. The couple spent the night on the beach sitting on the stand, admiring the stars and talking about their past and future. As Subaru saw Tsugumi fall asleep, he sat right next to her so that their bodies could stay united, and then covered themselves with a white sheet.

And so the night passed as fast as the previous day. It was the sign of winter's approach and the changing of the seasons. The morning was a little windy but still warm enough for a short swim.

Subaru was the first to wake up due to the wind pushing some sand drops on his face. The boy got up to wipe them off and as he opened his eyes he saw three familiar figures approaching them. The boy stared at them with his tired eyes and then distinguished a brown haired boy dressed in school uniform. Subaru then entirely woke up as he realized who was coming and suddenly shouted:

"Edo-kun!"

"Suby!" Edo responded and ran to his old pal.

Subaru and Edo hugged and laughed wildly as they rejoiced their reuniting. Then they freed themselves from their hug and smiled at each other.

"I can't believe it! Where have you been all this time, Edo-kun?"

"Er… at the mansion with Gola?"

"Oh yeah… Forgive me for not noticing you, my father kept me busy all the time."

"It's ok, Suby, I'm not going back there anyway."

"But how did you know where to find me?"

Edo then turned his back and waved to the other two persons which were with him. Subaru's jaw dropped as he saw Kurumi and Chiharu approach. The boy then shouted at the two girls as well:

"Kurumi-san! Chiharu-san! You're here as well!"

"Grand uncle Subaru!" Chiharu responded and ran to him.

The little girl hugged Subaru as the boy messed her hair with his right hand. He then turned to her mother and said:

"But how did you all get here? I don't understand."

"It's because of your father!" Kurumi replied with a serious voice.

Subaru's face froze as he heard the woman's words. Then the girly moans behind him made him 'unfreeze' and turn back only to be embraced and pulled back under the sheets by Tsugumi.

"Subaru, I don't wanna wake up yet, let's sleep a little more!" Tsugumi protested and pulled Subaru's head closer to hers.

"B-but Tsugumi, I must…"

"Good luck with that, Suby, haha!" Edo laughed.

"If you need us, uncle Subaru, we'll be at the UFO." Kurumi added. "Come on, guys, these love birds are busy."

"G-guys, w-wait…" Subaru almost yelled but couldn't because Tsugumi pressed her lips against his and wildly kissed him as if she needed air.

Later in that morning. Subaru and Tsugumi had finally managed to reach the UFO, change from their swimsuits to their usual clothes and then join the others in the kitchen. Awa and Tarja were preparing the breakfast while Edo, Kurumi and Chiharu were sitting at the table and waiting the food to be brought to them.

"Ah, you two finally managed to 'un-glue' yourselves, haha!" Kurumi laughed.

"Well yes…" Subaru said while blushing.

"It's been some time, Kurumi-san!" Tsugumi saluted the woman and bowed down respectfully.

"Indeed, Tsugumi, and you're as pretty as always!"

"Why thank you!"

"So how did you come to find us, Kurumi-san? And better yet, why did you guys leave the mansion?" Subaru asked.

"It's because of your father." the woman replied as she remembered the image of her brother being cut in half by Ken Geki. "We have fled the Geki mansion because your father, Mutsuhito Geki, had slayed my one and only brother, Gola Geki!"

"WHAT?" a sudden shout resounded in the room.

"A Geki killing another Geki… impossible! My father… the man which made me… took the life of Gola-san?" Subaru spoke while staring into the endless void from the air.

"Your father is not the man once you knew, Subaru…" Kurumi continued.

"Yeah!" Awa suddenly added. "Your father is not even a Geki to begin with!"

The other shocking news hit Subaru even harder than before. The talk turned so sudden into something personal to him that all of a sudden he started doubting his own existence. He, the very heir of the Gekis, had as father someone which didn't even belong to the family? The image of the mighty father for whom Subaru had such a deep respect, despite deying it, had been ruined by just some simple words. The boy then remembered that the girls could have been joking around with what they were saying and then asked:

"But how do you know? Is there any evidence to prove what you're saying?"

"Actually, there is." Awa said and showed everyone Mutsuhito's diary. "Tarja found it when we once infiltrated the mansion. You can check it and see with your very own eyes what we saw. Then you'll see that everything we said is 100% true!"

"I'm sorry, Subaru…" Tarja said and put her hand on his shoulder as Awa handed him his father's secret diary.

"Tsugumi!" Subaru's voice strictly spoke and pushed Tarja's hand off his shoulder. "Did you happen to know any of this?"

"Y-yes, I did…" the girl murmured slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? We had a whole night when you could have told me this! Why did you keep this a secret from me?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to keep it a secret, but I didn't want to upset you and…"

"Speak no more!" Subaru said as a shadow covered his eyes. "I shall go to the beach and read my father's diary… all by myself!"

Subaru then got up with the diary in his hands and walked out from the UFO with his fists clunched and his face all grim. Tsugumi stared at him while regretting not having told him the truth of his father when she had the chance. She was about to run to him but Tarja stopped her and said:

"Don't! He needs time to accept the truth. The best you can do is wait and be there when he'll truly need your consolation."

"I guess you're right… But I can't stand it to see him suffer like that!"

"Hey, you've also suffered a lot and he hadn't been there for you!" Awa replied. "Don't worry, he's a strong guy. I'm sure he'll get over it."

The girls watched Subaru walk to the beach like a surviving defeated warrior leaving the deserted battlefield with scars all over his body and soul. There was no more to be said, the boy now had to face the reality of his father's actions by himself and that diary was the only thing which could help him find out who his father really was.

A few hours had passed and everyone in the UFO had finished eating breakfast. Then the hard part of the day came. Tsugumi had to go and train the rebels into the arts of dueling because the date of the attack was approaching. Edo, Kurumi and Chiharu decided to help the rebels with the dueling training while Awa taught them how to fight. Tarja didn't have time for such violent actions and preferred to make lunch and dinner instead.

Meanwhile at the beach. Subaru was sitting on the sand and watching the hologram of his father speak everything which was written in the diary. Word by word, phrase by phrase, everything started to make sense. Subaru had found out many of his father's dark secrets and by the time he put down the book he didn't know what to think of his parent anymore. He had seen the life of a poor orphan which was hit by fate badly and which tried to manipulate it in order to not get hit by it once again. In this process he had hurt many other people and ended up as being a slave of the very power he had achieved. Subaru then got up and stared at the sea while speaking to himself:

"I am Subaru, his own flesh and blood. I have inherited most of his body characteristics, but did I also inherit his spiritual ones? Sometimes I wonder, had I not met Tsugumi in that fateful day, would I have become a greedy and vengeful tyrant like him?"

"Of course not! You're the Suby we all know and love and you're way too cool and awesome to become a loser like your dad!" a voice behind Subaru spoke.

The boy turned and saw Edo approach the beach and sit down on the sand.

"Edo-kun, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be helping Tsugumi with training the rebels?"

"I've taken a small break, Suby, there's too much pain in this process."

"Haha, weak duelists, huh?"

"Noobs with capitalized 'n', Suby! 'Weak duelists' would be an honor for them! They don't even know the basic rules!"

"Oh well, I guess that's the risk of the job, eh?"

"You're right!"

Both of them laughed for a few moments and then silence fell upon them. Even if Edo had his friend back, the things which happened had affected him too much and had forced him to close himself. It was as if Subaru was worlds apart from his very own friends and nothing could be done to reach him. Edo then decided to break the silence, for they couldn't go on like that forever.

"You know what? You can't go on like this forever! She's having a hard time too, you know!" Edo said.

"You mean Tsugumi?"

"Yes, she's trying her best to help those poor people win back their country while forcing herself not to cry because of not having you near her. Tarja told me how hard it is for her. Listen, I understand you too, you've found out that a part of your past wasn't what you thought it was. It must be a hard time for you to accept it and all, but you shouldn't have reacted the way you did to Tsugumi! She's been deeply hurt by the way you acted to her this morning, this being shown in the way she dueled today."

"But what about me? I thought I could always trust her, why did she keep that secret from me?" Subaru asked.

"It was because she didn't want to hurt you, that's why. Try to see beyond your own emotions, Subaru, and you'll see that she had all the good intentions. She would never want to see you suffer!" Edo said.

"You're right, Edo-kun. I will apologize to her later." Subaru said and smiled to his friend. "Now how about a little swim?"

"Why not?" Edo replied and took off his clothes. "Last one's a rotten egg!"

Meanwhile at the training camp of the rebels which was situated on the other side of the beach. Everyone was tired of all that dueling and most of the rebels were lying on the ground defeated by Tsugumi and the two Geki girls.

"Ok, last one for today!" Tsugumi said and showed a card. "Vortex Evolution! I evolve Asylum, the Dragon Paladin and Dragon Spirit Ulferus into Bolpheus Heaven, Holy Super Dragon!"

Out of the sky an enormous angel wielding a long sword and having fire wings and a golden dragon armor descended to the dueling place. The creature roared loudly as Tsugumi showed a red card from her hand and said:

"With Bolpheus Heaven's effect I cast Galaxy Shot – HELL for free and destroy your Dandy Eggplant, Kiryu Jilves, Bronze-Arm Tribe and Yata Izuna! Then I shall put all your shields to the graveyard!"

"Oh no!" the opponent said while falling on his knees in front of the mighty girl.

"Bolpheus Heaven, finish him off, totomeda!" Tsugumi ordered and the creature fired a small fire beam which threw the man a few feet away from the dueling table.

Tsugumi sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. It had been her first day of actual training and she had already shown signs of tiredness. But the girl had other worries, like how would she apologize to Subaru for keeping his father's diary a secret from him. But then something else happened. The girl was surprised to see that both Kurumi and Chiharu were still dueling.

"Aren't you two tired?" she asked.

"We are, but we must keep teaching these guys the ways of this game." Kurumi replied. "I now cast Invincible Cataclysm and throw all your shields to the graveyard! Alephtina, Spiritual Princess, totomeda!"

The man was hit by Kurumi's creature and was thrown a few feet as well. The woman then turned to her daughter and was surprised to see that she had just one shield left and not enough creatues. The woman then shouted:

"Chiharu, what's wrong with you? Why haven't you finished your opponent yet?"

"I'm trying, mom, but his deck is too fast!" the girl replied.

"No excuses from you, young lady, now finish the duel already!"

"Ok, I summon Bucket Bucket, Fairy of the Enduring Snow and evolve it into Diamond Fall! Since I have one shield left, all my creatures get 4000 more power and all my creatures with more than 6000 power are double breakers! Hearty Cap'n Polligon, double break his shields! Ochappi, Pure Enchanted Faerie, break his final shield! Diamond Fall, finish him off, totomeda!" Chiharu ordered and her Snow Faerie threw a wave of snow on her opponent and made him fall on the ground frozen.

Kurumi then walked to her daughter and Chiharu looked scared at her mom. She knew that her mother wasn't pleased at all by her performance in the duel. She was too slow and had risked an eventual loss. The woman then spoke to her child:

"You're becoming weaker and weaker, Chiharu. Mother's not proud at all!"

"I'm trying my best, mommy, but…"

"No buts, young lady, this has to stop right now!" Kurumi said and took out her glowing deck. "Chiharu, I challenge you to a duel!"

"What? Kurumi-san, how could you?"

"Stay out of this, Tsugumi, this is between my daughter and me! And besides, the rebels could learn more if they saw two professionists duel each other, so this might come to everyone's benefit in the end."

"If you say so, but I don't like the look of this…" Tsugumi said.

The blonde girl joined the crowd of rebels and watched how both mother and daughter put their decks on two tables, set their shields, drew their cards and started the duel.

Meanwhile at the other side of the beach. Subaru ran out of the water and started arranging his long black hair while also taking the few sea plants off his chest and shoulders. Edo then ran out as well and said:

"No fair, why must you always win at swim races? I'm the chosen water duelist afterall, I'm the one who's supposed to win in water!"

"Well I guess that this is an exception, huh, Edo-kun?" Subaru replied and winked. "Say, when was the last time we had fun together?"

"I don't know, Suby. …ages ago?"

"Haha, it's been a few months, yet it seemed like ages indeed."

Then the two boys saw ten blue shields appear in the air at the other side of the beach. They immediately realized that a duel was going on. Both grabbed their clothes and ran away to see what was going on and who was playing.

Back at the duel. Chiharu was the one to start the duel and she didn't waste any time.

"I charge mana and summon Hearty Cap'n Polligon!" the little girl said.

"I charge mana and end." Kurumi replied.

"I charge mana and summon Shaman Melissa, Melting Snow Fairy! Hearty Cap'n Polligon, break her shield! Then I return it to my hand!"

"I charge mana once again and end."

"Hah, you're too easy, mother! I summon Bucket Buc-kid, Friendly Snow Fairy and break another one of your shields with Shaman Melissa, Melting Snow Fairy!"

"I charge mana and summon Bronze-Arm Tribe to gain one more mana!"

"Only Bronze-Arm Tribe? I expected more from you, mother, but I see that your words are stronger than your moves. I summon Ochappi, Pure Enchanted Faerie and Hearty Cap'n Polligon! Shaman Mellisa and Bucket Buc-kid, break two of her shields! Hah, one shield left, who's the slow one now, mother?"

"I'm afraid that you're the slow one now, Chiharu! Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell's Scrapper and destroy Ochappi, Polligon and Bucket Buc-kid!" Kurumi said and Chiharu stared scared at the iron prison which smashed three of her faeries. "Now it is my turn and I summon Skysword, the Savage Vizier! Skysword's effect will offer me one more mana and one more shield! Ike, Bronze-Arm Tribe, break one of her shields! What's the matter, Chiharu, aren't you cool and hardcore anymore?"

"Oh, but I'm just getting started, mother!" Chiharu spoke while giving her mother a sly smile and showing a card from her hand. "Mana Evolution! I summon Diamond Cascade! With its effect I put Bucket Bucket and Diamondia from my mana zone to my hand and I also put my destroyed Bucket Buc-kid, Polligon and Ochappi to my mana zone! Now isn't this a cute trade?"

"It surely is. Now do your turn!"

"Ok then. I attack with Shaman Melissa and Diamond Fall, break her last shields!"

Kurumi got surrounded by the shards of her last shields which got broken. The woman then gave her daughter a triumphant smile which made her scared. Chiharu watched her mother take the cards formed from the reunited shards to her hand and then show one of them whily saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Mana Nexus!"

"Oh no!" Chiharu shouted.

"I will put Super Spark to my shields! Now it is my turn, I cast Crest of Mother and replace my Skysword with the Asylum, the Dragon Paladin from my mana zone! Bronze-Arm Tribe, break another one of her shields!"

Chiharu layed her head down as Kurumi's creature smashed one of her shields with its giant fork. The girl started losing her enthusiasm and thought that she would be humiliated by her mother. But then the light of hope had come to her through the card in her shield. The girl smiled and took it to her hand while saying:

"Not so fast, mother, I also have a shield trigger! I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare from my mana zone to my shields!"

"Very well, then it is your turn, Chiharu!" Kurumi said.

"I… won't summon anything this turn, mother! It would be tapped by Super Spark and destroyed by your creatures anyway. Instead I will attack right now! Ike, Shaman Melissa, break my mother's final shield!" Chiharu ordered and her Snow Faerie broke Kurumi's final shield only to have it turn into a giant light which covered all of the girl's creatures.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Spark and tap your Diamond Fall!" Kurumi said and then she showed a fire card from her hand. "I now summon Core-Crash Lizard and send your Natural Snare shield to the graveyard!"

"Oh no!" the girl spoke scared.

"Ike, Asylum, destroy her Diamond Fall! Then Bronze-Arm Tribe will suicide with your Shaman Melissa! I end my turn!"

The tension in the air could be easily felt. Every move of the duel came in the advantage of a player and they had found themselves in an incredible position: Kurumi with no more shields and defenseless and Chiharu with three shields to protect herself. It all depended on what would the little girl draw next. There in the crowd Tsugumi was having her fingers crossed for Chiharu, because she knew that the little girl had worked hard and given her best in the duel to defeat her mother. Then all of a sudden Chiharu's hand glew with a bright green light. It was the light of a kaijudo duelist and it proved that the little girl had become one.

"Amazing! Chiharu, are you actually?"

"A kaijuo duelist, mother? I think yes…" Chiharu shyly said as she drew her next card. "Oh well, I guess this is the end, mother!"

"What?" Kurumi spoke confused.

"I summon Hearty Cap'n Polligon and evolve it into Diamondia, the Blizzard Rider!" Chiharu said and a big monster made of snow appeared behind her and roared. "This is it, mother, I've won! Diamondia, the Blizzard Rider, totomeda!"

When Subaru and Edo reached the other side of the beach, everything was over. The rebels had gone away to rest and Chiharu had helped her mother get up and go to the UFO and wash up her small wounds. The only one who was left was Tsugumi. The girl was sitting on a stone and admiring the sea while its salty winds were blowing through her hair. Edo then tapped Subaru's shoulder and said:

"Good luck from here, Suby, and remember what I've told you!"

"I will, Edo-kun." Subaru replied.

The black haired boy then walked to Tsugumi and the girl turned at him. The boy couldn't look at her eyes and preferred to stare at the sand. The girl then got up from the stone and took his arms in hers while saying:

"Subaru, I'm sorry I had kept that secret from you. I've never wanted to hurt you and…"

"No! It is I the one who should be sorry! I have just come back to you and I've only acted selfishly! I've decided to close myself and suffer in loneliness over some things in the past while you were working hard with the rebels and suffering. My love, could you ever forgive me for being so cruel to you?" Subaru spoke with an almost sad voice.

"I do! Come back to me a thousand times and I will forgive you a thousand times! There's nothing which can stand between our love!"

"Tsugumi… I'm so happy to have you as my soulmate!"

"Same here, my beloved angel!"

The two lovers approached their lips and united them into another passionate kiss. As they enjoyed the savor and taste of each other's mouths, the sun was slowly setting and leaving the endless sea and warm beach in the protective embrace of the night.


	72. Hanna's despair

Everything was silent at the beach. All the rebels had gone back to the hotel to rest for the night while Tsugumi joined Tarja and Awa back at the UFO. But the silence wasn't everlasting. In the dead of night you could hear shouts come from a certain house. Inside Mutsuhito's vacation house you could see through the window two figures, one of them holding two suitcases.

"Don't go, Subaru!" Hanna shouted. "Even if you've remembered everything, you can still spend your holidays with me!"

"I can't. Either way, we all knew that one day I would've gotten back my memories and returned to Tsugumi. It was inevitable!" Subaru replied.

"Subaru, don't leave me alone, please!" Hanna continued.

"I'm sorry, Hanna." Subaru finished the conversation and walked out the door.

All the girl could do was to watch how the boy she loved walked away from the house and disappeared in the dark of the night. Those moments seemed like a nightmare for her, a nightmare from which she wished to wake up fast. Hanna cried her way to bed and tried to fall asleep. But all that was in her mind was Subaru and the way he left her. The more she thought of it, the more her headache grew and in the end she finally fell asleep. That night Hanna didn't close the door either. She left it open in the hope that Subaru might return to her.

In the morning her hopes had been shattered. The house was cold, half empty, and there was no one to cheer the things up. Hanna walked out of the house and stared at the beach and the rising sun. Then she saw the face of Subaru in the celestial lighter and clenched her fists. With a voice filled with despair and anger the girl spoke:

"There's no way I am letting you go! Tsugumi isn't worthy of your heart!"

Later that day, the atmosphere on the beach was still the same as in that night. No one was there to relax, and that was due to the fact that the rebels had no time for such things. They were training and preparing themselves for the future battle which would decide the fate of their country and the whole world. But in that day their dueling instructors were just Kurumi, Chiharu and Edo. Tsugumi was busy with something more important (to her).

Then on the beach set foot Subaru. The boy was dressed in his usual speedos and had a white sheet and a backpack with him. He immediately installed his stuff and then entered the water to take a swim. The waves were pretty wild that day and also the water wasn't too warm either. It was clear to him that the sea didn't want him to bathe in that day and got out of it a few minutes after he had entered.

As he was arranging his wet long hair, Subaru had an unexpected welcome. He was greeted back on the beach by Hanna. The girl was dressed in a blue bikini which matched both her eyes and hair. She waved to the boy as soon as she saw him come out and then ran to him.

"Subaru!" Hanna shouted.

"Hanna? What are you doing here dressed up like that?" the boy spoke while still surprised by the girl's presence.

"Subaru, I want you to teach me how to swim."

"To swim?"

"Yes, it's such a wonderful day that I decided to do whatever I want to do, including swimming! What do you think?"

Subaru stared at the girl's smiling face and remembered how happy she was when they came to the beach, how desperate she was when he was about to remember everything, and how insane she became when he had left her the other night. The black haired boy then turned to the sea and saw that the waves were getting more dangerous. He feared that Hanna would drown in them if she wanted to swim, but he also couldn't refuse her, for he feared she might go mad once again. As he was about to open his mouth and respond to the blue haired girl, a sudden scream broke the silence before him:

"Subaru!"

"Tsugumi!" Subaru responded and turned to see the blonde girl approach him with a mini refrigerator in her hands.

"Subaru, I've brought you a special breakfast today!" Tsugumi kept shouting while walking to the boy.

"Alright, I'll eat it in a second!"

As Subaru started walking towards Tsugumi, Hanna suddenly fell on her knees and coughed hard. This made Subaru stop and return to the girl. He put his hand on her shoulder and spoke to her with a serious tone in his voice:

"Hanna, are you okay? You should've stayed home today."

"Hanna-san, are you ok?" Tsugumi said and rushed to the girl.

The blonde girl reached her hand to Hanna's other shoulder but the blue haired girl slapped it and then stared at her with a mean look in her eyes. Then she turned back to Subaru and kept coughing. The girl then spoke to him with a weak voice:

"I don't feel good, will you please take me back to the vacation house, Subaru?"

"Of course, put your arm on my shoulder." Subaru said and helped the girl rise. "Tsugumi, can you wait here? I'm going to take Hanna back to my father's holiday house on this beach."

"Sure, I'll wait for you. After all, Hanna's condition is the most important thing now." Tsugumi said and stared at Subaru with eyes which were about to burst in tears.

Subaru saw the sad expression on Tsugumi's face and let go of Hanna for a moment. He then walked to the girl and silently whispered to her ear:

"Stop lying to me, I know you're just acting strong."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm trying with all my might to act strong! So before I crack under the sadness… come back to me as fast as you can!" Tsugumi whispered back and hugged Subaru for a couple of seconds.

As Subaru and Hanna headed back to the house, Awa and Tarja came to Tsugumi and sat on the sheet. Awa opened the mini fridge and started eating the sandwiches and eggs. Tarja got a bit grossed of the ghost witch's appetite and turned away while talking to Tsugumi:

"So much for your effort of making Subaru a nice breakfast."

"It doesn't matter." Tsugumi replied with a triumphant smile on her face. "Subaru and I are together once again and there's nothing in the world that can separate us!"

"Glad to see someone with some confidence around here…"

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Awa!" Tarja yelled.

Meanwhile at Mutsuhito's holiday house. Subaru and Hanna had just reached it. As Subaru opened the door, Hanna pushed herself against him and caught him in a strong hug. The boy could feel her body trembling as tears were rushing on his chest.

"Don't go, Subaru! Don't leave me alone! Can you? Please, Subaru, I beg you…" the girl said and stared at the boy with the eyes of an obsessed psychopath.

Subaru got scared by the girl for a moment and felt like he would be killed if he refused. The boy then snapped out of it and as he caught another glimpse of the girl, he changed his attitude towards her and spoke with a serious and harsh voice:

"Hanna, this has to stop now!"

"NO!" the girl yelled and tried to pull Subaru inside. "I need you, Subaru!"

"Hanna, stop it!" the boy said while trying to free himself from her grip. "The only reason you're doing this is because I'm the only boy you've ever liked. But you don't really know me. My heart fully belongs to someone else, and that's…"

"You're wrong! You're the only one for me! As long as you're with me, I don't need anything else!"

Hanna managed to push Subaru inside the house and the boy landed on a couch. He then witnessed the girl take off her bikini and approach him fully naked.

"I'll give you everything that I have! Just promise me that you won't leave! I don't want to suffer in this cold loneliness once again!" Hanna sobbed.

Then, all of a sudden, Tarja appeared at the door. The woman was shocked of what she was seeing: Subaru on the couch and naked Hanna about to join him. The woman then yelled in rage and that stopped Hanna for a few moments:

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Tarja-san, this is clearly not what it looks like! Hanna is so desperate to have me with her that she's about to fully give herself to me, even if I don't want it." Subaru said and tried to get up from the couch.

The blue haired girl then ran to the black haired boy and jumped on him. Both landed on the couch and she started kissing his lips by force. Subaru couldn't do anything to free himself because he was too shocked of the girl's behavior. Luckily, Tarja rushed in and pulled Hanna off him. As she saw that she was taken away from the boy, Hanna started struggling in Tarja's arms and yelling:

"No, Subaru! Leave me alone, I want my Subaru! You can't take me away from him! Subaru, save me ,Subaru!"

"Subaru, run while I'm still holding her!" Tarja said.

"Thanks, Tarja-san, I don't want to think of what would've happened if you wouldn't have come a few seconds earlier." Subaru said and got up from the couch. "But what's wrong with her? Why is she acting like this?"

"Subaru, please don't go! Don't leave me! Subaru, help me!" Hanna desperately shouted.

"We don't have time for talking, Subaru, GET OUT OF HERE FAST!" Tarja yelled.

Subaru looked at Hanna for a moment with pity and then he ran out of the house. Hanna stared at the boy which was leaving her for a second time and then she shouted 'no' so loudly that the windows and glasses almost cracked. Tarja then turned the girl to be face to face with her and held both her shoulders tightly with her arms.

"What were you thinking? That by taking your clothes off Subaru would love you?"

"I tried my best to make him stay with me. That was the last thing I could offer him." Hanna spoke with a sad voice. "But now he's gone… and I have no more reason to live."

"You can't MAKE someone stay with you! When somebody doesn't love you, you just have to give up…" Tarja explained to the girl.

"But why her? Why does it have to be Tsugumi and not me?"

"Well, that's her fate…"

Hanna then picked up her bikini and dressed up in it once again. After that she looked at the beach through the opened door and saw Subaru run once again in Tsugumi's arms. Her tears swelled on her cheeks as she spoke to Tarja:

"I understand. Oh well, I guess that I'll stay forever lonely!"

Hanna rushed in her room and locked the door. A few moments passed and Tarja could hear cries come out it and she approached the door. The woman then spoke loudly so that the girl could hear her:

"You shouldn't give up so easily! You're young and I'm sure that in time you'll find your true love, who'd love you as much as you deserve! But that would not be Subaru…"

Inside Hanna's room everything was either on the floor or broken. Hanna did that in a fit of rage and sorrow, hoping that her actions would miraculously bring Subaru back. When Tarja came to her door Hanna was lying on the bed and crying on the pelt.

"No one would love me!" Hanna cried. "I'm nothing but a horrible servant of an evil witch! Subaru was the only one who understood me, he was the only one made for me! But now he's gone from my life…"

"It's not true! Sooner or later you'd meet someone who would see the beauty in you!" Tarja replied.

Hanna then stopped crying. The girl was touched by Tarja's words and was a bit happy because at least she cared for her in those moments. Hanna put a small smile on her face and got up from her bed. Tarja didn't hear any more cries and thought that she had solved the problem. Then Hanna's voice resounded behind the door saying:

"Thank you for your concern, Tarja-san, I appreciate it. Now would you like to leave me alone? I have to think about what you said."

"Sure, but don't do anything stupid, okay?" Tarja replied.

"I won't."

As she was sure that everything was ok, Tarja left the house. Hanna watched the woman walk away by the window. Then the girl looked to the other side of the beach once again and saw Subaru sitting on the sheet with Tsugumi. The girl's face got darkened with anger as she spoke to herself:

"I won't let that girl have him! Tsugumi Shirayama, today you shall fall!"

More hours passed and the sun was setting. Subaru was walking down the beach all by himself and still dressed in his swimsuit. As he was enjoying the setting sun's rays which were warming his wet body, he saw someone entering the water. That someone was Hanna, and the girl was standing there and waiting for a wave to come and end her misery. Subaru then yelled to her and rushed in the water as fast as he could:

"Hanna! What do you think you're doing?"

"Huh? Who's there?" Hanna asked and turned to see the boy.

"Don't be stupid! Get out of the water at once!" Subaru said while swimming to the girl.

As Hanna saw who was coming to her rescue, the girl smiled and shouted the boy's name. Hanna ran to Subaru and hugged him as he was taking her out of the water.

"Subaru, I knew you would come here! I knew you will find me and save me!"

"Hanna…"

"I won't let you go anymore!" Hanna said and tightened her grip.

"Hanna, there's something important that I really need to tell you." Subaru said.

"Important? What do you have to tell me?"

"Hanna, I have to talk to you about my feelings for Tsugumi."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear another word!" Hanna yelled and covered her ears.

The girl turned her back on Subaru and saw Tsugumi approaching the shore. Only the simple sight of the blonde girl was enough to make her mad. Hanna then ran out of the water and stormed at Tsugumi. Luckily, the blonde girl was fast enough to dodge Hanna's fists and in a few moments she immobilized her.

"Why can't you just die? The world would be much better without your presence!"

"You're wrong, Hanna, only you would be much 'better' without my presence. You desire something which never belonged to you in the first place." Tsugumi replied and freed Hanna from her grip. "Now listen, I do not hate you, I've never truly hated anyone, not even Mutsuhito. But this has to stop!"

"You! You're trying to act all goodie two-shoes on me! This won't work, you mischievous being!" Hanna said and took out her deck. "Let's end our conflict through a duel! The winner gets Subaru as her lover forever!"

Subaru then got out of the water and saw how two dueling tables appeared from the sand. He had also heard Hanna's and Tsugumi's talk and he wanted to tell them that no matter what happened, he would always love Tsugumi, but it was too late. Tsugumi had accepted Hanna's challenge and both girls had activated their shields and drawn their cards. Subaru then murmured:

"I hope you're doing the right thing, Tsugumi."

Hanna was the first to make a move. The girl placed a second card in her mana zone and then showed a card from her hand while saying:

"I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Tsugumi said and a red fire bird appeared behind her.

"I summon Sepa, White Knight Monk!" Hanna said.

"I summon Bolshack NEX! With his effect I will look in my deck and summon Peace Lupia for free! Heh, your turn, Hanna!"

"Very well, then I summon Leonidas, White Knight Spirit!"

"I guess that it's time for me to show you something new! I cast Hyperspatial Dravita Hole!" Tsugumi said and a dark rectangle filled with stars appeared at her right.

"I-impossible, you're using psychic creatures as well?" Hanna said and made a step back as she saw a light psychic creature come out of the dark rectangle.

"Meet Dravita, Temporal Pressure Spirit!" Tsugumi replied as an angel dressed in a red mechanical armor appeared behind her.

Hanna was amazed by what she was seeing. The girl thought that the only psychic creature owner was Tabitha. She couldn't believe it when she saw Tsugumi summon another psychic creature as well. And her Dravita seemed much scarier than Tabitha's Suva. But that was only because she was facing it in a duel. Hanna then got a little more courage and drew her next card. The girl showed it and said:

"I cast Primal Scream and put my top 4 cards into the graveyard!"

The cards which landed in her graveyard were Terror Pit, Gregorias Mystic Light Death Saint, Lorenzo the 4th Divine Dragon of Thunder and Mad Romanoff, Wicked God. The girl then took Mad Romanoff into her hand. But all of a sudden, Tsugumi's Dravita sent a light beam upon Hanna's dueling table and tapped her Leonidas card.

"Huh? What was that for?" Hanna asked.

"Whenever you cast a spell Dravita will tap one of your creatures." Tsugumi replied and drew her next card. "Very well then, I guess it's time the party really started."

"What?"

"I evolve Dravita into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits!"

Then the angel dressed in red armor got surrounded by a bright light aura which transformed it into a robotic angel made of gold which had some parts painted blue. The angel gazed upon the blue haired girl as she trembled in fear.

"A-Alcadeias…"

"Yes, Alcadeias is a 12500 powered double breaker which doesn't allow neither of us to cast spells which don't belong to the light civlisation! I guess that you're in trouble now, aren't you, Hanna?" Tsugumi said smiling. "Ike, Alcadeias, destroy her Leonidas!"

"Block it, Bloody Shadow!" Hanna said and her ghostly knight appeared in front of her Leonidas and defended it with its spiky shield and long sword, but Alcadeias' light beams managed to destroy Bloody Shadow.

"Bolshack NEX, suicide with Leonidas!"

Tsugumi's dragon roared and flew towards Hanna's angel. Both creatures battled and the battle's result was both of them being destroyed by an explosion. Tsugumi then tapped her Cocco Lupia card and said:

"Ike, Cocco Lupia, break her shield!"

The fire bird flew fast through one of Hanna's shields and scattered it into pieces. The girl then took the card which was in her shield to her hand and showed it while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast White Knight Gate! With its effect I will summon Aldora, White Knight Spirit from my hand for free!"

Tsugumi was amazed when she saw a giant angel which had the size of a ship appeared behind Hanna. The blue haired girl then drew her next card, charged mana and showed another card from her hand.

"Mad Deck Evolution! I summon Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God! It's your turn, Tsugumi Shirayama!"

Tsugumi had no more cards in her hand and was still shocked by the creature which Hanna had summoned. The girl then drew her next card, looked at the six cards in her mana zone and said:

"My turn, I charge mana and end!"

"What's the matter? Did my cute Aldora scared the pants out of you?" Hanna said and laughed. "Oh well, I guess it's time I showed you what it really means to be a light civlisation user! I summon Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and return my destroyed Bloody Shadow to my hand! I also summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight! And since I summoned blockers this turn, I've enabled Aldora's attacking effect! Ike, Aldora, triple break her shields!"

Tsugumi started sweating hard as she saw the giant angel approach her and point all its guns to her shields. The girl then remembered that she had a blocker and tapped her Peace Lupia card while saying:

"Block the attack, Peace Lupia!"

The yellow fire bird dressed with an iron armor flew in front of Aldora and created a force shield using its small iron shield. All of Aldora's lasers hit that shield until the bird was destroyed. Then Peace Lupia's final light fell upon Hanna's table and tapped her Mad Romanoff card.

"Now that you have no more blockers, it's time to attack! Ike, Sepa, break her shield!" Hanna ordered and her creature smashed one of Tsugumi's shields.

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Hanna!" Tsugumi replied smiling as she took the card from her shield to her hand. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Spark!"

A powerful light then descended from the heavens and tapped all of Hanna's creatures. The girl stared angrily at Tsugumi while the blonde girl showed the next card she was about to use.

"It's time to finish this, I summon Bolshack Cross NEX!" Tsugumi said and a dragon dressed in samurai armor and with a crown on its head appeared behind her and roared loudly towards Hanna. "Bolshack Cross NEX is a 12000 powered triple breaker which has speed attacker and doesn't allow any of us to summon creatures that cost 4 or less! Also, he gains 5000 more power while attacking, so guess what… you're doomed!"

"Why you little…" Hanna said but what intrerrupted by Tsugumi's attacking creatures.

"Ike, Bolshack Cross NEX, destroy her Aldora! Alcadeias, destroy her Mad Romanoff! And finally, Cocco Lupia, break another shield!" Tsugumi ordered and all her creatures attacked Hanna, destroyed two of her creatures and broke one more shield.

Hanna took cover as her creatures got destroyed. The girl also got surrounded by the shield shards and that was when she remembered all her moments with Subaru. This thing made her even more determined to win him back.

"This isn't over! I'LL NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER!" Hanna yelled and took the card from her shield. "My turn! I evolve Gregorias into White Knight HEAVEN, Lord of Spirits! RISE, HEAVEN, AND HELP ME DESTROY HER!"

A robotic angel with white wings which was made of gold painted in blue appeared behind Hanna. Then Bolshack Cross NEX and Cocco Lupia disappeared and Tsugumi gained two more shields.

"HEAVEN sends all non-light creatures to the shield zone. And now, HEAVEN, destroy her Alcadeias!" Hanna said and her robotic angel flew towards Tsugumi's and shot it with its light rays, managing in the end to destroy it.

"Oh no, Alcadeias!" Tsugumi yelled as she witnessed her creature blow up.

"Hahaha, this is it, Tsugumi Shirayama, your defeat is at hand! Sepa, break her shield!"

Tsugumi fell on her knees in front of Hanna as another one of her shields was broken. It was true that Tsugumi had five more shields, but she had pullen out most of her aces and Hanna still managed to destroy them all. The girl stared at the sand and feared that she might lose the boy she loved forever. But then his voice broke up the silence:

"Tsugumi, don't give up yet! I believe in you, don't let yourself defeated by Hanna! You're a strong girl, I know you have the power to defeat her!"

Those words made Tsugumi have the power to get up and take the card which was created by the shield shards in her hand. But the same words also made Hanna's heart ache with pain as the girl stared at the boy with both sadness and anger.

"Subaru, how could you do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, Hanna-san, but this is how I really feel deep down inside. And if you're going to try and hurt Tsugumi, then be sure that you will have to go through me first!"

Subaru then turned to Tsugumi and smiled to her in order to cheer her up. The girl also responded with a smile and then continued dueling. She showed Hanna two cards and said:

"I summon Mist Rias, Sonic Guardian and Cocco Lupia! With Mist Rias' effect I will draw a card! Your turn!"

"Hah, that puny Mist Rias can't take me out!" Hanna laughed. "I summon Sir Virginia, Mystic Light Insect and with its effect I also summon Mad Romanoff from my graveyard! Get ready to meet your fate!"

"Oh no, Tsugumi, watch out! She's going to use Mad Romanoff's meteorburn and cast that certain spell which will turn the tides in her favor!" Subaru warned his love.

"He's right, Tsugumi, now face the might of my Mad Romanoff! Meteorburn! I send the creature I evolved into Mad Romanoff to the graveyard and cast Miraculous Meltdown from my mana zone for free! Since I have 3 shields and you 5, you'll have to choose 2 shields which will be broken by this spell!"

Two long iron chains which ended in sharp spears with bad wings appeared behind Hanna and flew through two of Tsugumi's shields, breaking them. The girl then took the two cards to her hand and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers! Then shield trigger, I summon Bolshack Cross NEX and Mist Rias lets me draw another card!"

"Tsh, I was hoping to have gotten rid of that annoying Bolshack Cross NEX… Oh well, ike, Mad Romanoff, break her shield!" Hanna ordered and her creature fired many lasers which broke another shield of Tsugumi's.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Perfect Galaxy, Spirit of Immortality! Shield Force, I choose one of my shields and as long as it stays in the battle zone, Perfect Galaxy will remain a blocker which can't leave the battlezone! Also, Mist Rias lets me draw one more card!"

"I'm getting sick and tired of your games, Tsugumi Shirayama! Sepa, break that shield!"

"Block it, Perfect Galaxy, and destroy her Sepa!"

"I've got you now! HEAVEN, break her last two shields! It's over, Tsugumi Shirayama, I have won the duel! Hahahahaha, Subaru is all mine!"

"That's what you think, Hanna, but don't count your birds until all the eggs are hatched!" Tsugumi said smiling and showed the last two cards from her shields. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Galaxy Shot – HELL and destroy your Bloody Shadow and Sir Virginia! Then I'll throw two of your shields to the graveyard as well!"

Hanna made a step back and watched scared as a giant fire meteor fell upon her two creatures and destroyed them while also making two of her shields disappeared and their cards fall into the graveyard. The cards which went to the graveyard were White Knight Spark and Wiz, White Knight Enlightener.

"I am not done yet! Shield trigger, I evolve Perfect Galaxy into Alphadios, Lord of Spirits!" Tsugumi said and a white winged golden robotic angel with six hands which were wielding six giant golden swords appeared above her. "Meet the Leader of the Light Civilization and the one which will seal your fate, Alphadios!"

"Impossible… Alphadios won't allow me to cast non-light spells or summon non-light creatures!" Hanna barely spoke. "This means that…"

"It's over, Hanna! Bolshack Cross NEX, break her final shield!"

The blue haired girl took cover as Tsugumi's dragon smashed her final shield with its paws. The shield shards which surrounded Hanna united fast into a card which floated in the air above her. The card was Terror Pit, but it was a darkness shield trigger spell and she couldn't cast it because of Alphadios. The girl then turned to Subaru with tears falling from her eyes and spoke to him:

"I am alone. I was alone all my life."

"Hanna…" Subaru said and tried to approach the girl.

"I am alone. Always alone." Hanna continued as Tsugumi tapped her Alphadios card.

"Alphadios, Lord of Spirits, finish her off, totomeda!" Tsugumi ordered.

The angel created a giant laser ball with its hands and then he casted it upon the girl. Hanna flew in the air and landed on the ground hurt while still crying. Then everything got darkened and the girl closed her eyes hoping that she had finally found peace.


	73. A crush that never dies

Night had fallen once again upon the beach. Again there was an unusual calm in the air and the resort seemed depopulated. Almost every hotel didn't even have its lights on. It was as if a spell had been cast upon everyone and turned them into ghosts at night, while at day they would be dueling like robots.

At Mutsuhito's holiday house, however, things were different. Subaru and Tarja brought Hanna back there and layed her down on the bed. The girl seemed as if she was about to die, as her breaths were becoming rarer. Subaru and Tarja sat by the girl's side and talked while looking at her with pity:

"Tarja-san, I have to ask you something."

"What is it, Subaru?"

"Would it be ok if I stood with Hanna a couple of days?"

"I don't think so. You know she is in love with you…"

"But just look at her! She is almost fatally wounded and has no one to take care of her!"

Subaru's loud arguing with Tarja made Hanna slowly open her eyes and see what was going on. The girl got up from her bed and stared at the two. Subaru was relieved when he saw her alive and well. Hanna then looked at her hands and said:

"How can it be? I'm not dead?"

"Hanna-san, are you ok? For a moment I thought that Tsugumi's attack had killed you!"

"Tsugumi? Kill her? You don't believe what you're saying, right?" Tarja interrupted Subaru.

"Accidents always happen!" Subaru said and turned to Tarja. "Edo also killed that boy in the tournament even if he didn't want. And besides, Tsugumi's Alphadios is a very powerful creature! A simple blow might kill someone. Ask Kokujo, he's experienced it!"

"I don't think accident was what she meant, but...just forget it..."

Hanna then remembered the image of Tsugumi giving the totomeda order and Alphadios firing an enormous laser ball upon her. The girl continued talking to the two:

"Oh, I lost the duel... So this means that you're all Tsugumi's now, right, Subaru?"

"I'm sorry, Hanna, but I never belonged to anyone else but Tsugumi. This is how it should've been." Subaru said and took Hanna's hand in his. "But I will stay with you until you can get up from the bed if you want."

"Don't do that, Suby! She'll use it to get you back!" Tarja intervened yet again.

Hanna looked for a second at Tarja and then at Subaru. Then the girl turned her sight to the white sheets of the bed and deeply sighed. Afterwards she spoke to the boy with a rather saddened voice:

"Gee, thanks, you're so sweet, Subaru! I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but..."

"What is it, Hanna?" Subaru replied worried.

"If you want, go and spend your time with Tsugumi. She deserves it more than me!"

A big silence fell upon the room after what Hanna had said. Both Subaru and Tarja were shocked of the girl's words. They couldn't believe that she would give Subaru up that easily after what she had done a few hours before. To top it off, Hanna couldn't believe that she had said that as well. But then Tarja broke the silence by supporting Hanna's words:

"Yes, Subaru, go to Tsugumi! I'll stay with Hanna if you'd feel better."

Subaru didn't know what to do. He looked at the girl and felt pity for her miserable situation, and just couldn't leave her. But his heart was crying for Tsugumi, and he couldn't ignore that either. The boy got up and walked to the window to refresh his thoughts. Hanna looked at him and then realized that she had something important to do.

"Subaru!"

"What is it, Hanna?" Subaru asked and turned to the girl.

The blue haired girl smiled to him and showed her right hand. She took off the ring from her finger and offered it back with her palm.

"My wedding ring!" Subaru exclaimed.

"It's the ring you gave me and I'm giving it back! Until now I've been thinking that since I had it, you wouldn't leave me, but now I'm starting to accept this idea."

"Hanna, that's…"

"Don't get me wrong, it's just that in the end we came to know each other better and this means a lot to me. Now take it!" Hanna said and stretched her hand to Subaru.

"I see, thanks!" Subaru said and took the ring.

"I couldn't be happier to have known you."

"We could always stay friends if you'd like to."

"Subaru, you shouldn't trust her that much – she could still be up to something." Tarja interrupted the two from their chat.

"Come on, Tarja, I can't possibly be up to anything even if I wanted! But you can believe whatever you want." Hanna said and laid her head down.

"I don't think that she's a threat to us anymore." Subaru replied to Tarja.

"Subaru, she's insanely in love with you – she can't just stop loving you and love is stronger than her." Tarja said back.

"All that Tarja has said is true, Subaru, I love you, I can't stand a minute without you! But something deep down tells me that I should let it go. So if you ever cared for me, just accept me as a friend and go to Tsugumi!"

Hearing the same thing again from Hanna's mouth was even more shocking. She was rejecting Subaru for the second time. It seemed really weird how would the girl give up something for which she was so desperate in the first place. But Tarja was still suspicious. She couldn't trust that girl, so the black haired woman crossed her arms and approached the bed. She then spoke to her:

"And you would just give up?"

"It seems that yes, I'm just an obstacle for everyone's happiness. Things would be alot better if I just gave up." Hanna replied with the same depressed voice as before.

"Then why didn't you do that before?" Tarja said while recalling Hanna's hysterical behaviour which she had the whole day.

"I couldn't. The simple thought that Subaru would leave me and I would be alone was too much for me. I couldn't control myself back then. But now I've calmed down and accepted the situation."

"Still, nothing's changed – Subaru is now with Tsugumi and you ARE all alone…"

It was the cruel truth and Hanna had to accept it. The girl closed her eyes and sobbed quietly. All she saw in front of her was a dark future where no one loved her. She feared that she would fall into that darkness and never come back, but then she also knew that she had already been living in that darkness ever since Ichiro died. The girl then opened her eyes and responded to Tarja:

"Yeah, you're right."

"Hanna-san…" Subaru tried to speak to her but then realized that nothing he could say would change the girl's situation.

Hanna looked at Subaru and admired the boy for a couple of minutes. He was beautiful both physically and spiritually to her. Letting him go was like letting a part of herself die. But the girl got courage and spoke to Subaru with a much more confident voice:

"Don't worry, I'm ok. Now go to Tsugumi!"

"Tarja-san, will you take care of her for me?" Subaru asked the black haired woman while he put on a black jacket.

"Of course, don't worry. I'll take good care of her." Tarja replied.

"Thanks, Tarja-san!" Subaru said and turned to the girl. "Hanna, take care of yourself!"

"I will!" the blue haired girl shyly responded.

Hanna then watched how Subaru turned his back on her, walked to the door, opened it and disappeared once again. As he disappeared, the girl started crying once again.

"I've lost him forever now!" Hanna sobbed.

"You can't lose something you never had…" Tarja explained calmly.

"If that is so then why am I suffering now? Why is my heart aching for seeing that boy leave me like that?"

Tarja didn't answer Hanna's question. The woman couldn't possibly know what was really happening to the girl, so she just shut up and let the silence fill the dark room once again.

Meanwhile at the beach. Subaru was sitting down and admiring the blue sky as the wind was making its way through his deep long hair. Then Edo appeared all of a sudden and sat next to him. The boy didn't mind. For a few minutes they stood silent and looked at the stars until Edo said:

"Tsugumi's back at the UFO and waiting for you. She had fallen asleep in your room while waiting. Just thought you might want to know that."

"Thank you, Edo-kun. So much stuff happened ever since Kokujo-kun left us. And even so, here we are, sitting next to each other as if nothing ever happened."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Suby. Sometimes life's ways are just too wicked. You just never know when fate hits you and what even has in store for you." Edo said.

Subaru nodded to the boy and then got up. He took out from his jacket's right pocket his deck and from the left pocket a small bag filled with darkness cards and a sheet. He put the sheet on the sand and placed all the cards on it.

"Huh? I don't get it." Edo said while looking at the cards.

"My main deck had been a Reaper deck, but that was just for the period when I didn't remember Tsugumi. I want to build another deck, an even stronger one! A darkness and water Demon Command and Reaper deck!" Subaru said and got an excited smile on his face.

"B-but what about your Reaper deck, Suby?"

"I won't de-assemble it, Edo-kun, I'll keep it the way it is. The Reaper deck shall be used only by the Leo Reaper, while the deck I want to build shall be used only by me, the chosen darkness duelist, Subaru Hanzou!"

"Hah, not a Geki anymore I see." Edo laughed.

"I will personally talk to my father about my family name. But when that time will come I want to have this deck built! With this deck I will face my father and end his tyranny once and for all!"

Edo stared at Subaru and saw the determination in his eyes. The brown haired boy smiled and then took out from his pockets all the water cards he had. He put them on the sheet alongside Subaru's cards and said:

"Then let's work on this deck together! Combining our strategies we'll have more chances of defeating Mutsuhito!"

"Let's do it, Edo-kun!" Subaru replied.

Meanwhile at the vacation house. Hanna and Tarja had not spoken a word to each other ever since Tarja refused to answer Hanna's question. Hanna was lying on the bed and looking towards the window while Tarja was preparing a cup of tea for her. When Tarja entered the room and put the tea on the bed, Hanna started speaking to her:

"You know, I wasn't alone all my life."

"How so? Didn't you say that nobody loved you, except for Subaru?"

"Yes, it's true, but this didn't use to always be like this. It all began when I was 3 years old. I had been thrown out of the orphanage while the kids were casting rocks at me. Everyone hated me because of my unexplainable natural blue hair. Many considered me to be a monster and treated me like one. I ran through the city chased by those horrible people and then someone opened a door and offered me shelter. I entered the house and then the person closed the door. Then everyone ran to some other places and they never found me. The strange person then turned the lights on and it was none other than Tabitha-sama!"

"Tabitha?" Tarja asked while looking shocked.

"Yes, Tabitha. Never expected that she would do such a thing, huh?" Hanna said while blowing air on the hot tea from her cup.

"Tabitha Lenox… saving a poor soul… Did this happen in another dimension or what?"

"As incredible as it may sound, it actually happened. She asked me why was I chased by those people and I told her my story. She told me that she was the same and offered to adopt me and take care of me. You can't believe how happy I was when I saw someone who finally accepted me. I finally had my own family! Tabitha-sama then told me everything about her past and all the intriguing lives she'd lived, and asked me if I would help her with her evil plans. I then swore an oath to be her loyal servant and always help her as a payment for her kindness."

Back at Edo and Subaru. The black haired boy placed his Dorballom card on a pile of cards and then raised it in the air triumphantly while saying:

"And with this card we have finally finished the deck!"

"It looks great, Suby!"

"Thanks for all the help, Edo-kun! You're a true friend!"

"Now how about we test this deck? I've updated my own deck as well!" Edo said and showed his deck which glowed with a shiny blue aura.

"Hm… why not? It might be interesting." Subaru replied and his deck glowed with a bright purple aura.

Two dueling tables came out of the sand and both boys walked to them and put their decks on them. They then placed 5 cards on their shield zones and drew 5 cards each. When they both shouted 'Shields up!' the duel began.

Back at Hanna and Tarja. The blue haired girl kept revealing to Tarja the details about her past. The woman's jew dropped and kept staying that way for a long time.

"Tabitha's first plot was easy: to infiltrate me into Rezo, the Red Priest's army and follow his orders until she personally joined him. That was the first time I met Tsugumi, and I had the mission to lie to her about having made love with Subaru, even if I didn't know the boy. And besides, while Rezo and Tabitha were away, me and Ichiro, Kokujo's son, were in charge of Rezo's castle. We had a lot of fun! We bossed around with the maids, but weren't cruel to them. We treated them with respect and they showed us the same respect. Also, he showed me his true dueling powers in a couple of matches, and man, he was so awesome! And slowly, for the first time in my life, I was falling in love."

"Aha! So there was someone who loved you back then!" Tarja remarked.

"Yes, but that didn't last long." Hanna replied and a shadow covered her face while she kept talking. "Rezo sent Ichiro on a mission to face his own father. Ichiro dueled Kokujo and lost, but when Kokujo won, the spell which Rezo put on Ichiro which kept him alive was cancelled and Ichiro died in the hands of his father. Knowing that the boy I loved was dead, I decided to let fate take me wherever it wanted. Luckily, after Rezo was killed, Tabitha-sama took me with her and we both escaped."

Meanwhile at Subaru and Edo. Both had their shields intact so far. Subaru had Bloody Squito, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil in the battlezone, whereas Edo had Aqua Guard and Qurian. Subaru's turn came. The boy drew a card, charged mana and showed another card while saying:

"I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and then destroy him!"

"I destroy Qurian!" Edo said and his creature blew up.

"Trash Train lets me draw two cards! And now Grave Evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death!"

"Hah, pretty good move, Suby!"

"Why thank you, Edo-kun! Now, ike, Death March, break his shield!"

"Not so fast! Ninja Strike 4, I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade!" Edo said and a blue cyber lord dressed in a golden ninja armor appeared behind him and created a barrier which stopped Death March's attack. "Send Death March back to his hand!"

"Heh, this is far from over, Edo-kun! But so far I will end my turn!"

"Very well, then I cast Streaming Shaper!" Edo said and revealed the top 4 cards from his deck which were Energy Stream, Crystal Lancer, Aqua Sniper and Evolution Burst – Energy Spiral. "Hah, all are water cards and all will go to my hand!"

"Why thank you, Edo-kun, for showing me the cards in your hand, that helps me a lot!" Subaru said and showed a shiny darkness card. "I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Liquid People! I shall discard Crystal Lancer and you'll lose one of your shields as well!"

Luckily for Edo, the shield which he lost was just Crystal Zweilancer. That meant that he didn't lose any possible shield triggers and still had a chance to fight back. Edo then drew his next card and smiled. He placed it on his Aqua Guard card and said:

"I evolve Aqua Guard into Crystal Paladin!"

The blue creature with claws instead of hands got surrounded by a blue aura and turned into a mighty centaur made of blue crystal which was wielding a crystal shield and sword. The centaur neighed to Subaru as it sent his Bloody Squito and Maxval back to the boy's hand. Edo then tapped the card and continued saying:

"Ike, Crystal Paladin, break his shield!"

The centaur rushed towards Subaru and slashed one of his shields with its sword. Subaru took the card which was formed from the broken shield's shards to his hand and stared at Edo's creature.

Back at Hanna and Tarja. Hanna took a small break from her narration and was drinking her cup of tea while Tarja was looking at her and feeling sorry for her. As the girl finished her cup, she handed it to Tarja and said:

"Thank you for the tea!"

"You're welcome!" Tarja replied.

"Now where was I?"

"You and Tabitha had returned to the city, seeking revenge for Rezo's death."

"Hah, that was only an excuse for Tabitha-sama to attack Subaru and Tsugumi and tear them apart. But I did not have any direct contact with the two until they ran away from Mutsuhito's mansion. When my new mission was to find and stop Subaru and Tsugumi from running away, I had to face Subaru. I was amazed by his dueling techniques, the cards he used AND his passion for dueling. He was so similar to Ichiro... for a moment I actually thought it was him! But then I lost and I was slowly returning home while still feeling something for the boy which was my enemy. When I returned home, Tabitha-sama cast some strange sand on me and when I woke up I suddenly felt this strange yearning for Subaru's love, and I tried everything to get him. Then he had lost his memories and I was given a chance to start a new life with him. But this chance was gone once you guys made him remember. And the rest is already known by you." Hanna concluded her story.

"Aha! So Tabitha cast a spell on you!" Tarja exclaimed. "Do you know what this means? Your feelings for Subaru were implanted by Tabitha all along! She was the one which made you love him!"

"What?" Hanna burst all of a sudden. "Impossible… Tabitha-sama would never do this to me! But she did cast that sand on me and made me fall asleep."

"I know it's hard, Hanna…"

The blue haired girl then took the tea cup from Tarja's hands and smashed it on the floor. She then hit the bed with her hands wildly. The girl yelled as loud as she could:

"YOU'RE LYING! IT'S A LIE! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE SUCH A THING!"

Back at Subaru and Edo. It was the black haired boy's turn. The boy drew another card, charged mana with it, and showed three cards from his hand while saying:

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! I destroy my Deathraios and your Crystal Paladin and then I evolve the destroyed Deathraios into Death March, Reaper of Death!"

"Wow, look who's rushing now!" Edo said while his Crystal Paladin blew up.

"You're right, Edo-kun, this chosen duelist is one heck of a rusher tonight!" Subaru replied while smiling to his friend. "Trash Train lets me draw 2 cards, and now I attack with Gal Volf, double break his shields!"

The wolf demon jumped in the air and then swinged its four swords once and attacked Edo's shields. The creature slashed two of them and then jumped back to Subaru's field. Edo got surrounded by many shield shards which united in two cards. The brown haired boy took them to his hand and showed one of them to Subaru while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Cuty Heart! Send Trash Train back to his hand!"

A blue cyber virus with a cute yellow eyes and a small pink heart in the middle of its body appeared in the battle zone and flew towards Subaru's red train with feet and hit it with its tentacles. The train disappeared and Subaru took the card in his hand. The black haired boy then tapped another one of his cards and said:

"Death March, break another shield!"

The shield which got broken turned into a card fast and then glowed as Edo took it to his hand and showed it to his opponent.

"Shield trigger, I cast Spiral Gate and send Maxval back to your hand!"

"Heh, nice comeback, Edo-kun!" Subaru said while taking the other card to his hand.

"Now it's time to even the odds! I summon Aqua Hulcus and draw a card! I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace my last shield with a card from my hand! And finally, I summon Aqua Guard!" Edo said and three liquid people creatures appeared behind him. "Ike, Cuty Heart, break his shield!"

The blue cyber virus spinned its tentacles and created a small water tornado which it cast upon Subaru's shields, managing to break one of them. But that shield turned fast into a black card which glowed above Subaru and then many demonic hands appeared behind Subaru and reached for one of Edo's creatures.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit!" Subaru said. "Destroy his Aqua Super Emeral! And now my turn, I summon Hard Demon of Inferno, Biragias and destroy Aqua Guard as well! Ike, Gal Volf, destroy his Cuty Heart!"

The wolf demon attacked the little blue cyber virus with its swords and slashed it into tiny bits. Subaru then ended his turn and Edo drew his next card. The boy charged mana with it and spoke to Subaru with a self confident voice:

"Play time's over, Suby, I summon Aqua Sniper!"

Then a giant dark blue creature made of water, with red eyes, shark like mouth and long blades instead of arms appeared behind Edo and roared. The boy pointed at Subaru's creatures and ordered:

"Snipy, send his Biragias and Death March back to his hand! Atta boy!"

Aqua Sniper slashed the two creatures which yelled and disappeared. Then Edo gave an order to his other creature as well:

"Aqua Hulcus, break his shield!"

Subaru took cover as the green creature made of water rushed towards him and broke another shield of his. He had only two shields left and the situation didn't look that good for him either. Edo had a fair amount of cards in his hand and also had a shield trigger in his last shield because it was a shield put by Aqua Super Emeral's effect. Subaru was in clear danger of losing.

Meanwhile at Hanna and Tarja. Hanna was about to break more stuff in the room due to her hysterical behaviour, but Tarja managed to immobilize her by the back. The girl struggled to get loose, but then Tarja said:

"Think, Hanna! Would breaking stuff change the fact that Tabitha had toyed with your life? Would it cancel all the suffering which took place in your life? I don't think so!"

"SHUT UP! I HAVE NO INTEREST OF LISTENING TO ANY MORE OF YOUR LIES!" Hanna yelled.

"Believe what you want! But still, I have no interest of lying to you..." Tarja said and released Hanna as she saw that the girl started to calm down.

"But why would Tabitha-sama do this to me? After everything we've been through together..."

"She did it to separate Subaru and Tsugumi."

"I still can't accept that that happened! Not after all those good times we've shared together! And still... I don't know what to do: Tabitha-sama is one of the sweetest beings you'll know, even if she's evil. Also, I don't want to hurt my dear Subaru, even if he's still my enemy. I'm torn between being good and evil." Hanna said and covered her face while crying. "Will this pain ever end?"

"She did it! She just did..." Tarja said and put her hand on Hanna's shoulder in an attempt to confort her. "But if you ask me, good people are happier."

"Even so, my Tabitha-sama was always there for me. She offered me shelter, she showed me affection, she was the mother I've never had! No matter what happens, I can't betray her, I simply can't!" Hanna spoke loudly as if she was trying to release an inner demon.

"It's your choice."

Back at Edo and Subaru. The black haired boy was surrounded by the blue shards of the shield which was broken by Edo's Aqua Hulcus. The boy waited for the shards to unite and then stared at the card which floated in front of him. He then spoke to his friend:

"Edo-kun, this card is the one which you've lent me!"

"Huh? Which one? I don't remember lending you any cards…" Edo spoke confused.

"…the card you offered me when we were building this deck tonight! Oh well, I guess it's time to use it!" Subaru said and the card turned its face to Edo as well. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Crystal Memory!"

"Oh, that's the card!" Edo said and slapped his head.

"With its effect I'll search my deck and take a card to my hand!" Subaru said and browsed his deck for a couple of minutes and then selected the card he wanted. "Heh, Edo-kun, I proudly announce you that I've won!"

"W-what?" Edo asked scared.

"My turn, I summon Gajirabute, Vile Centurion!" Subaru said and a horned skull-faced blue demon with angel wings and with a lightning sword in its right hand appeared behind him and roared. "With its effect I will throw your last shield to the graveyard!"

Gajirabute pointed its sword to Edo's last shield and then slashed it. The shield got destroyed and the card from it fell in Edo's graveyard. Edo stared at it, as it was Aqua Surfer, but he couldn't use his precious shield trigger anymore.

"This is it, Edo-kun! Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade, totomeda!" Subaru ordered.

The wolf demon ran towards Edo and hit the boy with only one of its swords. The boy got thrown back a meter and landed on the sand, but didn't have a soft landing. Subaru picked up Edo's deck and then offered it back to his friend. The boy got up and said:

"Well, Suby, your deck seems pretty challenging to me!"

"Thank you, Edo-kun, I couldn't have done it without your help!"

"Anytime, Suby, anytime!"

Back at the vacation house. Things had finally calmed down. Tarja had cleaned up the mess made by Hanna while the blue haired girl stood on her bed and reflected upon everything that happened. She then broke the silence once again by saying:

"Tarja-san, why are you listening to me in the first place? Why am I even worth your time? Am I not the one girl who always stood in the way and who only served evil? Why do you care so much about me?"

"Because I see the good in you…"Tarja replied while throwing the tea cup shards to the trash can.

"There's nothing good in me, I'm nothing but a puppet of an evil witch and there's nothing I can do about it!" Hanna spoke with her saddened voice and was about to burst in tears once again.

"If that was true, you wouldn't even be able to fall in love..." Tarja continued while returning to the room and sitting on a chair.

"Who knows, you might be right. You know, Subaru and Tsugumi are so happy together. I'm the one and only thing standing in their way right now. Do you really think that I should leave them be?"

"Yes, I do. It's going to be better for both sides."

"Subaru..." Hanna sobbed. "If you're saying that my feelings for him are not true love and it's all because of a spell, then I wish to die! I have nothing left in this world to cling to, not even a real love... I'm just a leech sucking the happiness of everyone!"

"It's not true - sooner or later you'll find your true reason to live!" Tarja replied.

"If that time ever comes..."

Before Hanna could even finish what she had to say, a blue portal suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Applauding could be heard from it and soon Tabitha came out with a big smile on her face. Hanna and Tarja stared at her as if they had seen a ghost.

"Such a touching speech, Tarja, it made my black heart melt from its ice and cry with happiness, hahaha!" the witch laughed.

"Hah! Like that could ever happen... I'm wondering if you have a heart at all..." Tarja replied to the witch and gave her a mean stare.

The blonde witch turned her face to Hanna and saw the girl's face red and wet with tears. She then remembered that Subaru had come back to her normal self and she forgot to warn Hanna of that. All of a sudden, Tabitha started feeling sorry for not being for Hanna when the girl needed her the most. But the witch had an argument with Tarja, so she pointed to Hanna with her hand and said:

"I took care of her like my own child. I offered her the love of a mother. This should be enough to prove that I have a tiny heart somewhere deep down inside!"

"Then why did you do this to her?"

"Both of you don't understand the complexity of my spells! You see, that spell couldn't be cast if Hanna didn't feel at least SOMETHING for that boy! Deep down inside, Hanna actually liked Subaru, and my spell just amplified that feeling!"

"You mean that I loved him from the start?" Hanna spoke with a sudden bright smile on her face as she suddenly saw a small ray of light enter the dark world in which she was.

"Just a little bit, but now it seems that you can't live without him." Tabitha remarked.

"But still, why did you do it?" Tarja asked.

"Hanna was alone and sad because of Ichiro's death and she deserved to start a new emotional life. Also, it was the most convenient way of breaking up those two!"

"But you knew it would make Hanna suffer!"

"That never was my intention!" Tabitha tried to defend herself. "I was sure that with Tsugumi out of the picture, Hanna would start a new life with Subaru! It seems that I was wrong and that blondie did it again... Curse her!"

"Love always wins, Tabitha..."

"Between Hanna and amnesiac Subaru it was also love! Why couldn't that win as well?"

"Yeah!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Because that's not TRUE love!" Tarja spoke loudly to both.

Tabitha stared amazed at Tarja. She had rarely seen such a confident and strong mortal. Even though she had no supernatural power, she had the power of speaking and winning in arguments. But even though the witch knew that Tarja was right with some points, she had grown tired of her and started threatening the woman:

"Tsh, don't you offer me lessons about what is true and false love! You do know that you're all alone and that I'd kill you before you can even yell for help, right?"

"I know, but the question is what would you win if you do it?"

"And who said that I intend to kill you? Well, I do, but not now." Tabitha said grinning. "Anyway, you stay out of Hanna's personal life! You have no rights to interfere with her emotional problems!"

"There are things that worth more than my life..."

"Hah, if you say so." Tabitha spoke and then turned to the blue haired girl. "Hanna, it is time for us to leave. I have some stuff for you to do before it's too late!"

"You mean that we must leave... now?" Hanna asked with a shy voice.

"No, in a few months." Tabitha spoke sarcastically, but then turned serious. "Of course now! Are you coming or what?"

Hanna then turned to Tarja and stared at her with her eyes which were dried out of tears. The look in them expressed her confusion and she was indirectly begging Tabitha to help her make the right decision. The girl then responded to Tabitha without turning to her:

"I... don't know what to do."

"It's your choice..." Tarja said.

"What have you done to my Hanna, you manipulating bitch?" Tabitha almost yelled while slowly approaching Tarja.

"Nothing...I just...had a little talk with her..."

"That does it!"

Tabitha then put her hand on Tarja's face and pushed her against the wall. The hand glew with a bright blue light which made her face sting a bit. The witch then chanted a spell:

"Black Hearts, Black Moons,

Seed evil inside this woman!

Make sure she punishes the fools,

And behaves colder than an Iceman!"

While the spell was still taking place, Tabitha spoke in her mind:

"Probably the stupidest rhyme I've made so far..."

Tarja then started feeling something cold and mean deep down inside her. Tabitha then let go of her face and the spell was over. The woman then started looking around all scared and saying:

"Ouch! What was that ? What happened ?"

"This will teach you to interfere with my business. Let's see how people will like you when you'll act worse than a bitch!"

"Shut up, you fucking witch!" Tarja spoke sourly, but then stopped. "... Did I say that ?"

"Hahaha, it's working!" Tabitha laughed and then turned to Hanna. "Let's go now!"

"What did you do to her?" the girl asked worried.

"Nothing awful." Tabitha said and then thought." Not for her body, anyway…"

Tabitha then turned to the portal and made a few steps towards it. She then stopped and spoke to the blue haired girl:

"Make up your mind, Hanna, will you join me or not?"

The girl then closed her eyes. She remembered once again all the beautiful moments spent with Subaru and then the image of Tsugumi also appeared in her mind. The girl then thought that maybe Tabitha could somehow help her get back with Subaru, and that was the moment when she remembered the childhood she spent with the witch. Hanna opened her eyes and clenched her fists while saying:

"I... I'll join you! I can't just abandon you, not after everything you did for me!"

The girl then turned to Tarja and said with a voice filled with regrets:

"Forgive me, Tarja!"

But the woman didn't answer her and that made the girl worry. She feared that the spell might have hurt Tarja in some way. But the girl didn't have time to worry, for she had to follow Tabitha in the portal before it would close. But before they both entered the portal, Tabitha turned back to Tarja and said:

"See you again, Tarja Slutunen!"

The two then entered the portal and that was when it closed. Tarja realized how she was called by the Tabitha and then yelled in a fit of rage:

"I'll kill you stupid witch! How dare you call me that way? "

Meanwhile in the teleporting tunnel where Hanna and Tabitha were. The two were returning to the Geki mansion fast and on their way Tabitha was thinking of what she did to Tarja. She spoke in her mind:

"Hoho, 'stupid' will be one of the cutest words you'll say, Tarja Turunen. Your behavior will be so rejecting that no one will ever want you to be with them ever again! In the first days it won't be noticed, but after about a week you'll be irritated very easily. This is what you get for toying with Hanna and trying to get Subaru and Tsugumi together!"

And so another day had passed. Subaru and Tsugumi were still together, with Edo, Kurumi and Chiharu on their side. Tarja and Awa were also there to help them train the army of rebels. And Hanna had made the decision to return to Tabitha and keep helping the witch, hoping that one day she would win the love of Subaru, for her crush could never die…


	74. Tsugumi's revolt

A month and two weeks passed since Hanna's return to the Geki mansion. Ever since then things went on normally there. A grave-like silence had fallen upon the building since Kurumi and Chiharu weren't there anymore to play, nor Edo and Gola weren't there to turn the TV to the maximum and eat food all day. Mutsuhito had made an official funeral for Gola where he held a speech in which he expressed his 'deep regrets' for his grand-nephew. Also, he declared Aiko his new heir in front of his allies in case Subaru didn't return. From that day Aiko had to endure the same treatment Subaru had. She was locked up in her room and forced to study documents about world leadership and warfare. All that pressure was too much for her and slowly she started to lose her sanity. Mariko wasn't in a better situation than her sister. She wasn't allowed to leave the Geki mansion anymore and all that she could do was to watch TV and to silently pray for a miracle before she went to bed.

Tabitha was still suffering from the wounds caused by Deathliger and the fact that her powers weren't functioning too well. The witch isolated herself in the basement and fell asleep in her healing pool for a long time, but not before she ordered Hanna to not tell a word to anybody about the whereabouts of Subaru and Tsugumi. The blue haired girl did exactly as her master told her and returned to her position as a maid.

Outside the country's borders, Mutsuhito's troops had conquered almost all of Russia, Moscow being the last city to stand up before his troops. The man was watching his army fight against the Russian resistance through his computer for days and was waiting for the moment when he would finally become the leader of the entire Earth. The world as everyone knew it would soon fall into his greedy hands.

At the beach, things went on according to Tsugumi's plan. In those six weeks she managed to train and prepare all the rebels for combat. She had gathered an army of a million people who were more than eager to see their country free once again. It was at that time that Mr Lordi, Amen and OX had returned with a new drummer to their band, Otus! Otus was practically a creature, a mixture of a butcher, an executioner, an alien, a lizard and a zombie. He was a "tough dude", as Mr Lordi described him. Luckily for them, he had managed in just a week to learn all of Lordi's songs on drums, and his beats were powerful and disturbing, adding a new strength to the band's magical sound.

The plans of the actual revolt had been told to them twice and everyone learned them as a devoted Christian learns many prayers. Kurumi and Chiharu had drawn sketches of the Geki mansion and helped Tsugumi prepare an ambush in case Mutsuhito tried to escape. Also, Subaru, under the Leo Reaper disguise, helped Tsugumi train the rebels and give encouraging words whenever some felt weak and vulnerable. While the training process was taking place, Edo and Awa were wandering through the country to steal the rich people's food for the rebels. When they returned, they had enough provisions for a month. The only problem, however, was Tarja. She kept being distant to everyone and when someone would try to strike a conversation, she would sourly say something to insult or humiliate them. Not even when Mr Lordi had returned she didn't feel better. She ignored him, refused to embrace him and walked away without saying a word.

It was a cloudy day. The wind was stronger and more chilling than before. The sea's waves were truly fierce and the sand was getting colder and colder. Despite those inconveniences, Subaru and Tsugumi were on the beach, dressed in thicker clothes, holding each other's hands. Both were so absorbed by the beauty of the moment that it didn't matter anymore how tough their challenges were going to be. Tsugumi then turned to Subaru, who was still staring at the sea, and said:

"Subaru, you've stirred up a wind within yourself, haven't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean, darling?"

"You've used your own strength to create a new hope and future for everyone." Tsugumi said while closing her eyes and imagining the peaceful world she had dreamt of. "But you did it not as Mutsuhito Geki's son, but as Subaru."

The boy smiled and took the girl's hand closer to his body. She turned to him and both waere face to face. Subaru then spoke to Tsugumi with tenderness in his voice:

"You've also lighted a fire in the depth of your heart. May this fire of yours shine in this dark hour and bring us the light of a New Era!"

"So it shall be written and so it shall we done!" Tsugumi replied.

The two lovers approached their faces and slowly kissed, enjoying the taste of each other's mouth. Then they surrounded each other with their arms and created a strong embrace which they hoped to keep them together forever. Those moments spent together seemed like eternity, and the revolution which was knocking at the door seemed years away to them. But then they broke up their hug and admired each other with passion in their eyes. Tsugumi then broke the silence by saying:

"I must go now. The rebels need me."

"Me and Edo-kun must also head for my father's mansion." Subaru replied. "It won't be an easy journey, judging that winter's about to start and it's a long way till there."

"I still don't like the sound of it, Subaru. I'd rather have you battle by my side with Mutsuhito's troops, so that I'd be 100% sure that you're safe."

"Don't worry, Tsugumi, no matter what happens, we'll always be together!" Subaru said and showed the wedding ring on his hand. "For better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

"Until death do us part!" Tsugumi replied and showed Subaru her wedding ring as well.

Meanwhile at the rebels. Each and every one of them was gathered on the beach, for there wasn't enough space in the hotels anymore. There were many camps of rebels in that area, and luckily for them, none of them were spotted by Mutsuhito's robots, as they were busy with conquering the world. As in the center of the beach they made a symbolic camp fire, Tsugumi made her appearance and walked through the crowd until she found herself near that fire. That was when all the attention was turned to her. Everyone watched how she took out her chosen light card, Alphadios, and lift it in the air as the wind blew and made the fire grow larger.

"Even beneath a sky controlled by fate there is enough room for people to exercise their own strength!" Tsugumi said with a loud and firm voice. "This creature which chose me as its owner, Alphadios… I will not use him for killing. I will use him to build a new hope for us all! And with hope we will make our country rise from its ashes!"

Everyone cheered the blonde girl up and rised their fists in the air. Tsugumi then shouted at them with all the power of her lungs:

"DO YOU WANT FREEDOM? THEN FOLLOW ME!"

"WE WILL FOLLOW YOU, TSUGUMI SHIRAYAMA!" everyone responded.

And so the cheering went on for a few more minutes. Then everybody calmed down and listened to Tsugumi's plan one more time. Everyone was eager to win their freedom that they were already packing up their weapons and dueling decks as Tsugumi was mentioning them. When Tsugumi finished her speech, she was showered with applause and could barely make her way out of the crowd. The night was soon falling and the next day was the 1st of December, the day which would mark beginning of the revolution. As Tsugumi was walking back to the UFO, she noticed how the rebels were already going to sleep in their tents. She also saw many of them pull down the curtains of their hotel rooms earlier. It wasn't even sunset, but they knew that they would need all their strength the following day.

On a cliff which was located a few feet from the beach, Edo and Subaru, who was dressed in the Leo Reaper outfit, were watching the resort as the wind was blowing from their behind as if it was begging them to remain there.

"Seems like we won't be sleeping this night, huh?" Edo asked.

"No, it's a long way back to the Geki mansion. If we manage to reach it in at least a week by foot then we should call ourselves lucky!" Subaru replied.

"Are you mad, Suby? We'll starve to death in a week!"

"No, we won't! We can always drop by in the cities and get food from the rebels. In this time of rebellion we will surely find the opportunity to steal some food when nobody is watching."

"Huh? You mean we'll steal the food from the poor citizens? Are you mad, Suby?"

"We will steal the food only if they refuse to feed us. And besides, do you wish to overthrow my father or not?"

"Y-yes, but it seems wrong…" Edo said and stared once again at the resort. "Do you think that Tsugumi will be able to handle a whole revolution by herself?"

"I'm sure she will!" Subaru said and smiled. "When she fights for a cause, she'll take the fight until the end! Until then I will be waiting and doing my job."

Subaru then turned and started walking to the east.

"Come, Edo-kun, our future awaits us!"

"W-wait for me, Suby!" Edo replied and ran after his friend.

The night passed slowly for everyone. Many rebels were overexcited and could not sleep. Same was for the Lordi monsters, they just stood up and counted the seconds until sunrise since they weren't tired at all. Tsugumi, on the other hand, slept like a baby. It was such a peaceful and silent night that nothing could be able to wake her up.

The morning came and many loud noises were populating the resort. The rebels were gathering up their stuff and getting ready for the grand day. In just an hour they all managed to be aligned in front the entrance of the resort. The number was so big that you couldn't see anything for more than ten kilometers from the resort. Then Kokujo's UFO appeared above them and a ray descended from it. Through that ray Tsugumi was transported in front of the army. The girl gave a fierce stare at them all and then spoke:

"My dear friends, today we rewrite history! Follow me on the path to victory!"

Everyone shouted loudly and so it began. Tsugumi started walking towards the rising of the sun and everyone followed her. In two days they went through many villages and even more people had joined them on their quest. The army was getting bigger and bigger by day and the rebellion was just around the corner.

But rumours about the rebellion started throughout the cities and soon Mutsuhito had heard of them as well from a robot.

"There are rumours between the peasants that Tsugumi Shirayama and the five Lordi monsters are marching towards the capital with the intentions of starting a rebellion, sir. Shall I prepare a troop in case they are true?"

"Where have our centurions last seen Tsugumi Shirayama, soldier?"

"A spy had seen her and a large group of people in a village located near the seaside."

"Tsugumi Shirayama…" Mutsuhito silently spoke to himself and then he yelled to the robot. "Prepare your troops for battle! Go to the nearest city where they could be marching and greet them! I want the Shirayama girl captured at all costs!"

The robot did as commanded and it was a matter of hours until the city nearest to the seaside got populated with robots. The humans realized immediately that the only reason they were on martial law was because a revolution was about to rise. They didn't want to waste any more time and started throwing with rocks and pieces of metal at the robots which were gathered at the entrance of the city. No matter how much they tried to arrest them, they couldn't intimidate them anymore. Slowly, the robots lost their concentration on Tsugumi's arrival and started fighting the humans. But little did they know that the small fight would soon signal the dawn of the greatest showdown ever known to their country.

"Throw down your weapons and go home!" a robot ordered the humans.

"We won't!" a man answered.

"Tsugumi Shirayama is coming and we will support her!" another added.

"Isn't about time they arrived?" the first robot asked another.

"They are here!" the robot replied in a shout and pointed at the sea of people which was approaching the town with speed.

From the western mountains an avalanche of humans was rushing towards the town. A few robots mobilized and were about to fire lasers on them, but then they were caught by the town's people which were rioting. As the confrontation was taking place, Tsugumi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped on the robot leader. As the robot fell on the ground, so did most of his soldiers. The robot stared with fear at the girl as she took out her deck and challenged him to a duel. It didn't take much time until the whole crowd was amazed by Tsugumi's dueling techniques and the creatures she summoned. An angel made of gold appeared behind Tsugumi and spread its pure white feathers as a bright light covered her and the robot.

"I evolve Ultimus into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits!" Tsugumi said. "Your time's up, iron head! Alcadeias, totomeda!"

The mighty angel raised its left hand in the air and filled it with a powerful light beam. Alcadeias aimed at the robot and casted the light beam, managing to destroy the machine as soon as the attack took place. As the duel was over, Tsugumi turned to the crowd of citizens and stood in front of them with all her might. One of them shouted:

"It's Tsugumi Shirayama!"

The shout was followed by an enormous cheer and a wave of applauses. Then silence fell once again for Tsugumi to hold her speech:

"Citizens of this country, in order to bring Mutsuhito Geki down once and for all, I, Tsugumi Shirayama have rised from the grave in which the tyrant had thrown me! Those of the same heart, let's fight together!" Tsugumi said and then turned to the robots. "Soldiers of Mutushito Geki, set aside your weapons and go now! Give up the battle and we will not harm you! For the president does not rule this country, the people do!"

Another round of cheers and applauses came from the citizens and from the army of rebels. Then, all of a sudden, a strange figure dressed in a black hooded robe and with a golden mask on appeared out of nowhere and jumped near Tsugumi. Everyone was shocked of seeing such a thing, but then they recognized the stranger.

"It's the Leo Reaper!" a man from the crowd said.

The Leo Reaper turned to the crowd and stared at them just like a king stared at his loyal servants. Tsugumi made a step closer to him and whispered to his ear:

"I thought you were on your way to the Geki mansion, Subaru."

"I'll be on my way, Tsugumi, but not until I make the Leo Reaper's position in this revolution clear to everybody." he whispered back.

The Leo Reaper then made a few steps towards the ocean of people which was surrounding both him and Tsugumi and spoke:

"Inhabitants of this country, as the news of Tsugumi Shirayama's revolt came to my ears, I could not stand missing all the action. I hereby declare that I am totally supporting her and her cause! Her intentions are noble and she doesn't care only for her revenge on the Gekis, she also cares for all the poor people which have suffered as much as she did or even worse! So let's all join her and together we will surely be able to outstand Mutsuhito Geki and his troops!"

Everyone started cheering the names of Tsugumi and the Leo Reaper and the two responded to them with smiles. But then a robot rised out of the metallic army and flew in front of the two. The robot fired a beam from its eyes which took the shape of a hologram of Mutsuhito. As the people saw him, they all started booing him.

"Tsugumi Shirayama and Leo Reaper, it seems that you've both managed to fool the people that I, their democraticly elected leader, am somehow a maniacal tyrant which is living on the cost of their lives, but everything's a lie! All the food, water, electricity and other resources that were taken were used for the benefit of our soldiers who are fighting in the Middle East and…"

"Liar! Everyone knows that you're using your robot troops to conquer the whole world!" Tsugumi spoke indignated.

"Yeah!" a part of the crowd yelled.

"And besides, robots do not need food and water!" Tsugumi continued and the crowd yelled even louder at their president.

Mutsuhito stared outraged at the people and was thinking of ordering all his robots to annihilate them at once. But he tried to calm down his temper as he saw the Leo Reaper approach his hologram. The man stared at him with eyes filled with hate and said:

"And you, pale shadow of justice, what do you want?"

"This shadow is about to bring light in the darkness from which it originates!" the Leo Reaper replied and suddenly pulled off his mask.

Everyone stared shocked at the hero as he also pulled off his hood and let his long black hair fall upon the robe of the same color. He then rised his head triumphantly and thus revealed his identity.

"It's Mutsuhito Geki's son!" a voice came from the crowd.

"The Leo Reaper was the heir of the Gekis all this time?" another voice resounded.

"Father, I hereby declare that from now on I am siding with the people!" Subaru spoke firmly. "I am no longer under your authority and I will do whatever it takes to make your tyranny disappear into the dark pages of history!"

Subaru then took Tsugumi's left hand into his right hand and both made another step towards the hologram. Then he concluded his speech:

"Together we will defeat you! Our love shall triumph over all!"

Mutsuhito couldn't believe what he was seeing. His own son had officially joined the rebellion against him and was also back on Tsugumi's side. The man felt his stomach burning, his head aching and his whole body boiling. Mutsuhito made a step back and stared at both Subaru and Tsugumi with the face of a psychopath. He then growled in the microphone:

"You two… you will never bring me down! If I must, I'll kill you both! You two brats will NEVER destroy the power of the Gekis, NEVER! ROBOTS, SEIZE THEM!"

And so the bloodbath began. The robots tried to fire lasers upon Subaru and Tsugumi, but then a few people jumped in front of them and took the hits instead. The other men either attacks the robots with full force or challenged them to duels. Subaru and Tsugumi didn't want to miss all the action and joined the others in duels as well. It was a long and bloody battle. It took nearly ten humans to fall in order to bring down a robot, both in fights and duels. Their luck was that they had Lordi on their side. The monsters appeared just in time for rocking the hell out of the army of robots. Along with their new drummer, Otus, they played a variety of songs which managed to destroy the circuits of most of those machines and to ease the humans' battle.

By sunset there were only a few robots left. They were easily defeated by the humans. The last two of them stared scared at Subaru and Tsugumi as they gave the final attack orders to their creatures:

"XENOM, the Reaper King, totomeda!" Subaru ordered.

"Bolpheus Heaven, Holy Super Dragon, totomeda!" Tsugumi ordered.

The robots were defeated and the first battle of the revolution resulted in a victory for Tsugumi and the rebels. As everyone was enjoying their triumph and the freedom for their city, Subaru turned to Tsugumi and said:

"I must go now."

"Why? Why must you always be a loner and have me worry about you?"

"It hurts me too that we have to be apart, but I am doing it for the sake of us all. Tsugumi, I swear to you that I will return to you safe and sound and that we will build a new world for us together!"

"Then go, Subaru, and remember that I'll always be waiting for you!"

Subaru nodded to the girl and then ran away and disappeared between the buildings. He rushed in a suburb where Edo was waiting for him. The brown haired boy didn't say anything to Subaru, for he had witnessed everything that happened that day in the city. All he did was to greet the black haired boy with a smile and then continue their journey.

A week passed since that day and the revolution continued. Tsugumi's army of rebels grew considerably and they kept marching from city to city, defeating Mutsuhito's robots and freeing their fellow citizens. Very soon it couldn't have been considered a revolt, but a rising of the whole nation against one man. And even though there were cities who were still under Mutsuhito's law, the inhabitants were starting street fights with the robots in the hope that they would be weakened when Tsugumi and her army would arrive.

And so night came once again upon the lands, as it did for hundreds of centuries. Tsugumi, Kurumi, Chiharu, Tarja and the Lordi monsters were hanging out in the UFO and planning the future movements of the rebellion.

"It seems that some of the robots who are trying to enforce martial law in the cities close to us are either surrendering or deactivating themselves." Mr Lordi said and pointed to a screen where the deadcivated bodies of the robots could be seen.

"Even a part of Mutsuhito's political allies have started betraying him by secretly offering aid to our rebels." Amen added.

"The way this rebellion is moving is too fast, don't you think?"

"I agree with you, Kurumi-san, but there's nothing we can do about it." Tsugumi said. "This revolt was imminent anyway. Everyone wanted Mutsuhito to fall. All I did was to give them the starting signal and thus I unleashed the unevitable revolution. I deserve no credit for such a thing."

"You're wrong! You've done more than enough for the revolution, Tsugumi!" Awa replied. "The rebels are looking up to you as a leader and as a true warrior! You are their example! If you should fall, a thousand will also fall for you and pull with them as many of Mutsuhito's forces as well. You've grown up so much in these last months, Tsugumi!"

"Yeah." Tarja agreed while sitting in the corner with her arms crossed.

"Gee, thanks." Tsugumi said and blushed.

Later that night everyone went to sleep, for they had a new battle and another city to free the following day. On the other hand, Tsugumi took a shower and was still awake. She was sitting in her room with only a towel on her and was drying her hair when someone knocked at the door.

"May I come in, Tsugumi?" Tarja asked from the other side of the door.

"Alright." the girl replied.

The woman opened the door and entered quickly in the room. She had her hair all messed up, her clothes were untidy and her face looked tired. Tarja sat on Tsugumi's bed and directly spoke to the girl:

"Tsugumi, I need to talk to you. There's something..."

"Sure." Tsugumi replied with her cheerful voice and stopped the dryer. "But did you bring my pijamas? I can't go to sleep with this towel on, now can I?"

"I'm sorry, Tsugumi, I forgot... I'm not okay these days." the woman said with a disturbed tone in her voice.

"No worries, it's pretty hot in here for me to sleep naked, huh?" Tsugumi joked and then started combing her hair. "Anyway, what was that problem?"

"Haven't you noticed? My behaviour. There's something wrong with me."

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I've been busy with organizing the rebellion and all... I've almost forgot that you didn't want to greet Mr Lordi when he came back! Also, when somebody wanted to talk to you, you'd speak to them with a sour voice and tell them to leave you alone. Why's that?"

Suddenly, many images which seemed to be buried deep inside Tarja's past appeared in her mind. She remembered how coldly she had greeted Mr Lordi, how she had argued with Subaru for not having helped them with the revolution preparations and how badly she had insulted Awa for only pointing out some random things. She was looking back at the past weeks and couldn't believe what she had become.

"I...I... I don't know!" Tarja bursted into tears. "Somethimes I just...can't control myself and not only - I speak words that I've never imagined I'd use!"

Tsugumi got up from her chair and sat on the bed next to Tarja. She put her hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her.

"Now now... you shouldn't be worrying about this now!" Tsugumi said and tried to change the discussion's subject. "Now tell me, when is your wedding with Mr Lordi taking place? Next week or after the rebellion?"

"I wanted to talk to Mr. Lordi about that." Tarja said and got up. "Because I think it should be after the rebellion, but now... now I'm scared even to say 'Hello' to him! I try not to talk to him at all, because God knows what I might say... I don't want him to notice what's happening, I don't want to dissapiont him!"

"I'm sorry to hear that... I would really love to help you, Tarja-san, but this is beyond me." Tsugumi replied and got back on her chair to comb her hair. "I don't know what's going on inside you, so I can't pronounce myself for sure! All I can say is that Mr Lordi had already arranged everything and in seven days your wedding will take place! Shall I tell him to cancel it?"

"No, don't tell him anything!" Tarja almost yelled while putting a desperate look on her face. "This would make things more complicated!"

"Ok." Tsugumi said and stopped combing. "Would you mind combing my hair? It's grown so much that it's getting hard for me to do it by myself."

"I'm afraid you shouldn't count on me... even for that!" Tarja replied and offered the comb back to the blonde girl.

"Come on! It shouldn't be THAT hard..."

"I'm scared I might go out of my mind and hurt you!"

Tarja started crying once again. She felt miserable, horrible, mean, her heart was in pain. The woman couldn't recognize herself and was wondering when and how could she change so easily.

"Come on, that's not that Tarja I know! The Tarja I know wouldn't cry so much like a baby! She would step up and face the hard reality, no matter how tough it may be! That's the Tarja which I've met six months ago when I was running away from the Geki mansion!"

"But now it's different...Now I'm scared...scared of myself!"

Not even Tsugumi's encouraging words were warm enough to melt the ice in her heart. The woman came to the girl in the first place because she thought that she would find some semblance in Tsugumi's words, but instead she found encouragement words from a girl which deep inside felt almost the same as her, but still in a different way. She knew that all she could do was to agree with whatever Tsugumi said from that point and then go back to suffering in silence.

"There is nothing to worry about, relax!" Tsugumi said and put her hand on Tarja's shoulder. "I still see the good in you, inside you're the same person I've always known! Now stop acting like a crybaby!"

"You're right...I have to stop crying and start acting like nothing's wrong." Tarja said with a firm voice.

"But sometimes... it's hard to act tough, too!" Tsugumi replied while turning to the window with her towel falling off her, but also with tears falling from her eyes. "The moon is so beautiful this night, yet my Subaru is far far away, God knows where, looking for Mutsuhito. It's so lonely without him... so painful! You're the lucky one, Tarja, at least you have your loved one close to you and you don't have to worry about his safety."

"Yeah, I have him close, when I have to stay away from him..."

"And I have Subaru far away from me when I need him to be close to me in these hard times. It seems that somehow we're pretty much the same, right?"

"I don't think so... I think we're opposite...still, one thing's the same - the pain."

"Yeah. Anyway..." Tsugumi murmured and touched her skin. "Hah, how ironic. It's been more than a week since the revolution started, yet my body has no scratch. It's as intact as a newborn's skin."

"But...how?"

"When anyone dared to attack me, someone always had to stand in front of me or behind me and take the hit instead of me. Some even died because of that... this is why I think I don't deserve to be the leader of this revolution! Too many people have died because of my incapacity to protect myself!"

"But who else could be the leader, if not you?"

"Anybody could be! Everyone has the determination to defeat Mutsuhito and the dream of a free country. And planning these strategic attacks are really easy since we have Kurumi and Chiharu who spoiled us information about Mutsuhito's guard. So, in fact, my presence is pretty useless..."

"Not true - they need a leader,someone to believe in!" Tarja exclaimed.

"Yet their leader is just a normal girl who is longing for a boy, and the only reasons for which she entered the battle were to win back the boy she loved and to avenge her family. Let's face it, I'm in this whole business just because of my personal interests!" Tsugumi spoke with a pessimistic voice.

"As all others..."

"No, the others are in it to free their country. And had it not been for my family problems and Mutsuhito's, the country would never have been in this whole mess!"

"By freeing their country, they free themselves."

"Still..." Tsugumi said while falling on her bed and covering herself with the sheets. "It's so lonely without Subaru... I want this pain to end! I want to close my eyes and have all the suffering around me disappear! I can't take it anymore..."

Tarja could hear sobs from Tsugumi. They were the same sobs she had earlier. It seemed that she was right: they were so alike, yet so different. The woman tried to comfort Tsugumi, even if she knew that it would have the same impact on her.

"He'll be back soon and everything will be okay. This will soon be over. At least your problems would end..."

"If this would be soon... I'm starting to lose my patience!" Tsugumi said and looked at the ceiling. "Mutsuhito... why must you cause us so much pain? Why must you do so when you've also suffered?"

"Because this is what he's meant to do." Tarja answered with a rather cold voice.

"If you say so..." Tsugumi said and turned to look at the clock. "It's getting late! I guess I should go to sleep now."

"I'll leave you... before I go mad again..." Tarja replied and turned to the door.

"Take care and good night!"

"Good night, Tsugumi! And don't worry - everything will be alright... at least for you."

The woman got out of the room and the mechanical doors closed by themselves. As Tarja was walking back to her room, she reflected upon her conversation with Tsugumi. The woman smiled a bit, thing which never happened ever since the day Tabitha cast that spell on her. But that smile faded as she felt a sudden pain strike her heart. Soon the coldness reappeared and she started being irritated once again. Thus she went to sleep and when she closed her eyes she hoped that one day she would get rid of that inner pain which was torturing her.

And so another day came. The rebels kept attacking and freeing cities, approaching the capital and the Geki mansion slowly and effectively. The more people joined their army, the more robots fell under them. There weren't good news from the other sides of the world either. Revolutions began in the United States, Brazil, Unighted Kingdom, Russia, Australia and South Africa. People were fighting Mutsuhito's troops with everything they had and there was nothing that could stop them. It was a nightmare for Mutsuhito. The man was watching how his kingdom was slowly breaking just like a porcelain statue which is broken a thousand times until there are only atomic particles left of it. The more he looked at the maps, the crazier he got. The yellow spots which indicated the territories under rebellion were growing into giant eggs on every continent. Australia was freed, half of Europe was still fighting, the U.S. had already freed itself and was aiding the other countries from the American continent. same for Russia and the Asian continent. Africa still had 75% of it under Mutsuhito's law, but its countries weren't developped enough for Mutsuhito to turn them into military bases and organize a comeback. And to make matters worse, Tsugumi and her army of rebels were at a few days' distance from him. He had to act quickly if he wished to accomplish his goals.

That day Mutsuhito organized a meeting with his political allies, the only people which got a small part of his wealth and food and who were still of high rank above the citizens. They were all gathered in the living room which was renovated after Mutsuhito's duel with Gola. Everything that made it elegant: the pictures, the statues, the rugs, even the fountain were all gone. There were only chairs and tables in it and also the couch and TV. Mariko was sitting between the guests while Aiko was in the center of the crowd along with Mutsuhito. Both of the girls were dressed in their finest dresses while Mutsuhito was dressed in his usual formal clothing.

"We are completely under siege. Our supplies of basic necessity, food especially, will not last long." Aiko read from a speech paper prepared by Mutsuhito.

"Then let's attack them with everything we've got! What else is the president's army of robots for?" a man suggested.

"A great number of citizens are cooperating with the rebels. The difference in numbers is overwhelming. Attacking them would be sheer lunacy." Aiko explained.

"We won't know until we try it!" the man continued.

"The moment we send all of our remaining troops to aid the ones from the other cities, they'll clearly be surrounded by the giant mass of people. And once they're through with them, they'll come after us. We'll be merely showing them our throats while we're unable to properly counterattack."

Mutsuhito was growing more nervous the more he heard Aiko speaking. The man was clearly not impressed of his daughter's pessimistic attitude. But then an idea flashed through his mind and he spoke to the people:

"But what if there are no citizens to help the rebels at all? I say we destroy them all!"

"What?" everyone shouted and some guests even spat their drinks.

"Let's send our troops to bomb the central and western sides of the country until there are no more living beings! This will end it all." Mutsuhito said and grinned. "It's simple. Don't you all agree?"

Everyone was shocked by the words they were hearing from their president's mouth. They would never have expected to see him wishing to sacrifice half of his country for the sake of his leadership. Aiko then snapped out of it as she saw Mutsuhito look at her with his mean eyes. The girl turned to the guests and said:

"Those in favor of the president's motion, raise your hands!"

Mariko quickly raised her hand up, for she feared hers and her sister's safety. But the guests did not raise their hands. Seeing that he was losing his power even upon his own allies, Mutsuhito left the room without saying a word.

The head of the Geki family walked through the hall until he reached the elevator. Then he descended to the basement and went through a darker hall until he reached Tabitha's room. He opened the doors and saw the witch sleeping all naked in her magical pool. Mutsuhito shaked her body and shouted angrily:

"Wake up, foolish witch! I have no time for your games!"

"What is it, Mutsuhito? Can't a witch recover her powers peacefully?" Tabitha said and got up.

"I need you right now, so don't you give me your 'I'm tired' excuses, or else you'll regret it!" the man continued.

Meanwhile at the plains from the Geki domain. Subaru and Edo had finally reached them after days of walking through many cities under revolt. It was a hard journey, but the hardest was yet to come. As the two boys were approaching the gardens and the mansion, a handful of guard robots appeared out of nowhere and stopped them.

"Halt! Who dares to step foot on the Geki domain?"

"Robot Commander, I am Subaru Geki. Where is my father?"

"S-Subaru-sama!" the robot exclaimed.

Back at the Geki mansion, the people were still waiting for Mutsuhito to return and tell them his next plan. After many minutes of anxiety, their president finally returned, and with a strange blonde old woman which was dressed in a jean jacket and white shirt.

"Haha, who is this old hag, Mutsuhito? Your great grandmother?" one of the men laughed and others did the same.

"Heh, we'll see who laughs now!" Mutsuhito replied and pointed with two of his fingers to the man which talked to Aiko and the one who started the wave of laughter.

In the next moment Tabitha fired two lightnings from her hands and they pierced through the two men's bodies. They fell in a pool of blood and died at that instant. Mutsuhito grinned as he saw the crowd staring at him with fear, including Aiko and Mariko. The man then spoke to his guests:

"These two are taking a permanent recess. Now, who is in favor of my motion?"

Everyone raised their hands in fear.

"Passed unanimously. Now go and bring peace and order back in the world!" Mutsuhito said and turned to Aiko. "Aiko, my daughter, I place you and Mariko in command of the robot troops. Make sure you two perform your duty well!" Mutsuhito again walked away from the room, this time being followed by Tabitha. "Today's meeting has ended!"

Tabitha teleported back to the basement as soon as Mutsuhito allowed her. As she reached it, she looked at her hands and saw that she had black marks which looked like burns.

"Oh no, I've forced myself too much. I knew it was too early to get out of the pool." Tabitha said and rapidly made her clothes disappear. "I might lose my powers and even die if I keep forcing myself like this!" she continued and then jumped into the pool. "Mutsuhito, your rule is coming to an end and you know it. If I wouldn't be here to help you all the time like a puppet, you'd be a goner. I wonder how much must I continue with this plan... I hope it won't be too late for me."

Meanwhile, upstairs, the politicians were all running from the mansion. Their fear could be senced miles away. Edo was sitting outside and chatting with the robots while Subaru was allowed to enter the mansion. The black haired boy rushed through the corridors but stopped once they saw the crowd of people trying desperately to escape. Subaru glanced at them for a second and then the boy continued to run until he accidentally met with Mutsuhito and Aiko.

"Father!" Subaru exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Subaru." Mutsuhito said and got a surprised look on his face.

"S-Subaru! How dare you return to our mansion, traitor! Get out of here immediately!"

"I'm afraid not, Aiko. There are things I must do here."

"Don't misconstrue. I gave you an order." Aiko said and smiled evily. "Afterall, I'm the daughter and the only heir Mutsuhito Geki will ever need!"

"His... daughter? You?" Subaru spoke while being greatly surprised of what he was hearing.

"Precisely." Aiko spoke triumphantly. "Don't continue thinking that you're the only one who's special and..."

"What are you doing?" Mutsuhito intrerrupted the girl. "Stop arguing and carry out the orders which I've given you."

"Y-yes, father! Immediately."

Aiko ran way from the scene and disappeared in a matter of seconds. Now there were only the father and the son left to face each other.

"What is your business?" Mutsuhito asked with a bored voice.

"Please give up both your positions as the president of this country and the leader of the world." the boy requested.

"Has the war driven you mad, Subaru?"

"You're the one who's been driven mad by the war!"

"What?"

"No one stands by you any longer." Subaru said and looked at a window to see the flying cars and rockets take away from the mansion. "The politicians flee from you and the people hate and have abandoned you. A big part of your army has fallen under the strength of the rebels. You have lost everything. No... You never had anything to begin with. What do you hold in your hand now?"

Mutsuhito got an angry expression on his face. He couldn't believe that his own son had turned from his side and was working to bring him down. And to make matters worse, his son was reminding him of Tarja Turunen, because both were annoying him with their speeches.

"I do not think that a person who must bring war and death to achieve power has the right to be called president, yet again leader of the world!" Subaru spoke with a fierce voice.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Mutsuhito laughed arrogantly. "What a naive and ignorant child you are... YOU SHOULD KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!"

Mutsuhito tried to hit Subaru, but the boy moved away and the only thing the man could feel on his fist was his son's long black hair. Then the man calmed down and spoke to his son:

"Come with me. I will show you my true intentions."

Mutsuhito turned his back on his son and walked down the corridor. Subaru stared at him for a moment and then followed him. They went down to the basement by the elevator. Then they walked through the dark corridor which was lighted only by torches which were being held by the angel statues from the supporting pillars. Mutsuhito then stopped in front of a giant door on which the mark of the light civilisation was on the left side and the mark of the darkness civilisation was on the right side. Mutsuhito pushed the door open and entered a dark and obscure room which was filled with many spell books, ancient documents, jars with todes, spiders and other ingredients, old amulets, a bowl sitting in the north-east corner of the room and a mirror being stuck on the west-side wall. In the middle of the room was a pool with enchanted water in which an old lady was lying.

"All of this... What is this?" Subaru asked.

"This is the secret chamber of Tabitha Lenox, the witch which helps me." Mutsuhito answered and walked to the pool.

"T-Tabitha?" Subaru spoke shocked as he remembered the image of Tabitha flying away from him and his Deathliger at the beach.

"Tabitha is the source of all our wealth. Had I not found her, we would have never been here." Mutsuhito said and remembered the rainy night when he came across the injured Tabitha Lenox which was lying in the bushes and waiting for her death. "I offered her shelter and she offered me everything I have ever dreamed of. She united me with the survivors of the Geki family, helped me become a politician once again, casted her spells upon the elections so that I could win, brought me inside the White House and murdered the president of the United States, multiplied my robots a million times and created the greatest mechanical army ever known to man, and finally, tried to separate you from that Shirayama girl in order for you to follow your true destiny!"

"What? Father... you mean that all this evil happened because you accidentally found Tabitha and rescued her from an imminent death?"

"Yes, Subaru, and look at me now, I am the strongest man on the planet! And you, a Geki, will inherit Tabitha's power once I retire and you take command of the world! That is how I show my parental love to you, Subaru, by offering you the world on a golden plate."

Subaru stared at his father with an almost dumb face. From that moment, nothing about Mutsuhito could surprise the boy anymore. Subaru replied to his father with a saddened voice:

"You are to be pitied."

"What? Is that the face you show to your father?" Mutsuhito yelled and grabbed Subaru by his neck. "Ungrateful son, I did all this for you and you still dare to defy me?"

"Y-you n-never d-did a-anything for me..." Subaru tried to speak. "Y-you only cared for yourself."

Mutsuhito threw Subaru against a wall and then turned to the pool. He walked to the side where Tabitha was resting and shook the witch in order to wake her up.

"Tabitha, get up at this instant!"

"What do you want now, Mutsuhito?" the witch replied and only got her head and arms up from the water. "Oh, what is Subaru doing here?"

"Forget him. I want you to cast a spell upon this whole country which will stop this rebellion once and for all! Do anything: rains of fire, tidal waves, poisoned air, ANYTHING will do!"

"The problem is that my powers are too weak to do any of the things you've mentioned. It will take me at least a month to recover and..." Tabitha said but then she got Mutsuhito's hands on her neck.

"If you wish to see the daylight again, do whatever it takes to stop the rebellion!" Mutsuhito growled to the witch.

"Ok, ok, I'll see what I can do!"

Mutsuhito let Tabitha free and the witch gasped for air. As she could breathe again, she made a book of spells from the table fly in her hands. She opened it and searched for an easy spell which would fit the situation in which they were in. As she found it, she let the book float right in front of her face. Tabitha started chanting the words from the book:

"Senex terram

Audite vocem meam

Movere corpus

Et mundus transibit!"

Two bright green rays fell from Tabitha's hands into the ground. In the next moment the whole country got shook by a powerful earthquake. Great panic got installed among the cities. As people were wondering what was going on, at the Geki mansion, Mutsuhito's laughs were resounding throughout the whole building.

"Hahahahahaha! This is it, they shall all fall at my feet like the ants they are! Hahahahahaha!"


	75. The first snowfall

Mutsuhito was more than happy when he saw that Tabitha's earthquake spell was taking place in the whole country. He could observe on her magic mirror how every city in the country was being destroyed by the catastrophe. The image of the poor citizens dying under the buildings was candy to his eyes.

"Ahahahaha, this is it, they'll all perish! Once Aiko leads my robot army to attack the Shirayama girl, my order will be reestablished! You shall all die in the name of Mutsuhito Geki!"

Tabitha fell in her pool once again and gasped for her. Her body was getting more and more exhausted. The witch looked at Mutsuhito and hoped for him to leave her alone so that she could recover, and to her luck, he did just that. The witch sighed in relief and closed her eyes. But just then, Hanna rushed in the room.

"Tabitha-sama, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on. Mutsuhito's gotten mad! He had ordered me to destroy the country, thing which I can't do because of my weakened powers, so I had to please him with this earthquake spell."

"But you said you needed rest, Tabitha-sama."

"I do need rest, Hanna, but what can I do? That madman is pushing me to my limits just to do his bid. I fear my body won't be able to take much more of this."

"And to think that you got all of this from Deathliger's attacks."

"Don't be silly, Hanna, that feline wasn't the only reason I'm in this situation. I am a witch, and even we have certain periods in our life when we are weaker, just like all life beings. But this just had to happen in the most inopportune moment!"

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Hanna asked and approached the pool.

"Well, a massage would be pretty good for my old bones. But be careful, an earthquake might strike from moment to moment, so you'll have to hold on tight to something."

While Hanna and Tabitha were having their chat, Subaru woke up and managed to sneak out of the basement without being noticed. The boy rushed back to the first floor to find his father.

Meanwhile at the rebels. They were at a few feet distance from the capital, but they could hear screams from it and see buildings fall.

"How terrible." Awa said.

"The city is badly damaged." Mr Lordi added.

"From the looks of it, the robots won't be able to hold resistance in the capital, so I suggest aiding the citizens." Kurumi said.

"Heh, you don't have bad ideas at all for a human."

"Mr Lordi, don't underestimate us humans."

"I believe you. Human females are very surprising indeed." Mr Lordi said and then stared at Tarja. "I only wish she wasn't filled with bad surprises."

Just then another earthquake struck. The rebels were lucky to have been outside of the city, but inside the capital the screams were just intensifying. There was nothing anyone could do but wait for the natural calamity to stop.

At the opposite entrance of the capital, Aiko and Mariko were approaching it with the last robot army Mutsuhito had. The robots then stopped in front of the city as the earthquake ceased.

"What happened, sister?"

"I don't know, Mariko." Aiko said and turned to the robots. "What are you all doing? The cameras say that the rebels are here. Hurry up and blast this city to pieces, as my father, the president, commands!"

The robots nodded and flew in the skies of the capital. Two of them were holding Aiko and Mariko tight so that they could receive direct orders from the place of battle.

Back to the rebels. They had managed to enter the capital once the earthquake was gone. Mr Lordi gave order for everyone to aid the wounded citizens. Kurumi and Awa had quickly set up a small camp where the wounded were healed. In the meantime, a part of the rebel army went to search for the remaining robots so that they could get rid of that problem once and for all.

"We have food and medicine ready!" Mr Lordi shouted to the group of people waiting in front of the 'hospital' camp. "Come in nicely and slowly, there's enough for everyone!"

"Take the injured over there!" Awa said and pointed to many beds where Kurumi was checking patients. "There are more than we anticipated."

"Yeah, we'll need to find more shelter. Tonight the first snow falls." Mr Lordi replied.

Just then a couple of explosions resounded through the city. Fire could be seen rising in the eastern side. Also, a group of people, mostly being rebels, were rushing towards the camp while screaming for help.

"This is bad." Awa said and got up.

"If the wind fans the fire, we'll be pushed out of the capital." Mr Lordi continued and then turned to the rest of his band. "Amen, OX, Otus, gather the people up and prepare to fight the fire!"

"Oh yeah, it's show time!" OX exclaimed.

"Ah, at last I'll be able to show them my abilities." Otus added.

"Alright, let's go, guys!" Amen said and all three of them ran to the rebels.

Night had fallen upon the lands, and at the Geki mansion, the mighty building was looking ugly because of the darkness. Its walls were painted outside in such a way that it could only shine in the day, but look horrible in the night. At the balcony of the first floor Subaru was watching the capital with a special binocular which could help him see at distances of tenths of miles.

"W-What's this? The capital… is burning?"

"Hahaha, yes!" Mutsuhito said and came out on the balcony from the dark of the room. "Burn! You shall all burn! O, sweet flames, burn this sinful land with your might and purify it after your will! Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!"

"Can it be… that fire and those explosions… are your doing?" Subaru yelled.

"Hehehe, I'll seek to eliminate all those who dare to overthrow my order. It's the only way an ignorant bastard like me can rule over you pathetic animals!"

Mutsuhito laughed loudly in front of his son like the psychopath he was. Subaru's face got filled with anger and the boy growled inside. Then he rushed to his father and in just a second had both his hands on his white shirt.

"It's because of people like you that the world is so sinful!"

"I'm no ordinary man. Call me 'president'." Mutsuhito calmly replied.

"You're no president!" Subaru yelled.

"Then call me 'supreme ruler of the world'!"

Subaru saw the blank stare in Mutsuhito's eyes. He could see that all the horrible stuff that had happened in his father's life was taking over him. Those eyes didn't belong to a human being anymore. Subaru calmly let go of his father and said:

"You're no longer my father… From this day on I am Subaru Hanzou!"

Subaru walked back inside the mansion and Mutsuhito stared at him for a moment. The man then closed his eyes and remembered the first time when he had Subaru in his arms as a baby, the times when he would run with Subaru on his shoulders in the garden, the times when he and Subaru would swim together in a race the mansion's pools and the first time Subaru started dueling. Tarja's words suddenly struck his mind. _"Your wife's dead, but you still have a son! He's the only thing she left you with. Keep him! Get his love back! And your wife would be proud of you." _Mutsuhito laughed a bit and murmured:

"Hah, like I even needed him. As long as I have my precious power, I need no foolish humans to stay by my side!"

Mutsuhito then turned to the west and stared at the smokes which were coming from the capital. The man reached his hands in the air and growled like a monster:

"Burn! Die and be gone, damned ghosts of the Shirayamas!"

Meanwhile at the capital's outskirts. As the rebels were trying to aid the citizens in stopping the fire, it seemed that there was only one person missing. Tsugumi, the leader of the revolution, was not on the battlefield to fight like she promised. She was sitting in the UFO and watching what was happening while Tarja was preparing a tea for her. But as the flames rose upon the buildings and burned even brighter, Tsugumi got up from her chair and said:

"It's burning. The capital, the country's core, is falling… No, I can't let that happen!"

Tsugumi rushed out of the UFO in a matter of moments as Tarja stared at her. The black haired woman put Tsugumi's cup of tea on the table and walked to the window. There she saw the capital burning with high flames as well. Tarja gazed at it with her cold eyes and suddenly laughed silently.

"Haha, this scene is the perfect stage for the end of a revolution." Tarja said and then looked at Tsugumi which was running to help the rebels, "You're so foolish, Tsugumi. With those fires upon the capital those idiots don't need your help anymore. The capital will either be burnt to ashes and they won't have any reason to fight, or they will fight the robots and some will surely die a useless death. Either way, the revolution is approaching its ends. At last I won't have to endure any of you whiners anymore."

The fire in the capital was spreading so fast that almost 95% of it was burning. The only part which still wasn't in flames yet was the western entrance, the only location where the rebels and the last survivors were located, and with the help of Lordi they were able to fight back their oppressors. The robot troops had divided in two: one part was lead by Mariko to defeat the rebels and the other part was lead by Aiko to start bombing the capital until there was nothing left of it. Once they would have been victorious, Mutsuhito would've started the works on the new capital the following day. And with a new capital would come a new reign of terror from the same greedy man.

Aiko's division was flying above the center of the capital. The girl was sitting on the robot commander's back and giving orders to the rest. As she waved her hand, the robots threw a couple of bombs on a few abandoned buildings which were already burning and made them explode. The grandiose explosion which rose into the air not only brought terror to the rebels but it also revealed Aiko's position. As the girl was admiring the fall of the capital from the sky, a boy suddenly shouted to her:

"Stop!"

A big robot with two boys riding it suddenly appeared from the eastern outskirts of the capital. Aiko stared at it with fear and said:

"Subaru? Edo?"

The robot stopped in front of Aiko and her army and Subaru looked at Aiko and replied:

"Aiko, what in the name of God are you doing? Did the president blind you too?"

"Shut up! This is for the peace and order of our country!"

"Do you really believe what you're saying?"

"Shut up! This is the order of the president. Defy him and even you, his son, will suffer the conciquences!"

Subaru looked at Edo and the brown haired boy nodded. Edo took out a remote control and pressed a red button from it. The remote fired red waves upon Aiko's robots and deactivated them all. The robots fell in the fires of the city, but Aiko managed to jump on Subaru's and Edo's robot.

"My troops! How dare you?"

"It's for everyone's sake, Aiko." Subaru said. "Robot, put down the fires right now!"

The robot turned its hands into giant water pistols and squirted the burning buildings with the liquid. Aiko could do nothing but watch how all her efforts of destroying the capital were starting to be useless. The girl didn't want that to happen and she climbed the robot until she reached its head. There she pulled Subaru by his hand and both fell and landed on a building's roof. Subaru was the first to get up and when Aiko got up as well, she pulled out her deck and growled:

"You... you'll pay for what you've done!"

"No, Aiko, it is not me nor you who will pay. It's Mutsuhito Geki." Subaru replied and took out his deck as well. "If you want to finish this the hard way then let's do it!"

Two dueling tables came out of the metallic roof and both players put their decks on them, placed their 5 shields and drew 5 cards. Their duel thus had begun. Subaru was the first to make a move.

"I summon Bloody Squito!" he said.

"I cast Evolution Egg!" Aiko said and revealed the top 6 cards from her deck which were: Battle Meteor Night Screamer, Death Phoenix Avatar of Doom, The Universe Gate, Master Destiny the Spirit Wolf Phoenix, Zero Phoenix - Phoenix of Darkness and Evolution Blueprint. "Heh, I take all those pretty Phoenixes to my hand and Universe Gate and Evolution Blueprint go to the bottom of my deck! I end!"

"Wow, it's the first time I see another Geki use darkness cards. Does Mutsuhito know you're defying his rule?"

"As if you were better, Subaru. Your deck is 95% darkness, so don't you judge me!"

"I've stopped living after Mutsuhito's laws a long time ago, Aiko. And it's high time you did the same. I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma!"

"If that's how you want to summon creatures faster then I'm disappointed of you, Subaru."

"What?"

"You're not a challenge at all. I cast Dance of the Sproutlings and choose the race Phoenix!" Aiko said and put the 4 Phoenixes she got in her hand the other turn on her mana zone. "There, I've shifted from 3 to 7 mana! Let's see you do something like this!"

"I have a feeling I know what's going on here. I summon Dark Strike, Reaper Beast!" Subaru said and a purple winged red fox with a skull mask on its face appeared behind him and roared.

"Hah, you're done for!" Aiko said and showed a darkness card. "Mana Galaxy Vortex! I summon Death Dragerion, the Supernova!"

A giant dragon looking creature with a red eyes, long blue wings, short claws and long head appeared behind Aiko and roared. The girl smiled and said:

"Meteorburn, I send Death Phoenix, Zero Phoenix and Night Screamer to the graveyard and all creatures lose 9000 power! Say good bye to your tiny animals!"

"These tiny animals come with a vengance, Aiko! When Dark Strike is destroyed, I may summon a Demon Command with cost 7 or less for free!" Subaru said and showed the last card from his hand. "I summon Black Ganveet, Legion of Demise!"

A demon dressed in a red caped golden armor which was weilding two two headed scythes with blue energy blades and which was also riding a skeletal horse appeared behind Subaru. The mighty demon stared at Aiko and the girl got scared.

"W-what in the world is that? The president never told me about this creature..."

"It's one of my new creatures, Aiko. Meet Black Ganveet!"

"Tsh, it won't prevent me from defeating you! Death Dragerion, double break his shields!" Aiko ordered and Death Dragerion fired an enormous blue beam which destroyed two of Subaru's shields.

Subaru took cover so that he wouldn't be hurt. Then as the beam ceased to exist, he took the two cards to his hand. Subaru started his turn, charged mana and said:

"I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! I destroy my Deathraios and your Death Dragerion!"

"I-impossible!" Aiko said and stared into nothing as the giant beast behind her blew into pieces.

"But wait, there's more! Grave Evolution, I evolve Dark Strike into Death March, Reaper of Death! The time has come... Ike, Black Ganveet, triple break her shields!"

The demon rode towards Aiko and the last two cards from Aiko's hand suddenly fell into her graveyard. The cards were Evolution Blueprint and Ultimate Galaxy Universe.

"B-but how?" Aiko asked.

"When Black Ganveet attacks we both have to discard our hands. I have no cards in my hand, so I have nothing to discard." Subaru answered while smiling. "But there's more. Since one of us didn't discard, Black Ganveet gets 5000 more power!"

Aiko took cover as Black Ganveet slashed three of her shields with its scythe. The shield shards united into cards and went to her hand. The girl showed one of them to Subaru and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Logic Cube! I'll take The Universe Gate to my hand!"

"Death March, break her shield!" Subaru ordered and his creature hit and broke to pieces another shield of Aiko's. "You have only one shield left, how will you cope with that?"

"Shield trigger!" the girl said while the shield shards turned into a shiny card. "I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Black Ganveet!"

A bunch of demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Black Ganveet until the creature was torn to pieces and its remains blew up. Aiko was pleased of having her payback on Subaru. The girl then charged mana and showed a fire spell card from her hand while saying:

"I cast The Universe Gate! With this spell's effect I'll reveal the top 3 cards of my deck and for each revealed Phoenix I get an extra turn!"

The cards which Aiko revealed were Balga Raizou the Super-Heavenly Nova, Supernova Death Dragerion and Logic Cube. The girl laughed maniacally and then spoke to Subaru:

"Hahahaha, I get 2 extra turns! You're done for, you Geki wannabe!"

"Uh oh..."

"It's my turn once again! I cast Dance of the Sproutlings and put Balga Raizou and Battle Meteor Night Screamer to my mana zone! Then it's my turn again! Mana Galaxy Vortex, I summon Supernova Death Dragerion! Meteorburn! I send all the Phoenixes under Death Dragerion to my graveyard and make your Death March lose 9000 power and die! Ike, Death Dragerion, double break his shields!"

The creature fired its powerful beams upon Subaru's shields once again, but this time Subaru got burned a bit as well. His jean jacket got a couple of holes and his face and arms small burns. The girl kept laughing maniacally as Subaru got surrounded by many blue shield shards.

"This is it! Next turn I'll evolve Death Dragerion into Ultimate Galaxy Universe and finish him off! Father will be proud of me, Aiko, his precious daughter!" the girl thought as she was staring at the only card left in her hand, Ultimate Galaxy Universe.

"Shield trigger!" Subaru voice suddenly woke Aiko up from her dreams. "I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Death Dragerion back to her hand!"

"Oh no!" Aiko shouted as the blue surfer hit her Death Dragerion with its surfboard and made it disappear.

"You see, Aiko, a Phoenix deck is a powerful deck indeed. But its weakness is the fact that it relies upon a single race. And this will bring your doom!" Subaru continued and showed a darkness card. "I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the face Phoenix!"

Aiko revealed the two cards in her hand: Supernova Death Dragerion and Ultimate Galaxy Universe. Subaru discarded Galaxy Universe and Aiko lost her last shield which was a Terror Pit. The girl fell on her knees in front of Subaru as the boy tapped his Aqua Surfer card and ordered:

"Aqua Surfer, totomeda!"

The blue surfer flew towards Aiko and hit the girl hardly. Aiko flew in the air for a few seconds and was lucky to land in a garbage can. When the girl opened her eyes, she saw that half of the capital was out of flames. Also, she saw that Subaru was sitting in front of her with a gloomy expression on his face.

"Aiko, listen! Mutsuhito, as he is now, is merely a sinner to be pitied which has lost everything."

"You bastard!" Aiko yelled and quickly got up from the garbage can. "You dare call your own president a criminal! I'll bring you to justice!"

Aiko aimed her fist and was intending to hit Subaru, but the black haired boy slapped her left cheek with his right hand.

"Open your eyes, Aiko! If you don't, then you'll follow the path of Mutsuhito, which will only lead to your destruction."

The image of Gola appeared in Aiko's mind. It was him, the man whom she had forgotten in the past months and whom she had replaced with a cruel tyrant. And only to show how much fate didn't care for Aiko's miserable life, she also remembered that Mutsuhito, the man which she now considered as her father, had killed Gola, the one who was her actual father, and whom she really loved deep down inside, even if her vanity didn't let her show it to him. Aiko's eyes got filled with tears and the girl covered her head with both her hands and yelled at Subaru:

"Shut up! What the hell do you know?"

"Aiko..."

"I do not wish to listen to any more of your lies! Just shut up and leave me alone!" Aiko yelled and ran away.

Subaru was left there all alone to see the girl disappear between the buildings of the capital. In the meantime, Edo was having alot of fun ordering the robot and watching him put down the fires from the capital. Once he would be done with that, he and Subaru would join the rebels in the final battle against Mutsuhito's troops.

Back at the western entrance of the capital. The rebels were trying their best to defeat Mutsuhito's robots. They were throwing rocks, attacking with knives and swords, shooting with guns, throwing bombs, and those who had, fired with lasers. But the robots didn't just stand there and take it. They were firing lasers like crazy, and it took five men to die in order to have a robot destroyed. As this was happening, the robots were advancing towards the hospital camp, and not even the brute force of Amen, OX and Otus wasn't enough to stop them.

"This is bad! At this rate they'll reach the others!" Amen said.

"Wow, NOW you notice this?" OX spoke sarcastically.

"Guys, we need backup or we won't be able to defeat these metal freaks!" Otus said and shouted to the hospital camp. "MR LORDI, AWA, WE NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!"

In the next moment Awa and Mr Lordi appeared out of nowhere through Awa's teleportation magic.

"What is it? We're having people to take care of." Awa said.

"Yes, but we need your help, otherwise you won't have who to heal!" Amen replied.

"Very well, then let's do this!" Mr Lordi said and pulled out his microphone.

The whole bad got out their instruments and set them up. Then a electronic disco sound came out from Awa's keyboards as the rebels were still trying to resist the robots.

"What's this? A party in the middle of war?" a rebel asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't those monsters be helping us?" another added.

But just then the heavy riffage of Amen's and OX's guitars jumped in with the aid of the powerful blastbeats of Otus. The strong sounds were firing powerful waves which weren't harming the humans but were destroying the circuits of the robots. Mr Lordi then put his microphone to his mouth and sang a loud chorus:

"IT'S DISCOSEVIL, TOXIC TONES! IT'S DISCOEVIL, GRINDING BONES! RED HOT AND STEAMIIIING! SWEAT BLOOD AND SCREAMIIIING!"

Awa fired a beam in the sky and a floating disco ball appeared and fired its lasers upon the robots of Mutsuhito, destroying them one by one. The band kept playing their instruments as Mr Lordi sang:

"IT'S DISCOEVIL, BRUTAL SOUND! IT'S DISCOEVIL, LETHAL POUND! FLESH SEARING LASEEEERS! MIRROR BALLS WITH RAZOOOORS!"

The rebels saw that it was their chance. They began their offensive and were pushing the robots back to the burning buildings of the capital. With one last shout, Mr Lordi had finished his job:

"THE DISCOEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!"

The shout was so loud that robots' armors cracked open and their guns maltfunctioned. The humans were protected from the song's power by Awa's magic and were able to continue the fight. Mr Lordi put his microphone down and said:

"There, we've evened the tides. Now how about we all go back and help Kurumi with the wounded people?"

"Ok, let's go!" Amen replied.

The monsters left the battlefield and that was when Mariko came out of her hideout. Seeing that there was no more danger for her, the girl jumped in the middle of the robots and said:

"What are you doing? Slacking at duty? Get up and defeat those foolish rebels!"

"Mariko-sama, our systems are too damaged to fight anymore." a robot replied.

"Here, I'll give you a small power-up." Mariko said and pressed the button of a remote control which reactivated a part of the robots' battle systems.

But not even that would help the robots defeat the rebels. The most they could do was to resist against the humans, but without their laser guns and bombs, they were useless. Mariko was about to go back to her hideout, but then she saw a blonde girl appear from the same direction where Lordi left. The girl widened her eyes and said:

"I don't believe it! Tsugumi Shirayama!"

"It's over, Mariko Geki!" the blonde girl replied.

"What do you mean?" Mariko asked.

"Look around you. Your robots can't handle the rebels anymore. And breaking news: the fire has been put down all the way from the center to the eastern outskirts. It seems that only the portion behind you is still burning, but this won't help."

"Why you little..."

"What did Mutsuhito think? That burning the capital would change his pityful situation?"

"You'll pay for this, Shirayama girl!" Mariko said and took out her deck. "I shall defeat you and offer great grand uncle Mutsuhito the thing he wishes the most: your head!"

"We'll see if you can keep your promise, Mariko." Tsugumi replied and took out her deck as well.

Two dueling tables came out from the dust and the girls set their cards. Their duel had begun while the rebels and robots were still fighting around them.

"I summon Aqua Belala!" Mariko said.

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Tsugumi said.

"I summon Aqua Hulcus and draw a card! Also, Aqua Belala lets me look at your top card!" Mariko said and revealed the top card from Tsugumi's deck which was Bolshack NEX. "Hah, send Bolshack NEX to the bottom of your deck! I end!"

"Don't you think that I, the chosen light duelist, heavily rely on Bolshack NEX, little girl. There's much more to it. I summon Asylum, the Dragon Paladin!" Tsugumi said.

"Heh, your Dragons don't scare me at all, Shirayama girl! I summon Sealed Devil Webaris and Sealed Devil Gorgonshack! Gorgonshack makess all spells cost 2 more to cast! Also, with Aqua Belala's effect I'll put Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits and Valiant Spark to the bottom of your deck! Ike, Aqua Hulcus, break her shield!"

Tsugumi watched the green creature made of liquid slash one of her shields with its blade hands. The girl calmly took the card from her shield to her hand, charged mana and said:

"Let's see if Gorgonshack forbids me to cast any spells now! I summon Dragon Spirit Ulferus and with its effect I shall cast Impact of Heavenly Violence for free!"

"Impossible! That's not fair!" Mariko shouted.

"Destroy Gorgonshack and send Webaris to your shields! Ike, Cocco Lupia, break her Webaris shield! Asylum, double break her shields!"

Mariko took cover as Tsugumi's creatures broke three of her shields. The girl took the cards to her hand and smiled as she showed one of them to the blonde girl and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Jolter!"

"Heh, this should be interesting." Tsugumi thought.

"My turn, I summon Sealed Devil Webaris and put the top card of your deck to the bottom!" Mariko said and put Uberdragon Sunburst NEX to the bottom of Tsugumi's deck. "Also, I cast Transmogrify and destroy Webaris! Then I'll replace it with the next card from my deck!" the next card was Transparent Bullet Soul - Skull Hunter. "Perfect, I summon Skull Hunter, and Belala's effect will send Bocco Lupia to the bottom of your deck! And now it's fun time! Ike, Aqua Hulcus break her shield!"

"Ninja strike 4!" Tsugumi said and showed a light card from her hand. "I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn Ulferus into a blocker! Dragon Spirit Ulferus, block Aqua Hulcus!"

"Grr... Aqua Jolter, break her shield!" Mariko ordered and her creature flew through Tsugumi's shields, breaking one of them.

"I guess it's my turn, eh? I summon Light Divine Dragon Sebuns and turn all my Dragons into blockers!"

Mariko made a step back and stared at Tsugumi's dragons: Asylum, Ulferus and Sebuns. All of them were wearing shiny armors and were mighty in their own ways. And them becoming blockers meant only more trouble to her.

"I guess it's time to cleanse the field a bit." Tsugumi said. "Ike, Asylum, destroy Aqua Jolter! And now, Ulferus, double break her shields! Cocco Lupia, break her final shield!"

Mariko took cover as Tsugumi's creatures broke all of her shields. The girl started trembling as she saw that she would lose. The shield shards surrounded her and all she could do was to stare at her enemy's creatures. But then she saw a light of hope as the shield shards united into three cards and those cards went to her hand. The girl looked at Tsugumi and said:

"It's not over yet! Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Light Divine Dragon Sebuns back to your hand!"

"Heh, is that all you've got?" Tsugumi asked as she took the card in her hand.

"There's more, much more, Tsugumi Shirayama! Galaxy Vortex, I evolve Aqua Belala, Aqua Surfer and Skull Hunter into Super Divine Star Mercury Gigablizzard!"

But the creature wouldn't appear behind Mariko and do its glorious entrance. None of her cards glowed either. The girl looked around and wondered what was going on. But Tsugumi tried to calm her down by saying:

"It's no use, Mariko. You have no shields left and only Gigablizzard. I have 3 creatures which can attack you and 3 shields left. The creatures know when you're defeated. There's nothing you can do now. Face it, you've lost!"

"But, but..." the girl said while trembling and she suddenly fell on her knees.

"Mariko!" Tsugumi yelled and ran to her.

"But this means that our father died for nothing!"

"What are you talking about?"

"This means that... not only did we disappoint Mutsuhito, but we also failed to make our father proud of us!" Mariko said and started crying. "Father, if you're watching us, I'm sorry!"

Before Tsugumi could find out what was the girl talking about, another big robot suddenly appeared above them. At first all the humans got scared, but as they saw that Subaru and Edo were on it, they calmed down. Edo pointed at the last buildings which were still burning and ordered the robot:

"Nail em', boy!"

The robot aimed its arms and sprouted water upon the big fires. As everyone was still confuse, Edo pulled out the remote control he used earlier and pressed the red button, managing to deactivate the final robots of Mutsuhito. With the fires from the capital completely taken off and all of Mutsuhito's robots deactivated, the revolution was finished. Tsugumi and the rebels had finally won.

The news had reached the hospital camp immediately and everyone cheered out loud. Party music and colorful paper could be heard and seen from the first seconds. The spirit of happiness which was lost had returned once again to the whole country. Everything they had lost was brought back to them, with the exception of a few friends' and relatives' lives.

As everyone was celebrating, Subaru and Tsugumi were sitting in an abandoned alley and having a talk.

"You did it, Tsugumi, you've actually managed to free the country!"

"No, Subaru, we did it! Had it not been for you, I would've never been motivated to do what I've done."

"Listen to me, Tsugumi. Me and my father have gone separate ways. I am no longer a Geki."

"What? But why?"

"My father would rather let the whole country fall to ruin than give up his role as the president. I could not bear to share my family name with such a monster! But we've all proven that our country is not his possession. It belongs to the citizens!" Subaru said and grabbed Tsugumi's hand in his and afterwards hugged her. "I can't allow my father's rampage to continue any longer. Tomorrow I am returning to the Geki mansion to settle things with him once and for all!"

"If you're going then I'm coming too! We will show this man that our love will defeat everything which stands in our way!" Tsugumi said and suddenly kissed Subaru on his month. "Mmm, your lips haven't changed their taste at all."

All of a sudden, both felt something cold touch their cheeks. They looked up and saw tiny snow flakes fall delicately from the clouded nightsky. The flakes slowly landed on the ground and they would soon form majestic snow rugs in which the children could play the following day. Subaru and Tsugumi found shelter under a small building and both admired the snowfall which was signaling the beginning of a new winter and the beginning of a new era.


	76. Mutsuhito's rage

The snowfall only lasted for an hour, after which the weather returned to its normal coldness. However, the small layer of snow did not stop Subaru and Tsugumi from parting ways once again. Subaru left the capital by himself in order to meditate upon what the future would bring to him and his love.

Tsugumi returned to the rebels and gave precise orders to everyone: a part would aid the citizens in rebuilding the capital, another part would return to the other cities where they fought Mutsuhito's robots and do the same, and a third final part would go to the eastern side of the country and free the last cities of whatever robots Mutsuhito had left. Once these tasks were accomplished, the revolution would truly end and everything would come back to normal. Tsugumi also instructed the rebels to not approach the Geki mansion under any circumstance, for Tabitha Lenox was still there and she feared that something bad would happen to them. After Tsugumi finished her speech, a child from the rebel crowd walked to her and fell on his knees while offering her a golden deck case.

"We thank you for all your help. We would like to express our thanks by offering you this gift."

"Th-there is no need for you all to do this to me. You're all poor and you've just gained your country back. You shouldn't have spent your money to buy me this." Tsugumi said.

"No, it is your country too!" an old man shouted.

"Yes, you have also fought for it and you deserve your present!" a woman added.

"I... I don't know what to say..."

"Just take it." the little child said and smiled to Tsugumi.

The blonde girl smiled back to him and leaned down to take the golden deck case. Once she had it in her hands, she stared at it in amazement. It was so mighty, so beautiful, and it fitted her Angel Commands perfectly. Tsugumi then turned to the crowd and gave her final speech:

"I thank you all for this beautiful gift! We have all fought for what we believed in: a free country and a better future! From this day on, we are no longer rebels, we are the pillars of this country! It has been a beautiful experience and I once again thank you for the gift, the great memories and the friendship! And now I bid you farewell, may we meet again one day!"

Everyone shouted Tsugumi's name and watched her retreat to Kokujo's UFO. The spaceship then took off and flew above the capital, where everyone had already started working on the rebuilding of the city. Tsugumi looked for one final time at the great city and then she departed from the window and wandered through the spaceship's corridors.

A few kilometers away from the Geki mansion, in a family graveyard surrounded by leafless walnuts, was Subaru. The boy was standing in front of an old gravestone and staring at the bouquet of roses and irises which he had left there six months ago, and which was still not killed by the passing of time.

"Mother, forgive me. Tomorrow I will return to the Geki mansion and kill my father. I will finish the reign of the Gekis once and for all." Subaru said and slowly kissed the cold gravestone. "I know that you would have never wanted to see me and my father fight against each other, but I have to do this in order to return peace and harmony into our lives. So, mother, I wish only one last thing from you - to give me the strength to fight against the evil residing in that mansion!" Subaru said and made the cross sign with his right arm.

Suddenly, Kokujo's UFO appeared above Subaru. The black haired boy knew that it was the time for him to leave. He got up, stared for a moment in the mansion's direction, and then waved his right hand to the UFO and got teleported inside. Once he saw himself there, he walked straight to the control room, and was greeted there by Tsugumi, Edo, Tarja, the Lordi band, Kurumi, Chiharu and Mariko.

"You're finally back! Where have you been, young man?" Kurumi questioned the boy.

"Some personal business, Kurumi-san. Anyway, I don't think that you should question me, after all, I am your uncle." the boy replied and winked to her.

"Same old Subaru-chan." Chiharu commented.

"Subaru, I still can't believe that you and Edo came and saved the day... I mean brought us victory all of a sudden!" Mr Lordi said.

"Yeah, where did ya get that robot?" Amen added.

"Oh, that was Edo's doing. He found the robot while searching for sweets in my father's garage. It seems that that robot was his final weapon against the rebels. Now it's just a pile of junk." Subaru said.

"Yeah, will kinda miss that old fellow." Edo spoke with a sad voice.

"Anyway, what's up with Mariko? Wasn't she a minion of Mutsuhito's?" Subaru asked and turned to the girl.

"Not anymore. I have decided that it is high time for me to take my life into my own hands!" Mariko replied. "My father may have died at the hands of Mutsuhito, but I refuse to let this man control me! From now on, I will stay with you guys."

"Smart choice, girl, smart choice." OX commented.

"Tell me, Subaru, do you know where my sister, Aiko, is?"

"I am sorry, Mariko, but she ran away from me after I defeated her. She didn't look sane at all. I feel sorry for her."

"I understand..." Mariko said and sobbed. "Oh well, in the end it seems that her vanity and her hatred for everyone got the best of her."

"No, Mariko, Mutsuhito got the best of her..." Awa replied.

"Anyway, what shall we do now?" Tsugumi asked.

"Everyone, I have an important announce to make!" Mr Lordi said and walked into the center of the group.

"What is it, Mr Lordi?" Otus asked.

"Everyone... I am proud to announce that tomorrow, me and Tarja are getting married!"

"What?" Tarja yelled before anyone else could have any kind of reaction. "B-but don't you think it's kind of early? And what about my opinion? Why didn't you ask me anything?"

"I thought that you couldn't wait before we even got married." Mr Lordi said and wanted to embrace Tarja. "I did it all for you, sweety pie."

"Shut up!" Tarja yelled and slapped Mr Lordi's cheek only to have her hand bleeding because of the spikes from his face. "Look what you've done now! Because of your ugly face I'm now bleeding!"

"It was an accident, Tarja, you just need to calm down." Amen said.

"Yeah, he didn't want you to get hurt." Otus added.

"I... I'm sorry." Tarja said and her face expression suddenly changed. "Sure, my darling, we can have your... our wedding tomorrow. I can hardly wait!"

"I'm glad you feel the same, Tarja." Mr Lordi replied.

"Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready for the big event!" Tarja said and left the room.

"Now that was... weird." Kurumi commented.

"Why is she behaving like that? It's not the first time she's acting mean." OX said.

"Yeah, she would yell at us and tell us to go away every time we asked her to help us with our revolution work." Subaru said. "I remember one particular time when both me and Tarja had a big argument because of this."

"Guys, chill out, she's having a hard time, that's all! We're all having them, seriously." Awa said.

"I guess you're right. So what should we do after the wedding?" Amen asked.

"Wedding or not, tomorrow is the day my father meets his fate!" Subaru spoke with a fierce voice.

"Do you really want more blood to be spilled? Isn't it bad enough some people died in this revolution?" Kurumi asked.

"Kurumi-san, you have to understand - Mutsuhito must be brought to justice! He has caused too many innocent people to suffer, and if we let the likes of him live, then one day he will come back to haunt us!"

"You're starting to sound a lot like your father..." Kurumi replied.

"What? I sound NOTHING like my fa... Mutsuhito!" Subaru shouted.

"But your wish to have him defeated is turning into an obsession. You must be careful and not let this thing take over your life, Subaru. It's very dangerous!" Kurumi said and the boy got silenced.

"Subaru..." Tsugumi murmured.

"Still, Subaru is right. Mutsuhito needs to be stopped before he pulls out anything tricky. Tomorrow after the wedding, our final destination will be the Geki mansion!" Mr Lordi said.

"Now that this is established, I say we all finish this meeting and have some free time. Tomorrow's another big day!" Tsugumi said.

And so they all separated and went on doing they stuff. Kurumi showed Mariko the places of the UFO, Subaru and Chiharu went on a balcony of the UFO and had some training duels, Amen, Otus and OX rehearsed some Lordi songs, Awa remained in the control room to pilot the UFO and Mr Lordi stood alone and contemplated.

Tsugumi, which was more concerned about Tarja's behaviour, went to her room to cheer her up and help her with the wedding preparations. Tarja was sitting all alone in her room and staring at her wedding dress while waiting for the hours to go by and the wedding to finally come. Then she heard someone knock on her room's door.

"Come in." the woman said.

The electric door disappeared into the wall and Tsugumi entered the room.

"Gii, Tarja-san, I'm so excited!" the blonde girl exclaimed and hugged the black haired woman. "To get married... this must be the happiest day of your life!"

"No, it's not...definitely not..." the woman replied with a pessimistic voice.

"Why not?"

"Can't you see I've gone crazy? Sometimes I just...can't control myself, and how can I be happy, when I know that in the next moment I'll freak out again and start behaving like an animal?"

"Oh, that's the problem..." Tsugumi said while letting go of Tarja. "It's sad to hear this. Still, can't you try to control yourself at least on your wedding day? It's bad enough that you've slapped Mr Lordi and yelled at him, all of this just because he insisted that you guys had the wedding tomorrow."

"If I could control myself, I wouldn't have done anything of that..." Tarja said with remorse in her voice. "God, I'm so sorry about what I did... and he just wanted to marry me as soon as possible..."

Silence fell upon the room for a couple of moments. The two girls sat on the bed and then with a sigh, Tsugumi spoke to Tarja:

"I'm really sorry for you. I guess we'll never understand these men..."

"The fault is all mine... He did nothing wrong... and I would like to apologize to him, but I'm scared it would only become worse, since I'm starting to behave this way more and more often..." the scared woman replied.

"It's not too late to apologize." Tsugumi said. "He may be wishing to be left alone now, but you can apologize to him tomorrow, in front of the altar."

"I don't want to talk to him at all - God knows what I might say..." Tarja continued.

"Isn't there any way to change your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't give up yet! You must at least TRY!"

"But it would only become worse... On the other hand... you know what? Sometimes I feel like a liar - it's pretty clear to everyone that I've gone crazy, but Mr. Lordi is still marrying me, even though I'm not the woman he loved and I feel like I'm lying, because I'm trying to hide the truth..."

"You're right... you are a liar! You're lying to me right now. Of course you are the woman he loves! No matter what happens, you're still the same great person you've always were! And no matter what happens, I'm always here for you."

"Don't try to deny it, Tsugumi, I've changed, even though I never wanted to..."

"Why must you Leos be so stubborn?" Tsugumi said and sighed. "It's bad enough that Subaru is kinda upsetting me a little too!"

"But at least the bond between you is as strong as always... As for me and Mr. Lordi..." Tarja suddenly stopped and cried. "This moring I was thinking about going to him and telling him the truth, but... I don't want to lose him. I know this is selfish, but..."

"You're not selfish!" the blonde girl exclaimed and put her hand on the black haired woman's shoulder. "You're trying to keep him, which is a good thing."

"No, it's selfish... I should let him go but... I can't..."

"Time solves them all, don't worry. Now how about I comb your hair? It looks pretty messy to me."

Tsugumi got up from the bed and walked to the table. There Tarja had many make up equipment and even electric scissors and combs. The girl picked a pink comb and turned back to the woman.

"But it only gets worse with time, don't you see, Tsugumi?"

"I see, but you have to fight it. Think of your behavior as Mutsuhito and yourself as me. You must find a way to fight it and be together with the one you truly love!"

"You can't imagine how it feels! I just lose my mind and don't realise what I'm saying...or I do, and I mean it..."

"Still... if anything, I'm always here. Now will you sit down so that I can comb your hair? I want you to look pretty for your wedding."

"Well, okay." Tarja said and let Tsugumi sit on the bed. "How I look is my smallest problem, but still..."

"Hihi, is this the first time I've combed your hair?" Tsugumi said while letting the comb go down on Tarja's beautiful black hair. "All the times you've done it instead for me makes me feel a little embarrassed."

"Don't worry, Tsugumi, it was always a pleasure for me... unfortunately now I'm scared to do anything or go anywhere... I guess I'll just have to stay here all day...and pray that everything would be alright tomorrow, even though I don't believe it..."

"You mean all night."

"Oh, yeah... Day, night? Who cares? At least not me, not anymore..." Tarja spoke with even more sadness coming out of her mouth.

"Still..." Tsugumi looked at the window and saw the burnt buildings of the capital on which the snow was falling. "It's so peaceful now that Mutsuhito's robots are finally defeated. A little too peaceful if you ask me. It just might be the calm before the storm..."

"I'm sorry Tsugumi, but I have bigger problems than Mutsuhito now, it's up to you and Suby to defeat him and I believe in you, but don't count on me much..." Tarja said.

"I've heard that you're trying to knock some sense into him. What did he tell you when you were having your talks with him?"

"Well, he told me many things, most of them unpleasant, but at some time I sensed that he believed me, at least for a moment... I was close, I was really close..." the woman spoke disappointed.

"Listen, Subaru wants us tomorrow to go after Mutsuhito right after your wedding. I know it's inopportune and all, but I need you." Tsugumi spoke with a serious tone. "I myself was saddened when my sweet Subaru suggested that we should go and defeat his father right away. I wanted to spend some time with him, all by ourselves... Oh well, think you can come and maybe talk some sense into that madman?"

"I don't think I can do that...anymore..."

"Please, Tarja-san, you have to! I'm more than sure that deep down inside, Mutsuhito is still a good man. I, Tsugumi Shirayama, the one whose family was killed by him want to forgive him. All I wish is for you to help us solve our problems. And besides, I'm more than sure that Subaru would be devastated if something bad happened to his father."

"Tsugumi, I told you I can't! Not that I don't want to, I just can't..."

"If you say so..." Tsugumi said and finished combing. "There, you look much prettier. Now how about we get ourselves some sleep? Tomorrow's the big day."

"Yeah, I should go to sleep, before I hurt anyone else!"

"Good night!" Tsugumi exclaimed and left the room.

"Good night." Tarja replied with a sarcastic voice.

Tsugumi walked to her room and on her way she saw two figures sitting on the balcony. The girl stopped for a minute and stared a little better only to see Subaru facing Chiharu in a duel. The black haired boy took a card from his hand and placed it on another card from the table while saying:

"I evolve Hard Demon of Inferno, Biragias into XENOM, the Reaper King! Ike, XENOM, triple break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate! Natural Snare!" the little girl said while taking the 3 cards to her hand. "Send Black Ganveet, Legion of Demise to his mana zone!"

"Heh, Break Bonus, XENOM will make you discard your hand!" Subaru said and watched Chiharu lose the three cards from her hand. "Still, you were a worthy opponent. Gajirabute, Vile Centurion, finish this, totomeda!"

"Aw, not fair, I lost again!" Chiharu complained.

"Don't worry, you'll win next time."

Tsugumi laughed silently upon watching the two and then walked back to her room to get some rest. In about an hour, the only ones which were still awake were the Lordi band, because they had enough energy and someone had to pilot the UFO.

It was a splendid winter morning. The sun was shining beautifully on the cloudless sky, even if the other night it snowed. The UFO was parked at the church where Subaru and Tsugumi had had their wedding. The two lovers were inside the building and talking to the priest.

"So, everything's ok?"

"Yes, Subaru. Now that your father isn't president anymore, his cancelling of your wedding doesn't count anymore. You and Tsugumi are still married." the priest responded with a smile on his face.

"Yes!" Tsugumi exclaimed and hugged Subaru.

"Haha, thanks a lot, Father! Now we've got another problem." the black haired boy said.

"What is it?"

"Our friends, Tarja and Mr Lordi, want to be married right away."

"No problem, I can make the preparations and they can come..." the priest suddenly stopped and was petrified when he saw Amen, Awa, Otus and OX enter the church. After a few moments he was able to gain back his force and then he screamed fiercer than a lion. "WHO ARE THOSE DEVILS?"

"We're... friends of the groom." Awa explained while wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Guys, we're in big trouble."

"Don't worry, Awa, Tsugumi will handle it. She's good at that kind of stuff!" Amen said and tapped the ghost witch's shoulder.

The four monsters put their instruments near the altar and then took their seats as the priest started looking for the stuff he needed for a wedding. After managing to calm down the priest, Subaru and Tsugumi went back to the UFO to bring the couple. The blonde girl walked to Tarja's room and knocked at the door. Immediately she received a response from Tarja:

"Come in."

Tsugumi entered the room and was stunned to see Tarja dressed up in a white dress with a white veil covering her hair. She also had a flower in her head and was wearing red lipstick.

"You look wonderful!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Me and my little Chiharu helped her dress up." Kurumi said and took the mirror away from Tarja's hands.

"Ain't she the cutest princess ever?" Chiharu said while putting perfume on Tarja's neck and shoulders.

"Thank you all! You've been so nice to me." Tarja said and wiped a tear off her left eye.

"Tarja-san..." Tsugumi said while approaching Tarja and offering her a bouquet of roses and irises. "Get out there and shine for me!"

"Thanks, Tsugumi!" Tarja replied and took the bouquet in her hands. "Pray that it all goes well!"

Half an hour passed and everything was ready. Tsugumi and Tarja were entering the church together while Chiharu was throwing flowers upon the bride. Inside the church, the Lordi monsters were sitting right next to their instruments as if a concert was about to begin, the priest was sitting with the stuff he needed on a table and Kurumi was the only person to be sitting down.

"Weird... Why would Mr Lordi want us to play a song right now?" Amen asked.

"I don't know, but let's stick to the plan." Awa said and then she saw Tarja and Tsugumi enter the church. "Ok, now guys!"

The sound of clean guitars started filling the church. Slow drumming and orchestral strings were being played on the background.

"You can do it, Tarja-san!" Tsugumi whispered.

"You sure? I'm so nervous. Actually... what do I have to do?" Tarja mumbled.

"Just go with me down the isle. Then we'll stop in front of the altar and wait for your groom."

"Okay."

The two walked down the isle and stopped in front of the altar, where the priest was holding the bible in his hands. Chiharu was still throwing flowers on Tarja while cheering.

"And now what?" Tarja whispered to Tsugumi.

"We wait." the blonde girl whispered back.

Suddenly, Mr Lordi and Subaru appeared at the church entrance. Subaru was dressed in a black suit and had his hair tied in a pony tail while Mr Lordi was wearing a big groom costume.

"Giii, Subaru-chan looks so cuteee!" Chiharu giggled.

"Calm down, my dear." Kurumi spoke with a tempered voice.

"Let's do it, Mr Lordi!" Subaru said to the monster.

"Ok." Mr Lordi sighed and started walking towards the altar with the boy.

But as they were approaching, Mr Lordi took out a microphone from his pockets and started singing along with the song his band was playing. This time his vocals were tender and soft instead of gutural.

"Down the isle your beauty's blinding

All dressed in white I see you shining

Although today there's not a cloud in the sky..."

"Ok, let's get this song a little faster!" Otus said and the drums' tempo turned faster.

"But still I've got this haunting feeling I fear..." Mr Lordi continued singing. "This day will end up in tears!"

"What?" Subaru asked.

"But why?" Tsugumi added.

"What the... oh God..." Tarja spoke shocked.

Mr Lordi looked at the band and told them through a telepathic message not to start the chorus yet. Then he turned to Tarja and kept singing:

"Your flower girls so cute and cuddling."

"Why thank you!" Chiharu exclaimed and bowed to Mr Lordi.

"Their heads soon whirl so brute and ugly."

"EH?" the girl yelled.

"I know their eyes will turn as red as your rose."

Chiharu then turned her back to Mr Lordi because of his 'insulting' lyrics. But the monster didn't seem to care. He and Subaru had just reached Tarja and Tsugumi and the wedding was about to begin. Tension was making the air boil hotter than a sauna. Under everyone's stares Mr Lordi took Tarja's hands in his and then looked at her in the eye. That was when the church bells began chiming.

"Don't say you'll take me till the end of time..." Mr Lordi sang to Tarja with a sad voice. "Bells have an omnious chime!"

Then the band stopped playing their instruments for a while. Silence had fallen upon the church once again.

"What's the meaning of this?" the priest asked.

"Yes, why are you doing all this?" Subaru added.

"Tarja, I wanted to marry you. I've loved you with my whole monsterican heart! This last hundred of years have meant alot to me, really! But, sadly, something happened. You've changed a lot. You've turned from the sweet girl we've all known into a monster... and not a pretty one." Mr Lordi said while looking at the shocked face of Tarja. "So, with all regrets, I'm afraid I have to..."

In that moment everyone heard the sound of Otus' cymbal and in the next second the whole band was playing their instruments again, but this time there were heavy riffs instead of clean guitars. And all of this was just the instrumental for Mr Lordi's chorus. The monster then sang in his raspy vocals:

"Call off the wedding now,

Bad things are coming down...

My demons will soon be here!

OH YEAH YEAH!

Call off the wedding, dear

Bad things are drawing near,

Oh, Lord, my demons are here!

Oh, yes, my demons are here!"

Everyone in the church was stupified by the lyrics that Mr Lordi sang to Tarja. But the shocking silence had ceased once the priest yelled with fury:

"Such blasphemy!"

"What are you trying to say with all this?" Tarja asked Mr Lordi.

"That it's over." the groom responded. "Our wedding... and our relationship!"

Mr Lordi turned his back to Tarja and slowly walked away from the altar with a grim expression on his face.

"Wait! Mr. Lordi! Can't we at least talk about it?"

"You didn't want to talk to me last night." Mr Lordi said and turned his head to her for a moment. "I don't think we'll ever have a chance to talk again..." the monster finished and kept walking.

"And what if this is our last chance?" the woman asked, but received no answer. "And you're just going to walk away like that?"

Mr Lordi kept ignoring Tarja and walked out of the church while being followed by the desperate bride.

"So I guess this wedding's off, right?" Kurumi said.

"Sadly..." Awa replied with a disappointed tone in her voice.

"Sorry for the bother, Father." Tsugumi apologized to the priest and bowed down.

"No worries, my dear. You did the best you could do to unite these two lovers, but I guess that they will have to work out their differences by themselves. I pray that they will be able to find happiness together." the priest said and united his hands in prayer.

"Oh well, thanks for everything, Father! So long!" Subaru said and left with the others from the church.

"Good bye, and may God help you with the mission you must fulfill!" the priest shouted and waved his right hand to them.

Meanwhile, inside the UFO, Tarja walked all the way to Mr Lordi's room, and when she finally got there, she insistently knocked at the door while saying:

"Look, I know I'm the last person you would like to see right now and I don't want to bother you, but I really need to talk to you..."

"Go away..." Mr Lordi growled.

"Please..." the woman insisted and that's when the door opened and a really angry Mr Lordi greeted her.

"Listen, I am in no mood to discuss with you what's happened! Right now all I can think of is pure hatred, so leave me be! We will soon fight Mutsuhito and I need all that hatred! Once everything's over we'll have our chat, but till then leave me alone!"

And with this being said, the monster closed the door of his room and silence filled the corridor. But Tarja did not want to give up upon him yet, so she kept knocking.

"Once everything is over, I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone... at least not normally..." Tarja said, but she didn't receive any response. "Okay, okay, just forget it! It's the easiest way... Why should you care how I feel? I thought you weren't that selfish..."

Tarja started walking away from the door and that was when she met up with Tsugumi. The blonde girl looked her in the eye and then she hugged her while saying:

"I'm so sorry, Tarja-san!"

"Thanks, Tsugumi..." the woman replied.

"I really thought that this was going to be your day!"

"For a moment I also thought so, but seems like it was the worst day of my life. I was so happy an hour ago and now... I lost everything I had... I have no reason to live..."

"Please, Tarja-san, don't lose hope now!"

Suddenly, Subaru appeared out of nowhere. The boy saw that he was ruining an emotional moment and felt a little ashamed. He then shyly spoke to them:

"Uhm, girls, there's something I have to announce you…"

"Don't say anything..." Tarja replied.

"What is it, Subaru? Can't you see I'm busy?" Tsugumi asked.

"I know this isn't the right moment, but..." Subaru said while the UFO started moving. "...the final battle begins now! We're heading to the Geki mansion!"

"Good, you two go... I'll just stay here and...do nothing..." Tarja said with the voice of a person which seemed to have accepted its horrible fate.

"But what about Mutsuhito? Can't you talk some sense into him?" Tsugumi asked.

"Seems like I've lost that power - I couldn't even make Mr. Lordi talk to me..." the woman replied.

"I see..."

Meanwhile, at the Geki mansion. Everyone had deserted Mutsuhito, the only ones left being Tabitha and Hanna. But they were also planning on escaping, for Tabitha knew what would soon happen. As the witch got a little better, she used her powers to dress up in a black dress from the Renaissance era and then pack up all her magic items in the basement into two briefcases. Hanna then took them and rushed outside, while the witch slowly walked after her. Tabitha was trying to not force herself too much so that her body wouldn't get severly damaged after all that effort. But as they got out of the basement, Hanna ran a little faster so that she could be sure that they don't get caught on camera, thus leaving Tabitha to walk alone through the corridors. As she was approaching the living room, Tabitha got a little nervous, as she felt that something bad was going to happen, so she tried to run as much as she could. But as she entered the living room, she found Mutsuhito sitting right in front of the door.

"I didn't expect the house's lunatic to get healed so fast." the man spoke to her arrogantly.

"I certainly hope you're not referring to me." Tabitha replied with an angry voice. "After all, I've helped you so much in the past months!"

"Yes, but in the past weeks you've proven to me that you're starting to get useless." Mutsuhito said and there was silence for a few seconds. "Where is Hanna, by the way?"

That simple sentence was enough to petrify Tabitha. In that moment, the once sunny sky got cloudy all of a sudden. But this time it didn't snow. Instead, a lightning stroke and its light covered both the witch and the man. Mutsuhito put an evil grin on his face and then continued:

"Didn't know I'd find out you two were trying to escape, huh? Well, it's a good thing I've locked the house's doors and windows then."

"How dare you? After all I've done for you!" Tabitha spoke with a high voice, since she didn't have the power to yell.

"No, how dare YOU try to betray me and run away like the rest of them? You, out of all people!" Mutsuhito said and pushed Tabitha against a wall. "I've offered you and your dirty Hanna a shelter and I've even helped you with your plans of destroying Tsugumi, and this is how you repay me?"

"Face it, Mutsuhito, you're a lost case! You failed at trying to rule upon the world and now you try to make me get back what you've lost? My powers are limited, you dimwit!"

"Oh, but they won't be limited for long! If I must, I'll force you to use every last drop of your powers until you remain nothing but a dead corpse! I will not give up this battle until my son and that Shirayama girl are down, and you'll stay here and fight with me, no matter what!"

"You'll never get me and Hanna!" Tabitha said and stared at Mutsuhito with fierce eyes.

"Well, how will you stop me?" Mutsuhito mockingly replied.

"I can!"

"Oh yeah, you're a witch!"

"Wow, NOW you realize that?"

"Still, you said that your powers are faded now, so you can't stop me! You don't scare me the tinyest bit!"

"Well you should be scared! Because even if I don't have my powers, there are other more traditional ways of getting rid of someone. You will never turn me and Hanna into your slaves!" Tabitha said and then an image of hell and demons appeared behind her, on the wall. "I'll do whatever it takes to stop you dead, and I mean DEAD!"

"Hahaha, you don't frighten me." Mutsuhito said and let go of the witch. "So why don't you make yourself comfortable and get some spells against Subaru and Tsugumi ready before they arrive? I'll see you later."

Mutsuhito then left the room and Tabitha stared at him with disgust. That was when Hanna rushed in the living room through the other door and saw the witch. She ran to her with the briefcases and said:

"Tabitha-sama, there's no way out! All the doors are locked! ...What happened?"

"Tsh... the arrogance of that man! You may think you have won this small battle Mutsuhito, but you have no idea of the power of hell. We always win!" Tabitha said and then turned to Hanna. "Mutsuhito trying to keep us two here is the worst mistake he made! And he'll pay for it... with his life!"

"So Mutsuhito is behind all this?"

"Yes, Hanna, and I'm afraid he won't go too far this time." Tabitha said and then started walking. "Come, Hanna, we must wait for Subaru, Tsugumi and the rest to come."

"Huh? But why?" Hanna asked and stared at the witch as she was walking away." T-Tabitha-sama, wait for me!" she said and rushed after her.

Outside the mansion, the UFO arrived and landed a few meters away from its gardens. Its door opened and Subaru, Tsugumi, Edo, Kurumi, Chiharu, Mariko and the Lordi band got out of it. Tsugumi then stopped and looked back at Tarja, who was staring at them.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Tsugumi asked.

"I'll be fine, you go!" the woman replied.

"Ok then."

The six humans and five monsters advanced to the Geki mansion. But as soon as they got out of the gardens and approached the front door, many laser cannons came out of its walls. Then a screen with Mutsuhito's face appeared on the wall above the front door.

"If you all wish to live to see the next day, then you will do exactly as I say. Or else, you'll all be erased from the face of the Earth!" the man said.

"Why that little..."

"Calm down, Amen. Let's see what he has to say." Mr Lordi suggested.

"First of all, only the humans shall be allowed to enter the mansion. The monsters shall remain right here and not move a single bit! If any of them moves, including ghost Awa, all these guns shall first lasers which are so strong that they'll destroy even the strongest demon to exist in this universe! The choice is yours, and I suggest you choose wisely." Mutsuhito said.

"Ok, guys, seems like you'll take it over from here. Good luck!" Mr Lordi said to the humans.

"Thanks, Mr Lordi! Let's go, guys!" Subaru said and they entered the house.

As soon as they entered, the doors closed automatically. They all turned back and looked all scared at what happened.

"It's a trap!" Mariko exclaimed.

"What else would you expect from him?" Kurumi replied.

"The lady is right." a familiar voice spoke from the main corridor.

"Who goes there?" Tsugumi demanded.

Then Tabitha appeared from the dark corridor, along with Hanna.

"It's just me." the witch said.

"Tabitha! Did Mutsuhito send you to finish his dirty work, you filthy witch?" Subaru shouted.

"Oh no no, not at all! You might find it hard to believe, but this time I am on your side!"

"WHAT?" all six yelled.

"Mutsuhito had forced me to use my powers in every possible way and now I am both drowned of them and weakened. I tell you, this man won't stop until I, his magic tool, have been used to extent! And for this I want to make him pay!" Tabitha said.

"Should we trust her?" Tsugumi asked Subaru.

"She is powerless, so I guess that she and Hanna won't do any harm to us any time soon." Subaru replied and then turned to the witch. "Ok, Tabitha, you'll work with us... for now."

Just as Subaru finished speaking, another screen with Mutsuhito's face appeared. The man stared fiercely upon all the eight beings and then yelled:

"YOU DARE TO BETRAY ME, TABITHA? This is it! You shall face the conciquences just like the rest of them!"

Then the floor suddenly turned into glass and everyone saw a pit filled with sharp spikes. Mutsuhito then grinned and continued:

"If any of you do not wish this glass to be broken, then all of you must get inside the living room, NOW!"

"Blackmailing... tsh, how typical for him." Kurumi commented.

"You've heard him, let's go!" Subaru said and everyone ran through the main corridor to the living room.

Once they were inside there, there were no more screens with Mutsuhito's face to greet them. The tired Tabitha sat on a couch and Hanna stood up behind her. Subaru then walked to her and said:

"Tabitha, do you know what Mutsuhito intends to do?"

"I don't know, but I'll soon find out!" Tabitha replied and took one of Hanna's briefcases. "If I find the crystal ball which I use to show me the future, we might find out what's he up to."

"Good, while she does that the rest of us shall search for a way to my father's office. That's where he's hiding for sure!" Subaru said.

But just then, every door locked itself and a metallic wall fell upon every window. Inside Mutsuhito's office, the man was enjoying seeing everyone on the screen panic upon being captured inside the living room. The man then got up from his chair and looked at the UFO. With a cold voice he said:

"Heh, pathetic fools, you will soon face my rage. But while you're all locked here, there's someone with which I must talk."

The man opened a door in the wall and entered it. Then he traveled through a secret escape tunnel which also had stairs which went down to the first floor. He kept walking until he reached a corridor which when followed to the left led to the elevator and when followed to the right led to the back entrance of the mansion. Mutsuhito chose the right path and got outside of the mansion. Then he sneaked through the gardens, without being noticed by the Lordi monsters, and managed to reach the UFO.

Inside the spaceship, Tarja was sitting on one of its corridors and admiring the beautiful landscapes which were still covered with snow. Then, all of a sudden, she heard some footsteps.

"They can't be back so soon." she spoke to herself.

Tarja looked towards the UFO's entrance and saw a tall man dressed in a politician suit approach her. The woman made a few steps back and said:

"Mutsuhito? What are you doing here?"

"All the other losers are trapped inside the mansion. I've noticed on the cameras that you didn't join them. So I came here to talk to you. Don't think that you're special or anything, I just wanted to prove to you that in the end I am the one who is right!" the man spoke triumphantly.

"If you were, then the world would have been gone by now..." Tarja replied and crossed her hands.

Meanwhile, at the mansion's living room. Subaru, Tsugumi, Edo, Kurumi, Chiharu and Mariko were desperately trying to find a way out of the trap. Tabitha, on the other hand, had layed her crystal ball on the table and was waving her hands around it. Then she enchanted her spell:

"Crystal ball, future shower,

Bring me the big spoiler!

Show me in the night

The way to regain my might!"

The crystal ball shined and showed images that only Tabitha could see. The witch got shocked when she saw what was about to happen.

"What is it, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"Death... I see Death!" the witch whispered.

"What? Whose death?"

"Ssh, we don't want them to hear about this! Anyway, Death is coming. He's coming tonight!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! Beware the stroke of midnight, Hanna, for that is when someone inside this mansion is going to die!"

Tabitha's words brought shivers upon Hanna's spine. The girl embraced herself so that she would get warmer.

Back to the UFO, Tarja was once again left alone. After having had his conversation with her, Mutsuhito left the spaceship and headed back to the mansion. But all he could think of was what he had discussed with Tarja.

_"Tsh, I may have lost the control over this world, but I still have a thing to be proud of: the fact that I am still openly against the Shirayamas and that I will do whatever it takes to see Tsugumi Shirayama dead in front of my eyes!" Mutsuhito spoke to Tarja._

_"And that's it? That's all you'd leave behind? That's how you want people to remember you?" the woman replied._

_"Yes! I've already entered the history books and the world leaders' computer databases as one of the most ferocious and nasty tyrant ever! I've produced famine, death and slavery! I just regret that my reign didn't last more than a few months. But besides this, I was the most feared man of them all, and this is how I want everyone to remember me!"_

_"This is how you want them to remember you? With hate?"_

_"Yes! Nobody has ever loved me, so if it is with hate they have to remember me, then so be it!"_

_"And Suby's mother? Didn't she love you at least a little?" Tarja said and Mutsuhito's eyes widened._

_"She doesn't count, she is dead." Mutsuhito replied with a grim voice. "And that cursed son of mine, Subaru, has decided to leave the family once again. I have nobody now, and even Tabitha wants to leave me. Luckily, she is powerless and I can do whatever I want to her."_

_"You are the reason why Subaru is leaving you... Beause faith gave you just one thing and that was him, but you couldn't keep it..."_

_"I don't need him anymore! He's just as useless as a powerless Tabitha!"_

_"The fact that you can't use somebody doesn't mean you should throw him away..."_

_"Wrong! I have only reached the top by using useful people like Tabitha and getting disposed of useless people like Subaru." Mutsuhito said as he lifted his arm up as he stared at the ceiling, but then clenched his fist and lifted it down. "But then that Shirayama girl had to come back with her revenge and not even my attempt of destroying the capital along with half of the country didn't stop her."_

_"But reaching the top isn't the most important thing in the world, you should know... Because sooner or later you fall down, as you just did, and then what? You just... remain all alone with the memories of who you were... and then you die and people forget you..." Tarja spoke with a serious tone in her voice._

_"I can't be forgotten! I've entered the history books like I've told you! My tale will be passed down from generation to generation. People will invent many things about me and I won't be surprised if I'd hear an old lady say that I was some kind of half dragon half human being."_

_"But people would speak about you just from time to time. When you're gone, there wouldn't be that one person, to wake up everyday with the thought of you..."_

_"As if I need that! I told you, if I can just see Tsugumi Shirayama dead in front of me, I can even die. That single thing will bring me true satisfaction."_

_"Why It wouldn't heal the pain the Shirayamas caused to you... It would just bring more pain, pain to your own son. Okay, you couldn't give him love, but why don't you at least stop hurting him and leave him be happy?"_

_"I don't CARE about my son anymore! As a matter of fact, once I'm done with that cursed Shirayama girl, Subaru will be the next I will deal with. When I'll be through with him, he'll become the Geki I've always wanted him to be and he will carry on my name and reputation! No matter what happens, I will never die!"_

A lightning stroke and a thunder followed it. That was what woke up Mutsuhito from his dreams. The man then felt a few rain drops touch his hands, so he hurried back inside the mansion on the same way as he got out.

Meanwhile, inside the Geki mansion. Tabitha and Hanna were watching the rest and how they were attempting to find a way out of the living room. Tabitha then whispered to Hanna:

"Death is moving closer. Death is about to strike!"

"Stop it, Tabitha-sama, you're scaring me!"

"It's the truth, Hanna! I'm preparing you for what's about to happen."

"You're talking as if I'm the one who's going to die!"

"No, you're not going to. Or at least not yet. Honestly, I don't know who is the person who will die tonight, but I guarantee you that someone inside this mansion will certainly die!"

Subaru kicked the walls with his fists as much as he could, but in the end he had no force and fell on his knees. Tsugumi and Edo rushed to him and the brown haired boy said:

"Suby, are you alright?"

"No, Edo-kun, I'm not! He's trapped us again! Now we're like rats in a cage! I WANNA HAVE A FAIR BATTLE, DAMMIT!"

"Subaru, calm down, we'll find a way out of this mess!" Tsugumi said and helped the boy up.

Suddenly, a lightning stroke, again followed by another thunder. Everyone then got a strange feeling, as if something horrible was about to happen. Tsugumi embraced Subaru fast, and so did Chiharu with Kurumi. Hanna hid behind Tabitha in fear as the witch spoke to herself:

"Brace yourselves, people. I believe Death has arrived!"

Then all the lights turned off and the only light left inside the room was the one belonging to the lightnings outside which could only enter via the glassed ceiling. Tabitha then stared at the stormy sky and saw a ghostly figure fly above. The witch grinned as the figure broke the ceiling with its scythe and jumped inside the dark room. Everyone then screamed and Tabitha spoke once again to herself:

"I knew it! It's bloody Death!"

When the lights finally got turned on, Hanna woke up. The girl was lying on the floor and seemed to have had some rest for some time. The girl got up and saw Tabitha along with a strange figure which was dressed in a black robe and was holding a scythe in its hand.

"T-Tabitha-sama, who's that?"

"Hanna, let me introduce you to one of my old friends, Death!" Tabitha said while smiling and then turning to the black robed figure. "Death, this is Hanna!"

"Nice to meet you, miss." Death said and reached its skeletal hand.

"Forgive me if I don't shake hands... or bones." the girl replied.

"Oh, it's no problem. After all, you are not the one I am after tonight."

"Then who is it?"

"Only your master, Tabitha, is worthy of this information. And I will give it to her right now!"

Death then turned to Tabitha and pulled off its black hood, revealing a skull. Hanna got horrified as Death fired a red beam from its skull's orbits into Tabitha's eyes. The witch looked frightened, but once Death was finished, Tabitha got an evil grin on her face.

"This is going to be one hell of a party!" Tabitha said and laughed.

"You can say that again!" Death replied and sat on the couch.

"Who is going to die, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"You just wait, Hanna. It's almost 9 PM. By the time midnight strikes, you'll find out!" Tabitha said and then casted a spell which conjured up a glass of wine. "Now, how about you relax a bit before the time comes?"

"Why not? After all, I have much more work after this." Death said and took the glass of wine. "Are you going to stay with me, Tabitha?"

"I'm sorry, Death, but not this time. Me and Hanna have to watch the show."

"Hohoho, fine! Make sure you don't miss a second of it!"

"We surely won't, Death! Now come, Hanna, let's go!" Tabitha said and pulled Hanna with her.

When Death had entered the room, his powers managed to destroy all the blocked doors and the iron walls on the windows. That was how Subaru, Tsugumi, Edo, Kurumi, Chiharu and Mariko managed to run away. But the problem was that they all went in separate directions. Mariko got trapped in a cage after wandering through a lightless corridor. Chiharu got stuck in a fake corridor which never ended, no matter how much she ran. It was all a clever mirror illusion to make her run around in a room. Kurumi got stuck in a corridor from which arrows were thrown out of both walls, floor and ceiling at certain times. Edo had the bad luck of falling into a pit filled with sharks. The boy managed to grab a small metallic part of the pit's walls and hold on, but the sharks were jumping out of the water and trying to bite him. Tsugumi, like Mariko, wandered through a dark corridor and ended up in a room filled with dueling robots. She knew that her only way out would be to finish each and every one of them, so she got to business. Subaru, unlike all the others, was the only one to keep his cool as much as he could and manage to run through the main door. Thus he found himself on the main corridor once again, and this time he knew where to go in order to reach Mutsuhito's office. The boy walked until he reached the first stairs, then he started climbing to the second floor.

Meanwhile, at Mutsuhito's office. The ex-tyrant was drying his clothes from the weather, but when he looked at the cameras from the living room, he saw that nobody was there. (Death have been seen by him, unless he possessed magic powers, was near someone who possessed such powers OR was about to die in a few moments). The man sat on his chair and once again began to remember what he had talked with Tarja.

_"He would prefer to die, than to become like you!" Tarja spoke with a loud voice. "If that's what you want - go on, kill your own son...then people would remember you as the man who was so heartless, that he killed his own son, just because he wasn't like him... Is THAT what you want?"_

_"Yes! I told you that all I want is to be remembered as a fearsome person!" Mutsuhito said and stared at the mansion. "Heh, I find it a little ironic though that Tabitha and Hanna are trying to betray me as well."_

_"They would have done it sooner or later, trust me. They don't care about you, nobody cares about you!" _

_Mutsuhito approached Tarja and at first he seemed to want to hit her, but he just pushed her against a wall. Then his spoke to her while looking psychotic: _

_"Then I don't care about them either! Die, they shall all die! My father... the Shirrayamas... Subaru... Tsugumi... they couldn't love me, so THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE!"_

_"Hmm, let me see... your father, the Shirayamas,Subaru and Tsugumi...but then...who's left, if they all die?" Tarja replied._

_"My father... and the Shirayamas are already dead. My ungrateful son and that cursed survivor of the Shirayamas are left. They will die! And I shall be the one who seals their fate! All my life I was hated by my closed ones, even my wife seemed to fear and hate me at first, and she yelled at me in the moment I banished Subaru from the family back then. This is why I never wanted to love anymore. It's because I realized that the only way you can gain something, even respect, is through the sword, not love!" _

_"If you weren't so heartless and cruel, your closed ones would have loved you, your wife would have loved you ...and your son would have loved you, if only you loved him. You see, the only way to get love is through giving love..."_

_"Maybe you're right..." Mutsuhito said and sat down while reflecting a bit upon his past. "Or maybe... I was too scared to love. I had learned all my life to hate and show cruelty that I couldn't concieve of showing my softer side to anyone." _

_"I understand you. Some people are afraid to love, because love could aslo hurt, but the pain you fell in the name of love is worth it." Tarja replied._

_"You mean that all that Subaru and Tsugumi went through was worth it?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Still, why is it that when I try to love I feel even more pain? Hell, I wouldn't have been in this situation if my father... would have accepted me and my mother and had not followed the Shirayamas." Mutsuhito said and a tear fell from his right eye._

_"I know you've been through much, but you should forget the past and look at the future... You still might have a chance." Tarja said._

_"Heh, you're really wrong here, miss Turunen." Mutsuhito replied while wiping off his tear. "I've chosen my path and it's no way out now. The best I can do is give my best and fight until the end." _

_"You're the wrong here, beause you still have one thing left and this is your son, instead of causing him more pain, why don't you try to make it up to him?"_

_"He hates me, Tsugumi Shirayama hates me even more. They're now inside my mansion, looking for me and trying to find and kill me. And there is no way in hell I will go down without a fight!" _

_"No, he doesn't hate you, he just knows you're wrong. But he can forgive... I'm sure that if you try, he would forgive you... as for Tsugumi...it won't be easy for her, but I think she would understand. We all make mistakes..."_

_Mutsuhito got up and walked to the UFO's door. It seemed that the discussion was over, but then he turned his head to Tarja and said:_

_"You really think so, eh?"_

_"I'm absolutely sure." Tarja said._

_"Thank you. I needed that." Mutsuhito spoke to her while smiling for the first time, and it wasn't an evil smile, it was the smile of a nice person. _

_"You're welcome." Tarja responded with a smile as well._

_"But I am now going. I have a son and a Shirayama girl to face. Right now I am going to face my destiny. Wish me luck!"_

_"Wait!"_

_"What is it?"_

_"Are you still going to kill them?"_

_"Maybe... maybe not... You'll see what will happen when all is over. But until then... I wish you all the best, Tarja Turunen." Mutsuhito said and left the UFO._

_"Wait! You're going there to lose your last chance of having a family? Your last chance of happiness? For what? You've already lost!" Tarja shouted._

_"I won't tell you what I'm going to do. You'll see when it all ends!" Mutsuhito shouted back._

The flashback ended as Mutsuhito stared at the documents from his desk. The man the spoke to himself:

"I may have ended up as the ruler of the world, but in the end my past mistakes came back to haunt me and managed to dethrone me. The only thing I regret now though... is how I allowed you to escape in that fateful night when the Shirayamas fell, Tsugumi!"

Then the office door opened and Mutsuhito looked up. He saw Subaru entering the room and staring at him with hate in his eyes.

"You... I can't believe you've managed to come this far." Mutsuhito said.

"There was a time when I cursed the world and wondered why should I still keep living. But in the end I've found the reason why I was asking myself this. And the reason IS YOU!" Subaru said and took out his deck.

"Heh, in the end it has come to this." Mutsuhito spoke sarcastically and got up from his desk. "If this is how everything shall conclude, then I have nothing against it!"

Mutsuhito clapped his hands and two dueling tables appeared. Both duelists put their decks on the tables and deployed their shields, then drawed their 5 cards. The confrontation between the father and the son was about to begin.

Meanwhile, at Tsugumi. The girl had managed to defeat most of the robots and was facing the final one.

"I evolve Milzam, Spirit of Miracles into Alphadios, Lord of Spirits!" Tsugumi said. "Ike, Bolpheus Heaven, break its final shields, and Alphadios won't let you use the triggers since you don't use light!"

"Uh oh..." the robot said.

"Alphadios, totomeda!" Tsugumi ordered and the angel destroyed both the last robot and the room's door. "Good, now I gotta find the others."

As Tsugumi was wandering through the corridor, she managed to find Kurumi, who was still dealing the the arrows. The girl saw a golden switch in one of the walls and pulled it, thus stopping the arrow shooters. Then the two heard a little girl crying and assumed it was Chiharu. They listened to the walls and found a secret door by touching them with their palms. The door revealed the mirror room in which the little girl was stuck, and thus they saved her. Next, they found the room in which Mariko was stuck in a cage, and also found its key on a small table. After freeing her, there was one person left, Edo. They searched for him through the whole first floor until they finally found him near the elevator, in the shark pit. Luckily, there was a rope in the room where Mariko was stuck, and they used it to save him. But as he got out, the boy cried while saying:

"I had to have my life saved by girls!"

"SAY WHAT, YOU UNGRATEFUL..."

"Calm down, Kurumi-san, that's Edo. Always manly stupid." Tsugumi said.

"ARGH, SEND ME BACK TO THE SHARK PIT!" Edo yelled.

"Enough fooling around! We gotta find Mutsuhito and Subaru before it's too late!" Mariko said.

Back at Mutsuhito's office. Subaru was the first to do an actual move which began the real game.

"I summon Bloody Squito!" the boy said and a red bug appeared behind him.

"Well then, I cast Whirlwind Tailspin! Now I summon Ken, Crimson Lord ~Journney's Beginning~ and tap him!" Mutsuhito said and out of his deck came a water card which placed itself on his Ken card. "I evolve him into Wan Ken, Crimson Lord ~Full Speed Ahead~! Now I'll take 2 cards, and put one of them to the top of my deck and the other to the bottom of my deck!"

Then the office door opened once more and Tabitha and Hanna made their appearence. Hanna was shocked of seeing the father and the son facing each other, whereas Tabitha was pleased, as she said:

"Oh, it's started without us!"

"Subaru!" Hanna shouted. "You're..."

"Leave him alone, Hanna! He must concentrate on the duel." Tabitha said and sat on one of Mutsuhito's chairs. "Now how about you take a seat and enjoy the great show?"

"O-ok..." the blue haired girl said and sat next to her master.

Mutsuhito was shocked of seing Tabitha find his office. That meant that the rest would soon follow, and he got worried. But Subaru didn't care for their presence. All he wanted was his father's head, and he would stop at nothing until he got it.

"Hey, old man, you're in a duel right now, so STAY FOCUSED!" Subaru yelled and then put a card on his table. "I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma!"

"Heh, your pathetic attempts to defeat me will end in failure soon enough, Subaru. I summon Metal Cook's Timer! Then I tap Wan Ken and evolve him into Ken Gou, Crimson Lord ~The Sundering~!"

"Your creatures scare me the least! I summon Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil!" Subaru said and a red train with feet and horns on its locomotive appeared behind him.

"That's what you think, Subaru!" Mutsuhito spoke with a loud voice. "I tap Ken Gou and by its effect I destroy your Maxval and evolve it into Lord Gou Ken ~Symphony of Swords~! Then I tap Metal Cook's Timer and untap Lord Gou Ken! Then I tap Lord Gou Ken, destroy Bloody Squito AND evolve Lord Gou Ken into Ken Geki, Absolute Ruler ~Final Flare~! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

A giant dragon with a spiky golden armor and who was wielding a giant black sword appeared behind Mutsuhito and roared at Subaru so loud that is shaked the whole house. That roar was what made Tsugumi and the others realise that there was a duel going on. They then rushed to the office, and once they opened the door they saw what was going on.

"Subaru!" Tsugumi shouted, but the boy didn't even seem to have noticed her.

"This is it, the final battle which shall decide the fates of the Gekis." Kurumi commented.

"Go, Suby, you can do it!" Edo cheered.

Once again, Subaru didn't pay attention to his friends. The boy was staring at the giant creature with a strange grin on his face. He then started laughing, and it was an insane laugh that scared everyone, including Mutsuhito.

"Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHA! You fool! You thought that a poor creature like that can defeat me? Think again, senile bastard! I'm gonna crush you in pieces!" Subaru said with a psycho look on his face.

"What? Subaru..." Mutsuhito spoke and for a moment saw everything evil that he did being reflected into his own son. "Is this how far obsession can take us?"

"Enough chit-chat, I'm going to bring you down! Prepare to meet your fate ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Subaru yelled and showed a darkness card. "I summon Dark Strike, Reaper Beast!"

A three tailed fox with a skull covering covering its face appeared behind Subaru and roared. Mutsuhito was the one which laughed after that.

"Hahahaha, and you thought you could intimmidate me, Subaru? You don't scare me the least! Now it's time to teach you a little lesson of how a true Geki duels! I cast Ten-Ton Crush and destroy Dark Strike!"

"Heh, you fool!"

"What?"

"Thanks for destroying Dark Strike! Now not only does Trash Train let me draw one more card, but I can also summon a Demon Command from my hand for free!" Subaru said and showed yet another darkness card from his hand. "I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade, and choose the race Flame Monster!"

Mutsuhito revealed the two cards from his hand. One was Aqua Surfer, and the other was Wan Ken, Crimson Lord ~Moonlight Howl~. Mutsuhito discarded Wan Ken and also lost a shield which was Hell's Scrapper. The man got a bit scared, but that fear turned into anger, as he yelled:

"THIS ISN'T OVER YET! IKE, KEN GEKI, BREAK 4 OF HIS SHIELDS!"

Subaru took cover as the dragon slashed 4 of his shields. Then the boy took each and every one of those shields to his hand and revealed one while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Metal Cook's Timer back to your hand!"

"Tsh, as if that would help you much..." Mutsuhito replied as he took the card to his hand.

"Oh, it will help me a lot!" Subaru said and the expression on his face turned even more grim that everyone, including Mutsuhito, were getting afraid of him.

"What's happening to him?" Mariko asked.

"I really wish I knew." Kurumi said.

"Subaru..." Tsugumi murmured while looking worried.

"Now the time has come for you to pay for everything!" Subaru spoke with tons of hate coming out from his voice. "Grave evo! I evolve Bloody Squito and Maxval into 2 Death March, Reaper of Death! Prepare to meet your doom, Mutsuhito! Gal Volf, double break his shields!"

Mutsuhito took cover as the wolf demon slashed two of his shields with its swords. The shield shards united into two cards which he took to his hand, and he showed one of them to Subaru while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Cuty Heart! Send Trash Train back to your hand!"

"Death March, break his shield!" Subaru continued. "My other Death March, BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELD!"

As all of his shields were gone, Mutsuhito saw that Subaru could hardly breathe after all that effort. But the hatred was still lying in his eyes. The black hared boy was staring at his father and he gave him the feeling that he would love nothing more than to see him dead, as if that was his only purpose left. Mutsuhito then calmed down a bit and said:

"Tsh, you're pathetic to the end."

"What?"

"If you say you will not follow my path, THEN AT LEAST DON'T LIE ABOUT IT!" Mutsuhito yelled as he showed what he had in his shields. "Shield trigger, I cast Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Aqua Surfer and both his Death March!"

"Argh!" Subaru reacted his three creatures got crushed by the Scrapper.

"Now that we have gone this far, at least let's have an ending which will be beneficial for the both of us. Or do you want to follow my path, as you've now proven, Subaru?"

Those words shocked Subaru. The boy stood for a moment and stared at the dueling table. He then realized that his wish to bring his father to justice had turned into such an obsession that his only desire was to have him dead. He finally realized that he was slowly becoming the animal his father was. But it was the moment to stop, since he wasn't his father, and he swore he'd never be like him.

"No... you are right. I will not follow your path! Never!" Subaru said and turned his sight to his friends. "Sorry for having worried you guys!"

"Subaru!" Tsugumi spoke happily.

"He's back!" Mariko exclaimed.

"I knew he was better than his father." Kurumi added.

"And now, father, you shall end this whole war and be brought to justice!" Subaru spoke to Mutsuhito.

"Hah! This battle isn't over yet!" Mutsuhito replied and then tapped one of his cards. "Ken Geki, break his final shield!"

Subaru took cover as the giant dragon broke his last shield with its sword. But as he was protecting himself from the shield shards, he saw a smile on his father's face, a smile which practically said to him: 'You can do it!'. It was the same smile he saw from him in the day he had to duel his cousin Lili when he was 13. The same smile which encouraged him to duel. And that was more than he needed. The boy took the shield shards into his hand and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Crystal Memory!"

"Heh, is that all you've got? I expected more of you!"

"You will get more, Mutsuhito, I promise!" Subaru said as he took a card from his deck to his hand.

"Fine then. See you around, Subaru! Cuty Heart, finish him off, totomeda!"

Everyone yelled Subaru's name as the cyber virus attacked him. But as it was about to give him the final blow, the boy smiled to it and showed a darkness card from his hand while saying:

"Ninja strike 7! I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom!"

A purple frog demon appeared behind Subaru and then hit Cuty Heart with its powerful tongue, destroying it. Then the demon disappeared.

"Hanzou gives -6000 to Cuty Heart, so your totomeda doesn't count anymore!" Subaru spoke triumphantly.

"I see... Well done then, Subaru!" Mutsuhito replied and held both his hands in the air. "Come on, finish me with Gal Volf !"

Subaru stared at his creature, then at his friends, and finally at his father. The tension was great in the air. With one move everyone's lives would be decided. One decisive move could change everything as they knew it. At first, Subaru put his hand on his Gal Volf card and tried to tap it, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he looked at his father in the eye and said:

"Father, please, this is your last chance! Give up everything you've done and become the good person I once knew! Please! I don't want to kill you!"

Then tears came out of Subaru's eyes. Mutsuhito looked at him and then Tarja's words came into his mind. The man then turned to Tsugumi and walked to her. As he stopped in front of her, he stared at her and said nothing. The girl then found the courage to speak to the mighty man.

"I no longer hate you for killing my family years ago. Nor do I intend to have my revenge upon you. What I desire is neither vengeance or justice for my family name! All I wish is for you to give up all this evil and become the good man that your son had always loved!"

"I thought that if only I had power, I could make fate submit to me." Mutsuhito replied and then he took out a knife from his pockets.

That was when Kurumi, Chiharu, Mariko and Edo rushed to the man and also when Subaru almost ordered Gal Volf to attack. But Mutsuhito's knife did not harm Tsugumi in any way. The knife was thrown on the floor and the man was staring at it.

"Glory... it comes as sudden as an illness, and either brings your life to misery, and subsequently kills you, or it just fades away as sudden as it came." Mutsuhito said and then looked at Tsugumi. "Well done, Tsugumi Shirayama, it seems that in the end you have won. The war is finally over!"

But just then, an aura appeared around Mutsuhito and separated him from the rest of the room. In the next moment he felt a pang in his back. When he turned his head, he saw Tabitha pushing a dagger into his spine.

"T-Tabitha..."

"It's exactly how Death told me! You were going to lose and give up, and that's the moment you became useless to me!" the witch spoke with a grin on her face.

"D-did you just poison your dagger?" Mutsuhito asked with fear in his eyes.

"Yes, and I've also used whatever power I had left for this little aura. They can't help you now, Mutsuhito!"

"LET GO OF HIM! GAL VOLF, ATTACK HER!" Subaru yelled and the wolf demon jumped to the aura and slashed it with its swords.

Tsugumi and the rest rushed to Tabitha, but the witch pushed Mutsuhito on them and then ran to Hanna. Then she took out a gas bomb from Mutsuhito's desk and blew it up in the room. When the gas was gone, both Tabitha and Hanna had disappeared. Kurumi and Mariko took out the dagger from Mutsuhito's back as the man fell into Tsugumi's arms.

"Shirayama... you, out of the whole world, now hold me on my deathbed!" Mutsuhito hardly spoke.

"Father!" Subaru yelled and ran to him. "Hang on, you're gonna make it!"

"Son, let's be realistic, I've lived more than I deserved."

"No, you're wrong!"

"Subaru..." Mutsuhito said and grabbed his son's right hand. "As a final wish, I beg you, keep your last name as Geki and continue our family! Also, Tsugumi..." the man continued and grabbed Tsugumi's right hand. "Please marry my son, and make him happy for the rest of his days! You now have my blessing..."

"We are already married." Tsugumi said and gave him a warm smile.

"Good. Then, my son, take care, and make sure to always protect what you love..." Mutsuhito said and then closed his eyes while letting go of both Subaru's and Tsugumi's hands.

"Father? FATHER!" Subaru yelled and cried on Mutsuhito's body.

Then the clocks rang and announced the midnight hour. That was when Death appeared into the room and this time no-one could see it. The Reaper slashed Mutsuhito's body with its scythe and took his soul out of it, making his skin turn pale. Then he took the soul with it to the other world, thus ending the cursed life of a once feared man.


	77. Tabitha's ritual

After Mutsuhito's death, Subaru carried his father to the UFO. Everyone, especially Tarja, were shocked of seeing the man dead. His funeral was held right away and he was buried in the family cemetery, right next to his wife. After that, everyone parted ways. Kurumi, Chiharu and Mariko found an appartment where they could live together. The Lordi band went on with their concerts, but this time without Tarja. The woman had been left to live with Subaru, Tsugumi and Edo for the moment, until Mr Lordi would calm down. Two weeks had passed since the death of the world's greatest tyrant. Snow was falling everywhere and everyone was rejoicing. The revolution was over, the robots had been defeated, the towns had been rebuilt and everything seemed back to normal. Inside the UFO, everything was covered with Christmas decorations, but that didn't change the somber atmosphere inside the spaceship. It was quiet, too quiet. Tarja was outside, having a little walk in the city, whereas Tsugumi and Edo were sitting in the kitchen at a table and discussing.

"So, Tsugumi, how is Suby feeling now?"

"After his father's funeral he barely came out of our room. Also, he didn't speak a word to me."

"I see. I wonder how long will he keep on like this."

"Don't worry, Edo. I have a feeling he'll get better soon."

As the two chosen duelists were relaxing in the kitchen and discussing, being certain that peace had returned once again in their country, things at the Geki mansion didn't seem back to normal. The whole building had been abandoned ever since Mutsuhito had been killed, but little did anyone know that it had become the hidden lair of Tabitha. The witch and Hanna had moved from the basement and settled up in the living room. For the whole two weeks all they did was to arrange stuff in a way that would turn the whole room into a ritual chamber. And now, as Hanna was resting on the couch, Tabitha was talking through a small portal to her master, sir Lucy.

"You failed me yet again, Tabitha!" the King of Hell spoke to her with an unpleasant voice.

"Yes, but Master, let me explain! Mutsuhito had always failed at separating those two brats, and the worst part is that he still insisted upon killing those two, even IF he had lost in every way, shape and form!"

"SILENCE!" the Devil screamed at her and she fell on her knees in fear. "YOU DARE THROW ALL THE BLAME ON HIM WHEN YOU WERE THE VERY ONE WHO FAILED AT THE BEGINNING BY CHOOSING HIM AS AN ALLY?"

"Ssh, you'll wake up Hanna, Master!"

"She's in a deep sleep caused by me so that she won't hear our discussion. So, Tabitha Lenox, how will you explain yourself to me?"

"Master, I swear that tonight you shall get the souls of those two! And the New Year shall begin with our rule!" Tabitha said and got up on her feet.

"Make sure it is so, or else you and Hanna will follow Mutsuhito Geki on the path he went!" sir Lucy said and closed the portal.

"Then so be it! Subaru and Tsugumi shall die tonight!" Tabitha spoke with a fierce voice as she clenched her fists.

Back at the UFO, after a few more hours of doing nothing in the kitchen, Tsugumi and Edo decided that they should go and try to talk to Subaru, but as they were about to get up from their chairs, the door suddenly opened and Subaru appeared in front of them.

"Suby! You feeling better?"

"I'm much better now, thanks for asking, Edo-kun. Guys, sorry if I've scared you, but I wanted to spend some time alone and think about what happened in these past months."

"I understand, Subaru. I'm glad you're finally back to normal, my love!" Tsugumi said.

"Tsugumi, I've been thinking about something."

"What is it, Subaru?"

Subaru then approached the girl and took her right hand in his right hand. Both stared at each other's eyes with a rather sad feeling, but still being swept by the passion they had for each other.

"I would like us to go and see the Geki mansion one last time."

"Ok, Subaru. If you want, we could spend the New Year's Eve night there!"

"Good idea, Tsugumi! Now how about you go and pack up some stuff?"

"Alright then!" the blonde girl said and ran away.

Subaru then turned to Edo and took out two packs of cards from his pockets and put them on the table. The brown haired boy stared confused at them as Subaru spoke:

"Edo-kun, bring your cards here and let's rebuild my deck!"

"But why? The deck we've made at the beach was so strong that you've even defeated your father!" Edo said.

"Yes, but I have this strange feeling that I am going to face Tabitha soon, so I want to be ready for her!" Subaru replied and started looking at the cards he had.

"Tabitha uses a Lunatic God deck, and those pesky little Gods will not stop until they're unlinked. You'll need some cards which get your opponent's creatures out of the battle zone as fast as possible."

And so, Subaru and Edo worked on the deck which would bring Tabitha down. Within a couple of hours the deck was done. Tsugumi had packed some food and blankets for their last stay at the Geki mansion. Edo had left the two at the Geki mansion and wished them good luck, and afterwards he flew away with the UFO. Tsugumi entered the mansion fast because it was cold, but Subaru stood a bit more outside and stared at the departing UFO. Then he took his brand new deck out of his pockets and stared at it for a moment.

"Wish me luck, Edo-kun!" the boy thought.

Subaru followed Tsugumi inside the mansion and closed the doors. When the lights were turned in, Tabitha and Hanna were alerted that someone had come inside their new home.

"Who is it, Ta..." Hanna spoke, but then her mouth got covered by Tabitha's mouth.

"Ssh, it's Subaru and Tsugumi. They've come here to spend the night. Don't worry, they won't find us! I'll cast a spell which will create an illusory wall in front of our door. That way they'll think it's a dead end and walk all the way back from the main corridor!" Tabitha said and fired a beam upon the living room's doors.

Tabitha's spell worked and both lovers didn't see the door to the living room. They both thought that they had taken the wrong way and turned back. Aftewards they found the kitchen and what used to be Subaru's room. Tsugumi told Subaru to make himself comfortable as she would cook their New Year's dinner. The boy agreed and stood in his room, waiting for her.

But as time passed, he began thinking at how he and Tsugumi had fought against everything that stood in their way for the past weeks. He reached his right hand in the air and stared at it. In his mind he was seeing all the duels he had, all the secret meetings he had with Tsugumi, their wedding, their honeymoon, his birthday party, the time he spent with Hanna, how he got back his memories and wounded Tabitha at the beach, how he trained the rebels alongside Tsugumi and Edo, how he faced his father bravely and how everything had ended. Six months had passed, but it seemed to him that it was yesterday when Kokujo left along with THEM. And still, after all that happened, he was still alive. In that moment he thanked God that he and his beloved soulmate had managed to go through all those tough months unharmed and at the end remained unseparated. Even if his father had died, the exciting feeling that he had survived through the war and managed to remain with his love was so exciting that he wanted to scream with happiness. And Tsugumi, she was as beautiful and lovely as ever. Her round body, her golden long hair, her crystal blue eyes and her angelic smile. She seemed to perfect all of a sudden. She seemed as if she was exactly the reward he deserved after going thorugh so much chaos. And that was when he felt the need to suddenly hug her strongly and feel her naked skin right next to his. He wanted nothing more than to be able to touch her whole body and unite with her. It was a strange feeling, he had felt it before, but he never let it grow upon him and become such a desire. That girl was now his desire, and now it seemed like the perfect time to get her. But all of a sudden he got sweat all over his face and back. The boy then took off his clothes and went to take a shower.  
Meanwhile, Tarja was walking through the capital. It was finally peace and quiet because the rebuilding had stopped. The snow was the only thing making the capital look beautiful once she saw that she was alone, she stopped and stared at the sky, feeling that a strange presence was watching her.

"Who's there?" Tarja asked.

"Well well, if it isn't the know it all Tarja Turunen." Tabitha said and got out of a dark alley while painting her nails black. "What do you want now, witch?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you and laugh at you. Not only because you've depraved yourself so much due to me, but also because your attempts on interfering with my plans had all failed."

"Because of you? What does this all have to do with YOU?"

"You've tried many times to ruin my plans: you saved Tsugumi from her imminent death, you tried to disturb Mutsuhito's mind and have him leave his conquest for power - which led to his decline, you tried to reunite Subaru with Tsugumi, and the final straw: you tried to brainwash my dear Hanna!"

"Yep, I did all of that and I'm proud of it!" Tarja said and crossed her hands.

"Heh, your pride only ruined the personality which you've once had AND also made Mr Lordi call off your wedding. Heh, you can't imagine how happy I was to see that look on your face when that happened." Tabitha replied while smiling evily and then she blew on her black nails.

"My pride, you say..."

"And the fact that you've foolishly tried to 'do good'."

"You're wrong, witch - I was who I was exactly because of the things I did."

"Heh, and you had to pay the ultimate price for that. Just like that pathetic Mutsuhito..."

"Price? What price?"

"You - your happiness. Mutsuhito - his miserable life."

"Well, happiness isn't the most important thing in this world. As for Mutsuhito... I think he did the right thing."

"Mutsuhito was nothing but a weak fool which had power in his hands and didn't know how to handle it. From the first moment I saw him I knew that he could be my perfect puppet. I offered him the world on a golden plate and he took it. He offered me shelter and helped me with my schemes, but whatever we did, we could never separate Subaru from Tsugumi! Then both ran from our hands and they managed to create a revolution. And to make things worse, Subaru's Deathliger made me powerless and I couldn't do anything to stop that. Mutsuhito kept yelling at me and forcing me to use my powers for his deeds or else, and that brought me to my limits, almost killing me! Then when the man saw that everyone, except for me, had abandoned him, on who do you think that he threw all his anger? ON ME! The one who made him the absolute ruler he once was! If that wasn't unthankfulness then I don't know what it was. When I finally senced that my powers were back, I thought that it was the moment to dispose of him, but I decided to keep him alive just a bit more only because I hoped he'd keep Subaru and Tsugumi separated. Then he lost to Subaru and decided to make peace with Tsugumi, and that was the final straw! If he had stabbed Tsugumi with that knife instead of stabbing the floor with it and saying that the war was over, he would have seen a new day. But now it's all over and the bastard got what he deserved."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"What? Finish what Mutsuhito and I had started - the final breaking up of Subaru and Tsugumi! And to make things better, I'll soon recover my powers tonight, when the time for unleashing hell is perfect! Hehehe, those two brats should enjoy these final hours they have together, for in the moment when the sun sets, they will say good bye to each other forever!" Tabitha said and started laughing.

"That would never happen - Tsugumi and Subaru would be toghether even in death!" Tarja replied with courage dripping from her voice.

"So be it! As long as Tsugumi Shirayama is dead! That's all I need to become the Queen of Evil!"

"But what can a girl like Tsugumi do to stop you?"

"Tsugumi's female ancestors had powers of good which were the only thing which could stop me. I thought that I had killed all of them, but one of her most recent ancestor's baby, which was her great-grandmother I think, had escaped my wrath and her family managed to hide from me for some time. She is the last person on this earth capable to destroy me now. If she knows the love of a man, she will come to her full powers and then I will be doomed. This is why I've made so many efforts in trying to separate those two brats, to make sure they NEVER make love!"

"I see. Funny, isn't it? A teenager capable of destroying YOU..."

"And the best part is that she doesn't know. This will only help me even more in my final plan of destroying her."

"But now I know!" Tarja exclaimed.

"And you're too late!" Tabitha replied with arrogance. "You're all alone in this big capital, and even if you manage to reach the UFO, it will take a good couple of hours for you to do that. And spoiler alert: Subaru and Tsugumi are not even here! They're back at the mansion, all by themselves. By the time you reach them it will be too late."

"But why would it be too late?" Tarja asked and then Tabitha fired a small lightning on her left foot, burning a part of her pants and making it bleed.

"Because you won't be able to run back to the UFO." Tabitha replied and smiled to her. "It will take you at least two hours to reach the spaceship and warn Edo. And by the time you reach the mansion, I will have finished my ritual." Tabitha continued and then looked at the sun. "The sunset is approaching fast miss Turunen, so you should 'hurry up' back at the UFO, hahahaha!"

"Well, the chances might be small, but I'll try... I must try!" Tarja said and tried to run as fast as she could.

"Even my pet snails can 'run' faster than you!" Tabitha yelled at her. "Hahahaha, it will be over soon! Tsugumi Shirayama, your time has come!"

Back at the Geki mansion. Tsugumi was climbing the stairs up to Subaru's room, and the only thing she had in mind was how much she loved him and how much she suffered so that she could be together with him. She was hoping that the way they would spend that night, having fun together and enjoying each other's company, would be the way they would spend the whole new year as well. But she was torn out of her dreams as she saw that she had reached his room's door. She knocked, but he didn't respond. So Tsugumi opened the door and saw that the room was dark. When she turned on the lights, she saw an untidy bed and the bathroom door being open.

"Subaru, are you there?"

"Tsugumi, is that you?"

Subaru came out of the bathroom with his long hair all wet and only a towel on him. The girl blushed a bit and felt a strange sensation. It was as if she would explode if she didn't hug him all of a sudden and feel every inch of his body against hers. But before any of them could say anything else, Subaru suddenly slipped and fell on Tsugumi, with his towel falling off. Both stood in that position for a few moments until Subaru realized that he was sitting all naked on Tsugumi. The girl opened her eyes and saw the boy staring at her while blushing. As Subaru reached his lips for a kiss, Tsugumi tried to stop him with her hand. But then she also realized what was going on. This made him a little shy, but as he saw that she layed her head on the floor and stretched her arms, he realized that she had submitted herself to him, and he should do the same. Subaru then kissed her on the lips, and it was a strong, tender kiss. He was kissing her with all the power he had, for he never wanted to be torn apart from her again. The girl surrounded his body with her gentle arms and embraced him as she used her tongue to 'play' in his mouth and explore every bit of it.

Then Subaru let go of her mouth and helped her get on the bed. Afterwards he started taking off her clothes, one by one, as if they were the obstacles that prevented him from reaching her completely. All he wanted was to have her naked, just like him. Tsugumi did not try to stop him, she even helped him take off her shirt. But once she was completely naked, something happened. Subaru was stunned, but he didn't know why. He had seen her naked many times, but this time there was something different about her. Her body seemed so pure and untouched, almost as it belonged to an angel. And now he, the unworthy demon, was about to profane her sanctity. Tsugumi blushed and put her index finger into her mouth while looking at him with a rather sad stare.

"What's the matter? Didn't you want me?"

"I do, but I never expected you to look so angelic."

"So does that mean that you'll give up?" Tsugumi asked, but then Subaru threw himself on her.

"Never! I'd never give up on you!" Subaru replied and kissed her on the mouth once again.

Meanwhile at the living room. Tabitha had teleported back into the room as Hanna was putting some ingredient jars on the table.

"Tabitha-sama, everything is now ready for the ritual!" Hanna said.

"Not now, Hanna, I have a bad feeling!" Tabitha replied and walked to the mirror.

"What's going on, Tabitha-sama?"

Tabitha fired a beam on the mirror and then the image of Subaru and Tsugumi making love appeared on it. Both Tabitha and Hanna were shocked when they saw it.

"They're actually..."

"Not now, Hanna, I've got to save myself!" Tabitha said and quickly conjured up her astral plane.

"What are you doing, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"I'm going to the rings of Saturn for some urgent therapy. You stay here and guard the living room!"

"But..."

Before Hanna could say anything else, the ship flew through the window and went towards the cosmos, leaving the blue haired girl all alone to watch on the mirror how the boy she loved was making love to another girl. It was just too unfair for her! All that she wanted was to be loved by a boy, but it seemed that would never happen. Hanna sat on the couch and began crying as she remembered the moments she spent with Subaru.

Back at the two lovers, both were enjoying their moment of passion to the maximum. It was like a torrents of pleasures and desires that were waiting to be unleashed upon them. After kissing her mouth, Subaru went with his mouth down to Tsugumi's body. He licked her neck and slowly descended to the chest. Then he gently sucked her nipples just like a baby who is being fed from his mother's breast. Then he moved lower with his tongue, licking more of Tsugumi's skin, until he reached the region between her legs. All this time the girl felt that she was getting hotter and hotter. She was holding the sheets with her hand and screaming 'oh's all the time. And now Subaru had opened her legs and was staring at the hole between her legs. The girl raised up her head and spoke to him while sweating:

"Stop staring like that! You're embarrassing me!"

"As long as we are united as one, there will be no reason for you to be embarrassed!" Subaru replied and started playing with his fingers inside it.

"Ah, stop it!" Tsugumi yelled, but couldn't bring herself to make Subaru stop what he was doing. "This sensation... Why does it feel so wrong, yet so good?"

"I don't know, my love, but we're about to find out!"

Subaru then took out his hand from her hole and then he approached his "tree without branches" to it. He then blushed and looked at her and she nodded. That was when Subaru pushed it inside her and both yelled as loudly as possible. That was it, they were finally united, both body and soul. And the sensation was still there, only it felt even stronger than before. Both were getting hotter and sweat was falling down from their bodies. Tsugumi then got up from the bed and hugged Subaru while saying:

"More, I want more! Deeper, push it deeper!"

"Tsugumi... I never knew you had this dirty side inside you." Subaru said and smiled to her.

"You never know what love can turn you into." Tsugumi said and looked at Subaru with her innocent stare for a moment, but then she hugged him even stronger. "Come, enter inside me even deeper! Explore me, I'm all yours and you're all mine!"

Subaru pushed it inside her, then retreated it, then pushed it again, then retreated it, and continued like that. After a few moves they both began used to it, and both were enjoying it. Tsugumi was laughing and sighing while Subaru was admiring her. That simple moment of lust seemed like an eternity for them. Both were expressing their emotions through physical acts and both were gaining great pleasure from it. And it seemed that no matter what would happen to them in the future, they would always be together. After a few more minutes of doing that, they both felt as if something was about to come out of their bodies through the organs which they were using then. But that only made them move even faster than before.

"It's coming, Subaru, it's almost there!"

"Same here, Tsugumi, just hold it a bit more!"

They kept doing the same moves until in the end both yelled and a white liquid came out from both their organs. That's when a strange light surrounded Tsugumi and made Subaru fall off the bed. The girl's body started to change: her skin got paler, her eyes got a deeper stare, her muscles grew a bit stronger and a pair of giant white wings grew on her back. Once the transformation was over, the aura surrounding her turned into a wave of light which unleashed itself upon the Geki mansion and the planet, and then disappeared. Down at the living room, Hanna was sitting there and being shocked by everything that had happened. But in the next moment after the light wave disappeared, Tabitha's astral plane entered the room through the broken window and landed on the floor. The witch got out of the ship and Hanna noticed that her skin got paler.

"Tabitha-sama, what happened?"

"Greetings from the rings of Saturn, Hanna! It's such a lovely cosmic weather up there!" Tabitha said and walked to her. "Everything is going even better than I could ever imagine: my skin looks much better, my normal powers have finally returned to me AND I've managed to escape the moment when Tsugumi's powers could've killed me!"

"What?" Hanna asked.

"That cursed wave of light would've killed me and any fiend from hell which was close by. Luckily, I wasn't even on this planet, so better luck next time, Tsugumi! Oh wait, there won't be a next time!"

Tabitha rushed at the table and took a dragon's claw out of a jar. Then the witch turned to the bowl filled with water and snapped her fingers, making a fire light underneath it and boil the water. Tabitha waved her right hand above it and then threw the dragon's claw inside it while saying:

"Go, my little demon, the time has come for Tsugumi to meet her doom!"

Suddenly, a giant black hand came out of the bowl and it stretched itself outside of the living room, through the corridor, up the stairs and into Subaru's room. While Subaru was staring at Tsugumi with confusion, the arm came into the room and grabbed Tsugumi.

"What the hell is that?" Subaru shouted.

"Subaru..." Tsugumi murmured and then she yelled as the hand pulled her out of the room. "SUBARU!"

"TSUGUMI!" the boy yelled back.

Subaru got up fast. He dressed up in his bathrobe, put his deck in one of its pockets and rushed out of the room. He didn't know where Tsugumi was, but he intended to rush downstairs and then look for her. But as he reached the main entrance to the mansion, he was greeted by Tarja, whose leg was in bandages, and Edo.

"Guys!" Subaru shouted.

"Suby, it's about time we came here! Tarja warned me that Tabitha was intending to hurt Tsugumi!"

"I know, Edo-kun, she just kidnapped her!"

"Oh no! Where could she possibly be?" Tarja asked.

"I have an idea! How about we try to listen to the walls? Her shouts might lead us to Tabitha's lair." Subaru suggested.

"But how do we know that Tsugumi is shouting in the first place?"

"Oh believe me, Tarja, I know she is!"

The three started listening to the walls and walking through the main corridor. For a few moments it seemed that it was pointless, but then they all heard a female voice yell. At first it seemed pretty vague, but the more they walked, the more they could hear her better. But then they stopped in front of a wall.

"What is it? Some kind of dead end?" Edo asked.

"If so, then it was all pointless..." Tarja added.

"No, dammit! Tsugumi is behind this wall and I won't give up until I reach her!" Subaru said and hit the wall, only to have his hand 'fall into it'.

That was when Tabitha's illusion disappeared and Subaru opened the living room's doors. Then they all saw Tabitha's magical objects being placed into different parts of the chamber, magic symbols painted on the walls and a bowl in the center of the room. Tsugumi was floating above that bowl and Tabitha then flew to her.

"Everlasting chaos... the fate which humanity shall suffer for eternity! When the angels form heaven cry... that's when I come for you!" Tabitha said and put her left hand on Tsugumi's right shoulder.

"No, stay away! Leave me alone!" Tsugumi yelled.

"Tsugumi!" Subaru shouted and ran to Tabitha. "Get your hands off her right now!"

Tabitha turned to the boy and made a wave come out of her eyes which pushed him back to the others. Then she fired a beam with her right hand and put them all in a metal cage. Then she turned back to the blonde girl. The witch approached her lips to the girl's and said:

"For an angel, you are so beautiful!"

"No, don't do it! Don't touch me!" Tsugumi yelled, but then Tabitha kissed her.

When Subaru woke up, he saw the thing that horrified him most in his entire life. Tsugumi was being raped by Tabitha. The girl was crying and begging for help as the witch kept profaning her beautiful body. Subaru yelled even louder and tried to break the cage's bars, but he couldn't. All that he could do was to witness how his beloved Tsugumi was suffering at the hands of their mortal enemy. And once she was done with her, Tabitha let Tsugumi fall on the floor unconscious. Her body had gone back to normal, except for the angel wings, whose feathers were starting to fall.

"What have you done to her?" Subaru yelled.

"Her body had been depraved, and thus lost its sanctity!" Tabitha said and landed on the floor. "And now it is time to feed her to the demons from hell!"

Tabitha walked to the table and took the '1001 big bad spells' book. Then she flipped through the pages until she found spell number 666. Afterwards she started putting any ingredient on the table which was hot or spicy, such as peppers or hot sauce. Tabitha then started the incantation by saying:

"Spirits of the dark side, souls of the damned, RISE UP, HELP ME GIVE BIRTH TO MY PLAN!"

A river of fire came out of the pot and casted itself upon one of the walls, making a giant fiery rectangle appear on it.

"Help me, souls of the damned, help me!" Tabitha continued the incantation.

Tortured screams could be heared from the rectangle. They were of a really big and awful pain.

"Set them free, oh evil one!" Tabitha said and pointed her wand to the mirror where Tsugumi s closet could be seen. "Open the door to the fiery pit OF ETERNAL DAMNATION!"

The wand fired a big fire ball which made the images of demons and tortured souls appear in the fire rectangle. The portal to hell was thus opened. Tabitha then turned to Tsugumi and said:

"It's time for you to burn, girly. For good!"

The witch made the girl float in the air and the slowly move to the portal to hell. Subaru could not take anymore of that. The boy's rage grew so big and his will to save the girl was so strong that his silver Leo pendant suddenly turned into a golden one. Then out of it came a giant fire lion which melted Tabitha's cage. But before Edo and Tarja could have any reaction, Subaru rushed to save Tsugumi from her imminent death.

"Tsugumi, hold on! I'm coming!" Subaru yelled.

"Oh no, not this time!" Tabitha said and casted four knives on his back. "It's over, Subaru Geki!"

"N-not... yet!" Subaru replied while getting up and running once again to Tsugumi.

"You still don't learn, do you?" Tabitha said and created some needles on the part of floor where Subaru would run, thus making the boy's toe bleed and him fall once again. "Well? Contemplating on giving up?"

"Never!" Subaru shouted and got up once more. "I'll never give up until Tsugumi is safe and sound!" the boy said and rushed once more to her.

"Very well then. You're just forcing me to put you into a sea of pain!" Tabitha said and put floating razors in the space which was separating Subaru from Tsugumi.

But to the witch's surprise, the boy didn't give up. He ran through the razors and sometimes got his skin cut, but still went on. That was when Tabitha got angry and she created two laser balls in her hands.

"If these tricks can't stop you, then a taste of my real powers will!"

But before she could attack him, the fire lion jumped on her and pushed her away. Then the animal roared at her and started throwing fire balls. This kept Tabitha busy and gave Subaru more time. As Tsugumi was a few inches away from the hell portal, Subaru suddenly jumped out of the floating razor sea and stretched his hand to her.

"Tsugumi!" he shouted.

That was when the girl woke up and noticed what was going on. Fearing hellfire, she immediately turned to Subaru and stretched her hand as well.

"Subaru!" she shouted back.

But just as they were about to grab each other's hands, a giant grey serpent came out of the portal and grabbed them both with its big and ugly hands. That was when the temperture inside the living room turned hotter and the house started shaking. Knowing what was about to happen, Tabitha trapped the fire lion in a force field, used her powers to minimize all her magical items and put them all into two briefcases once more, and then she ran to Hanna and said:

"We have to get out of here before it's too late!"

"But what's going on, Tabitha-sama?"

"There's no time for questions! Hurry!" Tabitha said and opened a portal.

Both Tabitha and Hanna entered the portal and disappeared. But just then, an explosion filled the entire room and covered everyone and everything in it.


	78. Living in the same world as you

Tabitha and Hanna appeared outside of the Geki domain in the middle of the cold winter night. But as soon as they got out from the portal, they saw a big smoke coming out from the Geki mansion, which was followed by a red light.

"Look, Tabitha-sama! It's coming from the mansion!" Hanna said and pointed.

"Oh, and where there's smoke, there's..." Tabitha commented, but got intrerrupted by Hanna.

"That was one bad sounding explosion we've heard while teleporting!"

"Heh, as opposed to a good sounding explosion?"

"I hope nobody's hurt!"

"Don't count on it, Hanna. That explosion probably had something to do with Tsugumi being trapped in hell. It might even signal her demise."

"Her what?"

"It's possible that she has finally been destroyed. Or Subaru has gone into hell to rescue her AND THEY WERE BOTH DESTROYED!"

"No!" Hanna shouted.

"Happy day!" Tabitha cheered. "That would mean that sir Lucy will turn me into the Queen of Evil for sure! If I were to become that, nothing would stop me from turning planet Earth into my own private torture chamber!"

"I hate the way you talk like that, Tabitha-sama!"

"Heh, with Subaru and Tsugumi gone, I'll be top dark! Ready to unleash chaos upon these unsuspecting mortals!"

Tabitha opened one of the briefcases and took out a glass. She then casted a spell upon it and made wine appear in it. Afterwards she turned to the direction of the mansion and said:

"The portal to hell is in the mansion's living room and it's wide open! Evil has gained control, Hanna! That means that I'll become the Queen of Evil very soon!" Tabitha said and drank a bit from the glass.

"Poor Subaru..." Hanna said with a sad voice.

"Oh forget about him, he's gone away for good! Subaru and Tsugumi, both are gone forever! Hahaha!"

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion's living room. Everything was destroyed, every statue, picture, chair and screen. The explosion took care of all of Mutsuhito's belongings, but it didn't take care of the humans. Edo was the first one to get up, even if he had some tiny burns here and there. Once he got up, he tried to help Tarja as well.

"You ok, Tarja?" he said as she woke up.

"I'm fine." she replied and tried to get up.

Then they both heard laughter coming from one of the walls. When the turned to the wall, they saw the portal to hell, which had covered the whole wall. They could see many innocent people suffering while being burned with hellfire and demons which were torturing them in horrible ways. And in the center of the portal was the giant grey serpent, and he was holding both Subaru and Tsugumi in his hands.

"Hahahahahaha!" the serpent laughed. "We have them both, and they will serve us in hell for eternity! Hahahahahaha!"

Back at Tabitha and Hanna. They were still looking at the mansion as a red light was shining through the smoke.

"The smoke has covered the whole sky above the mansion, Hanna!"

"Call the fire department!"

"Nothing on this Earth can put out that kind of fire!" Tabitha commented, but then they both heard some roars behind them. "What was that?"

"I didn't hear anything." Hanna replied.

"Noises! Noises from our briefcases!"

Tabitha rushed to one of the briefcases and opened it. She took out some jars, a few books and her crystal ball. When she had the ball, she saw that it had turned from blue to red.

"It seems that the demons are trying to contact me. It might have something to do with Subaru and Tsugumi being trapped in hell."

"Sweet Subaru..." Hanna said and sobbed.

"Hanna, come here!" Tabitha said and as the girl walked to her, she showed her the red crystal ball. "Look! See the red glow?"

"What does it mean, Tabitha-sama?"

"It means that the forces of the dark side are trying to contact me! I have to find out why!"

Meanwhile at the Geki mansion's living room. Edo and Tarja had finally managed to get up on their feet. But before they could say anything, the serpent spoke once more to them:

"We are taking them to the tenth level of hell, where they will spend eternity in chains, doing nothing but our bidding!"

"NEVER!" Edo yelled.

"There is nothing you or anyone else can do!" the serpent said and laughed.

"Dear God, they need help!" Tarja said and was about to run. "I have to get help!"

"Wait, Tarja!" Edo said and stopped her. "Before you could even reach the UFO it might be already too late!"

"Then what should we do? Stand around and watch our friends get burned?"

"I'll think of something..."

Back at Tabitha and Hanna. The witch had managed to take her table out of the briefcase and then put the red crystal ball on it. She then closed her eyes and waved her hands, trying to get in contact with the demons. Hanna was looking at her all worried and then intrerrupted her by saying:

"I don't like this, Tabitha-sama!"

"You'll just have to endure it then!" Tabitha replied, but then her mood changed suddenly. "Ssh, listen!"

Both fell silent and then they started hearing noises. They were the voices of Subaru and Tsugumi, and both were coming from the red crystal ball.

_"Tsugumi, don't give up!"_

_"I can't see you, Subaru! Where are you?"_

_"I'm here, in the serpent's hand!"_

"That was..."

"The two brats."

"But how did they get inside your crystal ball, Tabitha-sama?"

"I don't know and I couldn't care less, Hanna!" Tabitha said and then took another drink from the glass of wine. "After all, both Subaru and Tsugumi will be trapped in hell for all eternity, and..."

"Eternity? Subaru is going to be trapped in hell for eternity?" Hanna spoke while having a shocked expression on her face.

"No doubt about it, dear Hanna! Hahaha!"

Then Tabitha had a weird feeling. She felt as if someone or something was coming to her, so she suddenly fell on her knees in front of the red crystal ball and spoke to it with humility:

"Whatever you command me to do will be done! This I swear! But for this to be so, I beg of you to offer me the Red Crown from Hell and turn me into the Queen of Evil!"

"Tabitha Lenox!" a demon spoke from the red crystal ball.

"Yes, that's me... I mean yes, it is I!" Tabitha said and raised her hand.

"Your request is being granted!"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

"But when you are the Queen of Evil, you best not fail us again!" the demon spoke with a threatening voice.

"Never! I will never fail you again!" Tabitha said and clenched her fists.

A red portal opened above Tabitha and a crown with two long and sharp horns came out of it and descended right unto Tabitha's head. Once that happened, Tabitha was surrounded by a red aura and her body and clothes started changing. A dark blue cape appeared on her back, a pair of white boots appeared on her foots and a purple armor appeared on her body. Also, her face and skin started looking younger until the aura had disappeared. She now looked as if she was 30 years old and her new clothing made her look even more threatening. Then portal closed and the crystal ball turned blue once again. Tabitha got up and looked at Hanna, who was shocked of what happened.

"Who are you and what have you done to my dear Tabitha-sama?"

"It's me, Hanna! I am your precious Tabitha-sama!"

"But... how?"

"Oh that's just how I used to look when I was young. But now that I have become the Queen of Evil, this shall be my new look, so get used to it!"

"So what will happen now?"

"Now, my dear Hanna, it is time to literally unleash hell upon this planet! Victory shall be ours!"

Tabitha fired a red lightning from her right hand and the beam went all the way to the Geki mansion and entered the portal to hell. That was when the building started shaking even worser.

"What's happening?" Tarja asked.

"I don't know, but it certainly isn't good!" Edo said.

The serpent then jumped deeper into hell and disappeared from the portal along with Subaru and Tsugumi. When Edo ran to see what was going on, a horde of demons came out of the portal. They were bats, dragons, snakes, goats, goblins and all kinds of monsters, and they were certainly not there for lunch. Edo made a few steps back as the demons started rushing out of the mansion through every window, door and wall.

Meanwhile, outside at Tabitha and Hanna. Now that the demons from hell were unleashed into the human world, Tabitha seemed fit that it was finally time for her and Hanna to relax. She made a throne for her, a chair for Hanna and two bowls of popcorn appear by just thinking. And then she made her magic mirror grow to the size of a TV screen and float in the air as she made the image of the Geki living room appear on it.

"Well then, Hanna, it's time to enjoy the show!" Tabitha said and ate some popcorn.

"How could you enjoy all this chaos, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked while sitting on the chair.

"Oh, you don't even know how much this thrills me, Hanna! It's even better than those soap operas they air every Saturday morning!"

"But isn't there anything that can help Subaru?"

"In a word: nope."

"There has to be something!"

"Wait a minute... I tell a lie! There is one thing that could save the brat!"

"What?"

"And I'm the only one who has it! And as long as I do have it, there's no way that Subaru or that damn Tsugumi will ever be saved!" Tabitha said and drank from her glass of wine.

"Why don't you tell me what can save them, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna insisted.

"Can't you save it for later? I wanna have some fun here!"

"No, not until I know what you have that can help save Subaru!"

"Well, I suppose there's no harm showing you. After all, there's nothing anyone can do for Subaru and Tsugumi anyway." Tabitha said and finished her glass of wine.

The witch got up from the throne and put the glass on the table. Afterwards, she made the briefcase float and land on the same table. Tabitha opened it and searched for a few minutes until she took out a dark green claw. Hanna was immediately disgusted by what she was seeing.

"What is it?" the blue haired girl asked.

"What does it look like?" Tabitha asked while smiling evily.

"Pure evil..."

"Indeed it is! This is a demon's claw, Hanna!"

"Eew..."

"The demon's claw! And it's the only thing that can save your sweet Subaru!"

"But how could this... thing save Subaru?"

"Well it's quite simple: this claw possesses such enormous powers that if it were to be thrown in the portal, the very portal through which Subaru and Tsugumi were abducted, it would reverse my spell and free those two in no time."

"The claw all by itself would do that?" Hanna asked.

"Correct! But since the claw is in my possession, that will never happen!" Tabitha spoke with confidence.

Then, all of a sudden, the nightsky turned red, along with the moon. Both the girls looked up and Tabitha spoke:

"Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"I hate it when you speak Latin!" Hanna complained.

"No education is complete without some knowledge of the classics, Hanna! And actually, I wasn't speaking Latin, I was speaking French!" Tabitha commented.

"I don't care what you're speaking, I want to know what's with this eerie red light!"

"You're right about being eerie. But it's not any sort of light, it's the sky!"

"What? Since when the sky is red?"

"From now on! Hahaha, what a wonderful night this is, Hanna!"

Then an army of all kinds of demons started running out of the Geki mansion into every possible direction. The goblins, bats and other creatures with wings started flying in the sky while the rest ran or crawled on the earth. Their first targets were the first cities they would encounter, and they would unleash destruction upon mankind. As Tabitha was laughing and enjoying her victory, Tarja and Edo got out of the mansion, which had started burning in flames on its upper levels.

"We gotta find something: a ladder, a rope, anything, and rescue them!"

"It's no use, Edo! All we can do is pray!"

"Prayer will not save you this time, Tarja Turunen!" Tabitha shouted and the two turned and saw her in her new clothes.

"It's Tabitha!" Edo exclaimed.

"But what happened to her? She looks... younger..." Tarja added.

"Bow down to me and praise me, you foolish mortals!" Tabitha said and fired lightnings towards Edo and Tarja.

Both jumped and tried to avoid Tabitha's attacks as much as possible. But no matter what they did, it wouldn't reverse all the evil that had been unleashed. It was over. Tabitha had won!

But as Tabitha was taking care of Tarja and Edo, Hanna was staring at the mansion and she then spoke to herself:

"I can't let my sweet Subaru die! There's something I can do to help him!"

The blue haired girl then turned to the table and saw the demon's claw. Noticing that Tabitha was busy with those two, Hanna snatched the claw and rushed to the Geki mansion. The girl made her way through the army of demons, who weren't paying attention to her, and once she was inside, she didn't have any other obstacles. The girl ran through the main corridor to the living room, the place where the portal was opened.

Meanwhile, Tabitha's lightnings made Edo trip and in the end fall on Tarja, thus knocking both of them unconscious. They were now at Tabitha's mercy. The witch laughed loudly and said:

"Hahaha, nobody can possibly withstand my power! I am Tabitha Lenox, Queen of Evil! Right, Hanna?"

But Tabitha didn't get any response. The witch turned back and saw that Hanna had disappeared. Also, she noticed that the demon's claw was gone as well.

"Oh no, the demon's claw! Hanna! Damn that goodie two-shoes!" Tabitha said and ran to the mansion. "She must be inside the Geki mansion, trying to save Subaru and his crispy girlfriend! I cannot let that happen! If blondie is saved, I'll lose my powers AND the Red Crown! I gotta stop that demented little demon slayer!"

Inside the Geki mansion, Hanna had finally arrived at the door to the living room. But once she opened it, a powerful wind pushed her back a few feet. The girl tried to fight it and after a few moments she managed to finally enter the room. Once she got inside, four goblins attacked her. Hanna took cover, and as they were trying to hurt her, she scratched them with the demon's claw and scared them away. The girl then looked at the portal and saw four demons sitting inside the fires and protecting the serpent who was going deeper into hell along with Subaru and Tsugumi.

"Goodness sent you here to fight us?" one of the demons said.

"A weak girl?" another added.

"LEAVE NOW OR YOU'LL CATCH FIRE AND BURN ALIVE FOR ALL ETERNITY!" a third one yelled and the others laughed.

"But I can't let Subaru die!" Hanna said and showed the demon's claw.

"You'll be destroyed if you use the claw to save these mortals!" the serpent said. "Mark my words - you'll be destroyed!"

More goblins came out of hell and tried to attack Hanna. The girl showed them the claw and they once again got scared away and flew outside of the mansion. The serpent laughed as he saw the scared look in Hanna's eyes. He tried to scare her even more and said:

"Use the claw and you'll burn forever!"

"Help us!" Subaru yelled.

"Somebody, please help us!" Tsugumi yelled as well.

Those screams were what motivated Hanna to fight to the end and risk her life, no matter what. The girl gave all the demons and the serpent one hateful stare and aimed the demon's claw to the portal. But as she was about to throw it, Tabitha came into the room and grabbed her right hand, stopping her from throwing the claw.

"What in hell's name do you think you're doing?" Tabitha said while pulling Hanna away from the portal. "How could you do this to me? You know very well that if you throw the demon's claw into the portal to save Subaru I'll lose my Red Crown and my powers!"

"I'm sorry, Tabitha-sama, but I can't stand seeing Subaru suffering anymore!" Hanna apologised.

"What about seeing me suffer?"

"I had to do the right thing!"

"Do the right thing? I never raised you to do the right thing! Hell, if it wouldn't be for me, you'd probably be dead by now!"

"I'm sorry, Tabitha-sama..."

"Oh, it's ok, Hanna." Tabitha said and pulled the girl to the room's door. "Now come, let's get out of here and put the demon's claw back in my briefcase."

But as Tabitha was about to take Hanna out of the room, Subaru's cries for help made the girl change her mind. Hanna broke free from Tabitha's grip and turned to the portal once again while saying:

"I'm sorry, but I love Subaru and I'm going to save him!"

"You ungrateful little brat!" Tabitha replied. "Do you even know what will happen if sir Lucy finds out that my sidekick was the one which rescued Subaru and Tsugumi? I'll give you a hint, and that hint is hell!"

"She is right, little girl! You better not try anything or you will be destroyed!" the serpent threatened Hanna.

"Did you hear that? If you throw that claw into the portal it will be lights out for us!" Tabitha whispered to Hanna.

Then Tabitha saw a fire ball coming from hell. The witch ducked along with Hanna as the ball came out of the portal. Once it entered the living room, it took the shape of a horned demon with bad wings. The demon growled and then turned to the two. Hanna hugged Tabitha in fear as the demon slowly approached them. But Tabitha didn't have any reaction, as the demon seemed oddly familiar to her. The demon stopped right in front of them, and when Hanna thought that it was the end of them, the demon spoke:

"Tabby baby, what's cookin', good lookin'? I must say that the last hundred years have been good to you!"

"Damian, you demon you, it's been far too long!" Tabitha said while putting an excited smile on her face.

"I haven't seen you since Chicago."

"Oh yes, the great Chicago fires, what a glorious night!"

Tabitha then got a flashback in her mind. _It was October 8 1871. Tabitha, who at that time was dressed in a pilgrim suit, entered a cow barn with an oil lamp turned on._

_"What's going on, mrs O'Leary?"_

_"I have to milk my cow, Henry, I'll be over in a minute..." Tabitha said and closed the door. "...to dance on your grave!"_

_Tabitha walked to the cow food and was about to let the lamp fall, but then Damian appeared and said:_

_"Hey, Tabbs, ready to do some damage?"_

_"Aren't I always, Damian?"_

_"I've poured oil all over these barns and also on some wooden buildings!"_

_"Good job, Damian! Let's make this one for the history books!" Tabitha said and let the oil lamp fall on the cow food, thus letting the catastrophe begin. "Hahaha, stake anyone?"_

The flashback ended and Tabitha sighed with happiness. Hanna then spoiled their fun by saying:

"Tabitha-sama, you surely have some strange friends."

"Look who's talking, girly!" Damian said, but then Hanna showed the claw and scared him a bit. That was when he turned to Tabitha and said: "What's the deal, Tabbs? Can you stop that little brat from using the claw?"

"I'm trying my damnedest!" Tabitha replied.

"Then try harder! And once we get back that demon's claw and destroy it, we shall be free to reign upon this cursed planet for all eternity!"

"Oh, but Damian, do you remember the time when we caused that bubonic plague to fall upon Europe?"

"Oh, that was one hell of a trip! But not as cool as Tsunamis we've caused in Indonesia! Now that's what I call a ride!"

As Tabitha and Damian were reminiscing the catastrophes that they caused upon the world in the past, Hanna walked once again to the portal and stared at it. She saw the serpent pulling Subaru and Tsugumi even deeper into the bowels of hell. Subaru was desperately yelling for help, but the serpent then said to him:

"Save your breath, worthless mortal, you'll have plenty of time to scream while you're suffering in the tenth level!"

"Not while I can still do something!" Hanna said and before anyone could notice it, she threw the demon's claw.

As the claw entered the portal, the mansion started to shake and all the demons began feeling dizzy. Tabitha and Damian turned to the portal and saw that Hanna didn't have the demon's claw in her hands anymore. Damian roared with all his fury:

"Tabitha, I thought you were going to stop that brat from throwing the claw!"

"The name's Hanna!" the blue haired girl commented, but the demon roared at her.

"I warned you not to throw the claw! Now you and your master will die!" the serpent spoke with even more fury.

"Oh great... now we're done for..." Tabitha spoke with a disappointed voice.

Then a red beam came out of the portal and took Tabitha's crown along with her clothes, turning her back to her normal self, but this time it also took away all of her witch powers. Then each demon which came out of the portal was slowly sucked back, except for Damian, who was still holding on to a wall with his claws.

"Look what you've done, Hanna, look what you've started!" Tabitha said while being extremely worried.

"I was only trying to..."

"I told you that the demon's claw would unleash chaos upon us, but did you listen? No, you just had to go ahead and throw it in the portal!"

"But you told me that it was the only thing I could do to save Subaru!" Hanna tried to defend herself.

"Oh Subaru, Subaru, I'm sick and tired of that name!"

"I couldn't let him be destroyed!"

"So you stole the claw and tossed it into hell."

"I had to!"

"Now all hell is breaking loose! You may very well be able to free Subaru and Tsugumi out of there, you may even destroy the demons and banish evil from Earth, but what you've done will destroy us too!" Tabitha said and turned to the portal only to see demons blowing up one by one. "It's over, Hanna, we're doomed, all of us are doomed!"

Inside the portal, the demon's claw's effect was starting to work. Not only were all the demons being sucked back into hell and some of them destroyed, but the serpent was being pushed by the claw's force out of the bowels of hell and right to the human world. As he was only a few feet away from the portal, the serpent tried to resist and in the process he let go of Subaru and Tsugumi. The two lovers fell into the flames, but at least they were freed from the creature's grip.

"Damian, I'm leaving you in charge from here!" the serpent said and then it screamed from pain as it blew up.

"Take cover, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna yelled and jumped on Tabitha, making both of them duck from the explosion.

"There's no way I'm letting you get away!" Damian said and jumped in the portal.

When Subaru got up, his neck got caught by the cold hands of Damian. The demon began strangling him, and when Tsugumi got up and saw what was going on, one damned soul from hell caught her as well. Both Damian and the soul started walking away from the portal and pulling them into hell.

"Oh no, why isn't Subaru free from hell yet?"

"The demon's claw may have reversed my spell, but the demons will not give up without a final fight, Hanna!" Tabitha said and got up.

But as Subaru and Tsugumi were being pulled into hell, both of them felt that Damian's and the soul's powers were getting weaker. Tsugumi couldn't free herself, but Subaru was lucky to have Damian's grip getting much weaker. The boy freed himself fast and when Damian tried to grab him once again, he punched the demon in the face. Then Subaru went to Tsugumi and punched the soul as well, making it fall forever into the flames.

"Tsugumi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Subaru. Thank God we're free!"

"It's not over yet!" Damian growled and jumped to the two.

Subaru and Tsugumi made a few steps back and the demon landed into the fire, thus vanishing back into hell. Subaru then grabbed Tsugumi's hand and said:

"Ok, hold on tight! We gotta get outta here before the demons come back!"

Both Subaru and Tsugumi started running to the portal as more demons blew up and more souls of the damned vanished back into the fiery pit. Outside hell, Tabitha and Hanna were waiting for the two.

"Oh no, Hanna, the brats are coming!" Tabitha spoke with a disappointed tone in her voice.

"Subaru's saved!" Hanna cheered.

"This is a total disaster!"

Then, alll of a sudden, Subaru and Tsugumi jumped out of the portal. Both were tired and had a couple of burns, but they were glad that they were safe once again.

"We're finally back!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Oh God, I knew we would make it! Thank you, God, thank you so much!" Tsugumi cried.

Then the two lovers came face to face with their enemies: Hanna and Tabitha. They stared at each other for some time and then Hanna suddenly covered her eyes and yelled:

"You're both naked!"

"What's worse, you're still not dead..." Tabitha added.

"And we never will be! The power of our love shall defeat any kind of scheme you plot against us!" Subaru said.

"As long as we're together, you will never be able to bring us apart!" Tsugumi continued.

The mansion shaked even wilder than before and it started to slowly fall into the depths of the earth. Subaru then took Tsugumi's hand into his and both ran away from the living room. As they left, another explosion came from the portal and Tabitha and Hanna took cover once again.

"That was the biggest explosion yet!" Hanna said.

"Oh, they'll be worse, much worse!" Tabitha replied.

"I think it's time for us to make tracks!"

"How many times must I tell you, Hanna? It's useless! Evil will destroy this mansion and everyone in it!" Tabitha said, but then she put her hands on her hips and calmed down a bit. "Maybe there's something I can do to save myself."

"What about me?" Hanna asked.

"You? I doubt that any demon from hell will lift a finger to save you after what you've done! Anyway, I think I can persuade them to at least give me my normal witch powers back."

Tabitha then fell on her knees in front of the portal and put both her hands on her forehead as she closed her eyes.

"Evil, I beg of you, return my powers to me! None of this was my doing, I wasn't responsible for this! It's her, it was Hanna!" Tabitha said and pointed to the blue haired girl.

"Why do you abandon me like this, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna spoke shocked.

"And she did it all on her own! I don't deserve to be destroyed like this! Please give me back my powers so that I can save myself! I have so many plots ready for this new year, I don't want to miss all the horrible events that are yet to come!"

"And neither do I!" Hanna said and smiled to the portal.

"I want to be here to see the grief and pain that shall visit upon the chosen duelists!" Tabitha said and pushed Hanna away from the portal. "Please, I beg of you, restore me my powers!"

"Tabitha Lenox!" a deep voice spoke from the portal. "You shall be granted your powers if you manage to stop Subaru and Tsugumi from escaping the mansion!"

"Thank you, thank you for the understanding!"

A red beam was casted upon Tabitha and Hanna and both were teleported out of the living room. Meanwhile, on the main corridor, Subaru and Tsugumi were still running towards the exit. But just as they were about to reach it, Tsugumi fainted from all the effort she'd been through. As Subaru was about to help her up, he saw Tabitha and Hanna appear in front of the mansion's opened doors.

"Tabitha, don't you know when to give up?" Subaru said.

"I'll never give up until I pull you and that cursed blondie to hell with me!" Tabitha said and took out her glowing deck.

Subaru looked around and saw that his torn bathrobe was close. He ran to it and took out his deck from its pockets. Then he showed the deck which started glowing and two dueling tables appeared out of the floor. Both put their decks on the tables and raised their shields.

"DUEL START!" both shouted and the duel began.

"I charge mana and end!" Tabitha said.

"I charge mana and end!" Subaru said.

"I cast Faerie Life, thus getting one more mana!"

"I summon Emily, Injection Doll!"

"Heh, that pathetic doll is no match for me! I summon Vishu, Emperor of the Gods!"

"Oh really? I cast Deadly Love and destroy Emily! Now I also destroy Vishu and by Emily's effect you'll discard a card!"

Tabitha discarded Adge, Emperor of the Gods and stared at Subaru with mean eyes. The witch drew her next card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Ana, Emperor of the Gods!"

"Your creature doesn't scare me a bit! I summon Daidalos, General of Fury!" Subaru said and a giant bone demon with blue bat wings appeared behind him and roared.

"Think again, fool! I cast Earth Eternity Gate and revive Adge! Godlink, Adge Ana!" Tabitha said and the black dragon united with the blue one, becoming one."And due to the fact that Ana was linked, I'll send your Daidalos back to your hand! Adge Ana, double break his shields!"

Subaru took cover as Adge Ana both fired lasers from their heads and broke two of his shields to pieces. The shards stabbed his naked chest and stomach, but he endured. The boy immediately took the two cards back to his hand and showed one of them while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Adge Ana back to her hand!"

"Hmph, I return Ana and Adge stays!" Tabitha said and the blue surfer hit her dragon and made the blue part disappeared.

"Now it's my turn! I cast Proclamation of Death! Destroy Adge!" Subaru said and Tabitha stared at him all shocked as her black dragon blew up behind her. "Aqua Surfer, break her shield!"

"Don't be too confident, Subaru, for you haven't won yet! I summon Amaterasu, Founder of the Blue Wolves and cast Crest of Mother from my deck! I'll put Amaterasu into my mana zone and replace it with Mani, Emperor of the Gods!"

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards! Ike, Aqua Surfer, break another one of her shields!"

"Heh, shield trigger, Faerie Life! Thanks for giving me one more mana! And now it's show time! I summon Moora, Emperor of Gods and Suva, Emperor of Gods! Godlink! Suva Moora Mani! Hahahahaha!" Tabitha laughed as her Gods linked into one atrocity. "These creatures shall bring your end, Subaru Geki! I now draw two cards thanks to Mani's effect AND discard Violence Heaven from my hand only to get Adge, Emperor of the Gods back! Ike, Suva Moora Mani, destroy his Aqua Surfer!"

"This isn't over yet!" Subaru said and showed another card from his hand. "Go, Dark Strike, Reaper Beast!"

"Hah, your pathetic little fellow will not save you in any way! And now, for the card which will sign your death sentence! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Dark Strike!"

"Bad move, Tabitha! When Dark Strike is destroyed, I'll summon a demon command with cost 7 or less for free! I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the race God!"

Tabitha revealed the two cards in her hand which were Adge, Emperor of the Gods and Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses. She discarded Adge and lost a shield which was Aqua Surfer.

"Grr, never mind! By Emperor Hole's effect I summon Suva, Temporal Menace!" Tabitha said and a horned demon wearing a dark purple armor appeared behind her. "Suva Moora Mani, break his shield!"

The creature fired a laser and broke another shield. The shards stabbed Subaru once again, this time in his arms and legs. But the boy resisted the pain and took the card into his hand. He then smiled to Tabitha and showed what was in his shield while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Spiral Gate! Send Suva Moora Mani back!"

"Heh, I return Moora and Suva Mani stay!" Tabitha said and took one of the cards back to her hand.

"Get ready to lose, Tabitha! I summon Olzekia, General of Decapiation!" Subaru said and a black skeletal demon which was armed with swords appeared behind him and roared. "By Olzekia's effect I shall destroy Olzekia himself AND you'll be forced to destroy Suva Mani and Suva, Temporal Menace!"

"Tsh... I destroy only Mani, but Suva, Emperor of the Gods stays!"

Olzekia then slashed Suva, Temporal Menace and made it disappear. Afterwards, the demon slashed Suva Mani, breaking their bond and destroying Mani. Then the demon blew up and Subaru smiled at the witch with a triumphant look on his face. The witch breathed harder as she looked at him with the most menacing stare she had ever had.

"Ike, Gal Volf, break her last shields!" Subaru ordered and the wolf demon jumped and slashed Tabitha's last two shields.

"I will never give up! NEVER!" Tabitha yelled. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Gal Volf! Also, shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Adge, Emepror of the Gods! Then I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Adge Suva Mani! I draw 1 more card thanks to Mani's effect! Now, BREAK HIS LAST SHIELDS!"

Adge Suva Mani's attack was so powerful that not only it destroyed Subaru's last shields, but it also damaged him a bit and opened his wounds. The boy fell on the ground in a pool of blood and for a moment lost his consciousness. The wounds proved to have taken the best of him, and thus Tabitha had won. The witch started laughing harder as Hanna, who was hiding behind the stairs, was weeping for Subaru's death.

"Hahaha, this is it, the final defeat of Subaru Geki! And I didn't even have to win the duel, his body gave up on him before that!" Tabitha spoke victoriously and then turned to Tsugumi. "And now that he is done with, it's time for the other one to be dealt with! The demons are waiting for you, Tsugumi Shirayama!"

Tabitha's last phrase was more than enough to knock some consciousness into Subaru. The boy suddenly opened his eyes and got up with all the strength he had. Tabitha was more than shocked to see that Subaru had survived even in that condition. The boy who was surrounded by the shield shards then spoke to the witch with his most threatening voice ever:

"You will never lay a hand on Tsugumi again! I WON'T LET YOU!"

"Just what in the world does it take for you to die?" Tabitha spoke while getting annoyed.

"Much more than you'll ever pull out, witch!" Subaru said and took the cards which were formed from the shield shards to his hand. "Shield trigger activate! I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Adge Suva Mani!"

"I destroy Mani, but Adge Suva stay!"

"Then another shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign!"

"Oh no!"

"I revive Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy Olzekia once more!"

"I destroy Adge, but Suva stays!"

"Not for long, Tabitha!"

"What do you mean?"

Subaru's hand glew with a powerful purple aura. The boy drew his next card and four cards from his mana zone were automatically tapped as he put it on the table.

"I SUMMON DEATHRAIOS, CURSED BLADE REAPER!" Subaru yelled.

"It can't be!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"When Deathraios is summoned, we'll both have to destroy one of our creatures! I destroy Deathraios! And you, my dear Tabitha, will destroy Suva, and thus lose the game!"

"Impossible! This can't be happening!"

Subaru's Deathraios slashed Tabitha's Suva with its sword and then blew up. But Suva didn't give up yet. It made one final roar of terror and then tried to fly, but in the end it blew up as well. Suva's explosion also caused bricks, rocks and other parts of the ceiling to fall on Tabitha, which was still powerless. Subaru sighed in relief as he picked up all his cards. The boy then rushed to Tsugumi and held her up. He walked out of the mansion with the girl in both arms, even if he was holding his deck in one of them.

Outside they were greeted by Tarja and Edo who were wondering what had happened. The fact that the sky was no longer red and that the demons had all vanished was confusing to them. Subaru gently layed Tsugumi down on the ground and the girl then opened her eyes. The first thing she saw were the protective eyes of her beloved, and that was all that she needed to know that everything would be alright.

"Welcome back!"

"Subaru..."

"Tsugumi, I've finally managed to defeat Tabitha and free you from your burden..." Subaru said, but he suddenly fell on Tsugumi.

"Subaru! Are you alright?" Tsugumi said and when she got up she saw that he was heavily bleeding from multiple parts of his body.

"Tsugumi..." the boy responded and got up his head, both of them seeing each other's face.

"Please, don't leave me!" Tsugumi spoke while tears were falling from her blue eyes.

"Thank you..." Subaru continued and touched her cheek with his right hand. "It's because of you that I've felt love in my life! I think... that I was the luckiest man in the world... to have lived in the same world as you..."

"Don't say that!" the girl shouted.

"Tsugumi... let me feel your lips just one last time!" Subaru said and slowly kissed Tsugumi.

Then the black haired boy closed his eyes and let go of the girl. His body fell, lifeless, upon Tsugumi. The girl stared all shocked and then yelled as loud as she could.

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Hanna was digging in the pile of bricks in order to save her master. After a few moments, she finally found Tabitha, but the witch's feet were stuck by a heavy piece of iron.

"Tabitha-sama, wake up!" Hanna yelled.

"H-Hanna..." Tabitha said while opening her eyes.

"You're alive! Hurry, free yourself and let's get out of here!"

"It's too late for me, Hanna."

"Nonsense, you'll make it as always! Now cast a spell and lift that piece of iron!"

"N-not this time, Hanna... My powers are drowned for good! Nothing in the world can save me now!" Tabitha said and then she noticed that more parts of the mansion were falling due to the fact that the building was sinking into the earth. "Hurry, save yourself! You still have time!"

"No, I'm not leaving without you, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna said and tears fell from her eyes. "We're a team! Always together until the end!"

"Enough with all this sappy stuff! You will get out of the mansion and leave, that's an order!"

Hanna stared at Tabitha for a moment with sadness in her eyes. But the girl decided to obey her master and said:

"I will never forget you, Tabitha-sama!"

The girl ran away from the pile of bricks and jumped out of the mansion just a second before its door would sink into the earth as well. Tabitha stared at Hanna leaving and then spoke silently:

"Good bye, Hanna!"

That was when the rest of the mansion started falling upon her, destroying the witch at long last. Then, in a few seconds, everything that was once the Geki mansion had become a pile of rubble.

Hanna turned her sight to Tsugumi as she heard her crying. The blue haired girl was astonished to see that Subaru was dead. Edo was on his knees and hitting the ground with anger. Tarja, who was silently crying to herself, approached Tsugumi and said:

"Tsugumi, let's go in the UFO and get shelter!"

But Tsugumi ignored her. She lifted Subaru's head and spoke to it:

"Subaru, please say my name one more time!"

The girl received no response. Tsugumi put her hand on his mouth and whispered to his ear:

"You're too cruel!"

"He tried to bury your burdains as hard as he could. And even though he knew you were his father's enemy, he still loved you and fought hardly for you. He was a true hero..." Tarja tried to console her.

That was when Tsugumi remembered the melody that she had received from the angel in the cave and how he told her that she should use it only when really needed. If there was a moment in her life that she needed it, it was now. The girl embraced Subaru's body and her angel wings rose in the air. Tsugumi whispered to Subaru's ear as she started flying with his body:

"I love you!"

Tarja, Edo and Hanna watched how Tsugumi flew in the air with Subaru's dead body and then they saw a light aura surround them both. In the next moment they heard a beautiful song which was sung by none other than Tsugumi's warm voice. The girl was singing as though she was praising the Lord, but instead she was singing for her beloved. Through this song she was letting all of her pain go and unleashing all the love she had for that boy.

"Forevermore

I will try to take your heart

I won't close the door

Every night I'll wait the time to come

And now I fall

In the silence of my life

Looking for your eyes

Till the end of time, forevermore!"

That song brought tears in the eyes of all Tarja, Edo and Hanna. They all felt a warm feeling inside their hearts, as if all the pain and darkness that surrounded them in the last months had finally faded away, cleaned by the river of light with which Tsugumi was washing them. As she finished singing, her angel wings disintegrated and turned into light which made her and Subaru land down safely. And just as they were landing, Subaru raised his head and stared at Tsugumi in the eye.

"Welcome back!" Tsugumi spoke to him while tears were falling on her smile.

"Tsugumi, I love you too!" Subaru said and kissed her on the mouth once again.

And thus another year had passed. Humanity had once again went through war, death and hatred, but in the end it seemed that love was the only one thing which managed to cure everything. After that fateful night everything went back to normal. The country's society had been re-established, our heroes continued living together and Subaru's and Edo's Cage of Light was once again safe and sound.

One morning, Tsugumi woke up first and got up from the bed. Subaru opened his eyes and said:

"Have you been having nightmares with my father once again?"

"I've dreamt your father, but it wasn't a nightmare. He just told me how much he loves you and wished us a happy life!" Tsugumi replied and smiled to him.


	79. A new beginning to an old story

Three weeks had passed since Tabitha Lenox had been destroyed along with the Geki mansion. Peace had fallen once again upon the world, and that was enough to have sir Lucy furious. In hell, there was alot of tension at the restaurant from the first level. The evildoers were talking in lower voices so that they wouldn't annoy the King, who wasn't in his bright mood lately. He was sitting on the table which was closest to the TV, along with Hitler, Zakira, Rezo and Tabitha. None of them was speaking, all they were doing was to look at each other and sometimes drink some tea. But when exactly three weeks had passed since Tabitha's death, sir Lucy finally said something to them:

"Ok then, have you come up with a new plan, Tabitha?"

"Why of course, master! I always have a plan!" the witch responded while putting an evil smile on her face.

"It better be good, Tabitha, or else you might not stay with us in the restaurant next time." Zakira said and drank another cup of tea.

"Ya, ya, you'll be screwed... just like the jews were back in my days." Hitler added.

"This will be good!" Tabitha said and showed them a multi-colored card which costed 10 mana and had 9000 power. "You see this creature?"

"What's with it?" Rezo asked.

"If I were to summon it in our world and then keep it there, I would conquer the world in no time!"

"You better do so, Tabitha, or else I might not be so nice the next time!" sir Lucy said and got up from the table.

"I will not fail you again, master!" Tabitha replied and got up from the table as well.

"Tsh, sometimes I wish I also had a contract with sir Lucy that allows me to come back to life at three weeks after I die." Rezo commented.

"Don't we all, Rezo?" Zakira replied.

"Ya, ya!" Hitler added.

Tabitha and sir Lucy walked all the way through the restaurant until they reached its front doors. The King of Hell opened them and revealed a dark red cave in which Shagrath was waiting with his charriot.

"Are you ready, Tabitha?"

"Ready as always, Shagrath!"

"Go, Tabitha Lenox, and make sure you don't fail me again!" sir Lucy said.

Tabitha rushed to Shagrath and entered the charriot. Then he hit the bone horses with a whip and the charriot started moving upwards, to the human world.

Meanwhile, at the remains of the Geki mansion. Everything, including the gardens around the ruins, was covered by snow. But that didn't stop a blue haired girl to make her way through it until she reached the ruins of the once mighty building. As she reached the place where the door once was, she fell on her knees and put a white flower on it the bricks while saying:

"Three weeks had passed since you died, but it seems like an eternity! Tabitha-sama, wherever you are, I wish you are resting in peace!"

But then the girl got hit by a snowball. She fell on the ice cold snow and when she opened her eyes and tried to get up, she saw three boys sitting in front of her. One was short, had long black hair, was dressed all in black and had iron claws on his hands. Another one was of normal height, had white hair down to his neck and was wearing a student uniform. The last one was really tall, almost bald, if it were not for the few small parts of hair on his head, and was wearing a sailor suit which consisted of dark blue pants and a white shirt with blue strips.

"Waddaya doin' here all by yerself, little lady?" the short one asked while touching her chin with his claw.

"Leave me alone!" Hanna said and pushed his hand away.

"Oh, why you so mean? I just wanna talk." the boy continued and grabbed her hand.

"Let go of me!"

"Tobey, don't you think she's nice?"

"Indeed, she is a fine specimen. I think we've hit the jackpot, Dani!" the white haired boy answered to the short one.

Suddenly, they heard something crash. They all turned their backs and saw some bricks on the ground. Then, a dark figure rose up from the ruins and spoke to them with a sinister voice:

"Let go of her, right now!"

Hanna's eyes grew big as a happy smile came on her mouth. Dani let go of the girl while staring all scared at the figure.

"Who are you?" Tobey asked.

"I... am your new master!" the figure said and revealed itself as being Tabitha.

Six months had passed since that incident and summer had returned once again to the country. After Tabitha's defeat and death, Subaru and Tsugumi didn't bother looking for another house to live in, for they preferred to continue living in Kokujo's UFO along with Edo and Tarja. It was a calm summer night, the last night of May, which announced the actual beginning of the hot season. Subaru was sleeping in his bed while Tsugumi was sitting at the window, staring at the moon and thinking about the past months.

"All the pain we've been through last year seems like it was yesterday and these past months seem like a dream. It's too good to be true!" she thought and then looked at him. "Subaru and I are together at long last!"

The girl walked to the bed and admired the sleeping boy for a few moments. Then she slowly approached her mouth to his, but then she felt something grabbing her hand. Subaru opened his eyes, got up and pushed her on the bed. Then he sat on her and said:

"Are you trying to take advantage of me while I'm asleep?"

"I... I..."

"You've gotten nicely perverted, Tsugumi!"

"What?" Tsugumi asked and blushed. "You're the perverted one! Let go of me!"

"I'll NEVER let go of you again!" Subaru said and kissed her on the lips.

But time did not wait for them to enjoy their precious moment together. Hours passed mercyclessly and soon it was 6 AM. That was when Edo opened the door and walked in with two surfboards under his hands. He turned on the lights in the room, only to see the two being covered by sheets.

"Good morning, sunshine! Suby, it's time to go! The beach won't wait for us!"

"It's 6 already?" Subaru said and got out of the bed all naked. "Then let's go and ride those waves before anyone else!"

"Ooook, but first you might wanna put on your swimsuit." Edo replied and pointed to the table where Subaru had his swim trunks ready.

"Subaru... are you already leaving?" Tsugumi asked and got up from the bed while covering herself with the sheets.

"Yes, but don't worry, Tsugumi, I'll be back until sunset!" the boy said while putting on his swim trunks. "And don't you give me that sad look. You can always walk to the beach!"

"I... guess."

"Come, Edo-kun, let's go!"

Subaru took his MP3 player and headphones and then rushed with Edo outside of the UFO. Now that she was left alone, Tsugumi first tidied the bed and then she dressed up in her favorite summer dress, a short red one. Then the blonde girl headed to the kitchen and met with Tarja, who was preparing some coffee. The woman was wearing a white night dress, who wasn't very tidy.

"Good morning, Tarja-san!"

"Good morning, Tsugumi! How was your sleep?"

"Hehehe..." the girl laughed and blushed.

Meanwhile, at the beach. Edo and Subaru had set their things on a sheet and then rushed to the water. The waves were bigger than usual, but that wasn't a problem for them.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Subaru said and ran in the water with his purple and blue surfboard.

"Wait for me, Suby!" Edo yelled and followed him with his blue and green surfboard.

But as they began riding the waves, a strange figure appeared on the beach. The mysterious person was none other than Tabitha. The witch looked at the two and then said:

"Hehehe, enjoy these moments while you still can! For when I'm through with you, things will never be the same again!"

A few hours had passed and it was noon. Out in the city it was really hot. At that time of the day most of the people were sitting in their homes at the air conditioners and few had the courage to wander through the hellish heat. And still, Tsugumi and Tarja were outside doing some shopping. They had bought pasta, shrimps, onions and tomato sauce, all this for a great pasta dinner which they would prepare when Subaru and Edo would return from the beach. But then two boys appeared in front of them, blocking the way.

"Huh? Get out of the way, please!" Tarja said.

"Oh, listen, Tobey, she asked us nicely to get out of their way." the short one said.

"Well then, Dani, I think you know how to respond to this nice lady." the white haired one replied.

Even though Dani was short, he walked to Tarja and pushed her on the ground. The woman dropped her food on the ground and Tsugumi panicked.

"Tarja-san!" Tsugumi yelled.

"Now now, missy, you don't want your precious Tarja to get hurt, now do you?" Dani said and put his metal claw on Tarja's neck.

"W-what do you want?" Tarja asked.

"We want miss Tsugumi Shirayama to follow us." Tobey calmly replied.

"Me? But what do you want from me?" Tsugumi asked.

That was when a strange wind blew upon them and made Dani's claw fall off his hand. A racing rocket with flames painted on it landed in front of the four people. Then its door opened and a green haired girl jumped out of it and hit Dani with her foot in just one second. The long haired shorty fell on the ground and the girl helped Tarja up.

"What in the universe is this?" Tobey asked.

"Stand down, you losers!" a voice said from the rocket.

Everyone turned their heads to the rocket and a red haired boy which was wearing a red racer suit came out of the rocket.

"I don't believe it!" Tsugumi exclaimed. "It's Rad!"

"And what about me, Tsugumi-chan?" the green haired girl said and showed her face to Tsugumi.

"Sora-chan! You're both back!"

"Yeah, Tsu, we're back in business!" Rad said and took out his deck. "How about we take care of these clowns for ya?"

"Be my guest!" Tarja said and smiled to him.

"Ok then, let's do this!" Sora said and took out her deck as well while Tobey was helping Dani up.

"You don't stand a chance against us, you weaklings!" Tobey said and took out his deck as a dueling table appeared, for him and Sora.

"I'm gonna crush you into tiny pieces, punk! Get ready to feel the might of Dani!" the short boy said and took out his deck a dueling table appeared, for him and Rad.

They all set up their shields, drew their cards and shouted 'duel start!', thus beginning their matches.

"I charge mana and end!" Rad said.

"I charge mana and summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw!" Dani said.

"Usin' fire, eh? Let's see who's better at this! I charge mana and end!"

"If I were to beat the chosen fire duelist, that would be something!"

"Eh? But how did you know that I was the chosen fire duelist?"

"Hehehe, you will find out soon enough, Rad! I charge mana and summon Aqua Guard! Blaze Claw, break his shield!"

"Tsh, your rush will not stop me! I summon Cocco Lupia!"

"Think again, Raddy boy! I summon Pyrofighter Magnus! It's play time! Ike, Magnus, Blaze Claw, break two of his shields!"

"Heh, might wanna take that back, shorty!"

"I'M NOT SHORT! I'M JUST NOT TALL ENOUGH!" Dani yelled at Rad.

"Um... isn't that the same thing?" Rad asked and sweated.

"Not my fault I didn't like milk when I was little..."

"Anyway, shield trigger activate, I cast Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Pyrofighter Magnus and Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw!"

"Why you little..."

"Look who's talking. Anyway, I summon Eagle Aini, the Explosive Wing!"

"Heh, those bids won't save you from your imminent doom, Raddy boy! I summon Qurian and draw a card!"

"Think again, Dani! I summon Flame Shiva Double Cross, Blastdragon! Eagle Aini makes him speed attacker, so ike, Flame Shiva, break one of his shields! Also, with his effect, I take Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole to my hand! Heh, it won't be long until you're pwned!"

"Think again, punk boy! You're done for!" Dani said and showed a fire card while tapping 6 mana. "I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

"W-what?" Rad asked while sweating. "B-but that's my trump card!"

"And by its hand you shall be defeated! Ike, Genji Double Cross, break his last shields! That's it! You're done for - Qurian, totome..."

"Not so fast, shrimp! Shield trigger, I cast Hell's Scrapper!"

"Noooo!" Dani yelled.

"Destroy Qurian and Aqua Guard!" Rad said with a confident smile on his face. "Also, shield trigger, Genji Blaster! I summon Reppi Aini and Shobu Aini from my deck!"

"Uh oh, I think I'm in trouble..."

"You sure are! I summon Hurricane Tops Double Cross, Blastdragon! I tap Shobu Aini and destroy it, but then I also summon O'Flame, Temporal Djinn! Ike, Hurricane Tops, double break his shields!"

"This can't be happening!"

"Oh, but it surely is, Dani! And with the effect of Hurricane Tops I summon another O'Flame, Temporal Djinn! And guess what - my Eagle Aini makes all my Flame Commands speed attackers! Ike, O'Flame, break his shield! Then my other O'Flame, break his final shield!"

"Sh-shield trigger, I cast Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Eagle Aini, Reppi Aini and Cocco Lupia!"

"Flame Shiva Double Cross, Blastdragon, totomeda!" Rad ordered and Dani fell on his back, defeated. "Heh, all in a day's work!"

"Woo hoo, go Rad!" Tsugumi cheered.

"You're the man, Rad!" Sora cheered as well. "But now I gotta take care of you as well."

"Oh, but dear miss, I will be harder to handle since I'm not that rushy pathetic as Dani. You see, miss, I do have a brain in my head, not like him!" Tobey said.

"We'll see about that!"

Sora had Fighter Dual Fang in the battle zone and 10 mana, while Tobey had Bronze-Arm Tribe and 6 mana. Both of them had 4 shields left and it was Tobey's turn. The boy drew, charged mana and showed a darkness card from his hand while saying:

"Heh, I cast Lost Soul! Discard all the cards from your hand!"

"What?" Sora spoke shocked as she discarded Faerie Life, Bronze Chain Sickle, Mana Nexus, Bronze-Arm Tribe and Terradragon Diruga Vejida.

"Not that pleasant, eh?" Tobey spoke arrogantly. "Ike, Bronze-Arm Tribe, break her shield!"

"You'll pay for this! I summon Kankuro, Peerless Brute!"

"What the... that's one giant dragon you got there! 19000 powered quadruple breaker? Nice..."

"Thank you, but your compliments won't save you from your final defeat! Ike, Dual Fang, double break his shields!"

"Heh, shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Kankuro!"

"Oh no!" Sora spoke, shocked.

"Haha, and now it's time for the real fun!" Tobey said. "I summon Bronze Chain Sickle and gain one more mana! Then I summon Franz the 1st, the Ice Fang and Bloody Squito! Ike, Bronze-Arm Tribe, break her shield!"

"Shield trigger activate! I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit and send Franz the 1st to your mana zone!"

"Heh, is that the best you can do, oh, chosen nature duelist?"

"Oh, I can do much worse! I cast Natural Snare and send Bloody Squito to your mana zone!"

"Oh no, this can't be!"

"Ike, Princess Cub, break his final shield!"

Tobey's last shield was Hanzou, Menacing Phantom, but the card was useless since Dual Fang had more than 6000 power and he didn't have any blocker to use it in order to destroy the beast.

"Fighter Dual Fang, finish him off, totomeda!" Sora ordered and Tobey fell on his back, right next to the defeated Dani.

"Good work, Sora! Hye five!" Rad said and hye fived with Sora.

"Guys, it's so great to have you both back!" Tsugumi said. "But where have you been all this time?"

"Rad had been busy with his rocket races, whereas I was busy with my temple. But with this whole Mutsuhito Geki war going on, Rad couldn't go on any races and my temple was destroyed..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Sora!"

"Oh, it's nothing, Tsugumi, nobody was hurt. Anyway, where are Subaru and Edo? And who is this miss?"

"This is Tarja Turunen, a close friend of mine." Tsugumi said and Tarja bowed to Rad and Sora.

"It's nice to meet you!" Tarja said.

"The pleasure is ours, miss!" Rad replied.

"As for Subaru and Edo, they're at the beach and should be back before sunset, so let's make them a surprise!"

"Alright, Tsugumi!" the other three said.

And so, Tsugumi, Tarja, Rad and Sora went back to the UFO and prepared everything for a reunion party. Tsugumi cooked the food, Sora decorated the UFO, Rad got the chairs and table ready, and Tarja got the music ready. But hours had passed and none of the two showed up. They were waiting with everything ready for the party and it seemed that their whole work was useless. But when night fell, someone knocked at the UFO's door. Tsugumi rushed to open it and was shocked to see a wet Edo which was really tired.

"Edo-san, what happened?" Tsugumi shouted.

"Tsugumi... we had an accident... Subaru... disappeared..." Edo said and fainted on the girl.

The rest rushed and took Edo from the girl. They took him to his room and started taking care of him, but Tsugumi didn't do anything. She just stood there and stared into nothing as her heart was beating fast. The only thing that was on her mind now was Subaru, and many worrying thoughts were coming along with the boy's image.


	80. Memories vanished at the sea

The sun had almost finished setting at the beach where Edo and Subaru had been surfing. The water seemed much calmer, compared to the rest of the day. However, the small waves brought at the shore a boy with long black hair, who seemed almost dead. As he saw him, a man dressed in a black coat rushed to him and lifted him up while saying:

"Hang in there!"

The boy slowly opened his brown eyes and caught a glimpse of the man which was carrying him, but then he closed his eyes and fel unconscious once again.

Meanwhile, at a castle which was located a few miles away on the same beach. At the throne room, which was located at the highest level of the castle, Dani and Tobey were kneeling down in front of a throne with ashamed expressions on their faces. On the throne was none other than Tabitha, and near the throne, sitting with her hands crossed, was Hanna.

"You lost to the chosen fire and nature duelists. How do you explain this?"

"I-I can't, Tabitha-sama." Dani said and bowed his head.

"We were taken by surprise! We... underestimated them..." Tobey explained.

"Silence! Your excuses will not be tolerated!" Tabitha yelled. "You were unable to bring Tsugumi Shirayama to me, and now the other chosen duelists had shown up!"

"Tabitha-sama, it's my brain..." Dani said while trembling. "I have been really tired lately and..."

"Shut your mouth!" Tabitha yelled even louder. "You worthless piece of flesh! I should destroy you now! Oh, I'm so tempted! But I can't do it... since I need you right now! And you know why? The psychic creatures!"

"Tabitha-sama, excuse me for intrerrupting your royal speech, but I think that the best way for us to not fail anymore is to receive some of the psychic creatures which you've hunted down in these past months!"

"And why is that, Tobey? So that you can screw up with them even more in duels?"

Tobey bowed down his head, just like Dani, and apologized to the witch. Seeing those two being humiliated so harshly, Hanna laughed a bit to herself, but Tabitha heard her and spoke:

"What's so funny, Hanna?"

"Um... nothing." the girl said and bowed. "I'm sorry, Tabitha-sama!"

"Maybe I should duel the chosen fire duelist all by myself! This would inspire you to work harder in your dueling training." Tabitha said.

Back at Kokujo's UFO, Rad and Sora had taken Edo to the hospital room and took care of him. Meanwhile, Tarja tried to make the shocked Tsugumi feel a bit better.

"It would be stupid to ask you how you feel, wouldn't it?" the woman said.

"Heh... exactly..." the blonde girl ironically replied.

"I can imagine how worried you are. But you have to have hope."

"Oh God, why? And we've just gotten back together!"

"I know, I know, but you two had been through so much and I'm sure he'll get back soon and you'll be with him again."

But their discussion was intrerrupted by a rushing Sora. The green haired girl ran so fast that she couldn't stop anymore, so she passed the two girls and ended up in a metallic wall, leaving a hole. The girl got out of the wall while assuring the others that she was ok, then she cleaned off the dust from her clothes and said:

"Tsugumi-chan, come quick! Edo is awake!"

A light of hope suddenly appeared into Tsugumi's eyes. She, Sora and Tarja ran through the UFO's corridors until they found a door with a red cross on it. The door opened by itself and they saw Edo sitting on a bed and Rad trying to feed him some soup. But every time Edo took a spoon of soup, he spat it on Rad's face and said:

"Yuck, I don't like it! Change the soup, now!"

"God, I hate my job..." Rad thought.

But when they saw that the girls had entered the room, things started to get more serious. Edo got up from the bed and stretched his arms and legs, showing that he was alright.

"Watch out, Edo, your body had still not recovered."

"Who is the water duelist around here, Sora?"

"Um... you."

"Yep, so don't worry, I can handle it! Water is my second name!" Edo said, but then he coughed some water out.

"Yep, and your third name is Spongebob wetpants." Rad joked.

"Don't you DARE insult the might of Spongebob!" Edo yelled at Rad.

"Um... I wasn't insulting Spongebob, I was insulting you."

"Oh, ok, that's cool."

"Edo-san, what happened with you and Subaru back at the beach?" Tsugumi asked with a worried voice.

"Me and Suby were surfing, but then a giant wave came and that reckless boy wanted to ride it. I told him it was too big, but he didn't listen. When I reached him at the top of the wave, he suddenly got unbalanced and fell off his surfboard. When I tried to stretch my hand to him, the wave fell upon him and I fell into the water. I searched the whole shore, but there was no sign of him."

"Oh, God!" Tarja exclaimed.

But Tsugumi didn't have anything to say. She felt like she was paralyzed by that horrible news that she had received. In just a few seconds her world started to be torn apart. Empty lonelyness started to fill her soul and the girl felt as if she couldn't go on anymore. Her cheeks and forehead were turning hot, her arms were trembling, her body was full of sweat and she felt that tears were about to fill her blue eyes. But then Rad opened the news and the very first thing they heard had brought Tsugumi back from the world of despair in which she was falling.

"Today a 17 year old by the name of Subaru Geki had been found on the city's shores almost drowned. He was rescued by an Argentinian man and brought by him at the city hospital. More news about this case soon..."

Suddenly, a smile of happiness appeared on Tsugumi's face and hope could once again be seen in her eyes. The girl then cheered out loud and scared everyone:

"He's alive!"

"I knew it!" Sora cheered as well and hugged Tsugumi.

"I told you!" Tarja said to Tsugumi.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go to the hospital!" Rad suggested.

Due to the fact that the hospital wasn't far away from the place where they parked the UFO, they all decided to walk there. Spirits were running high in the air and Rad and Sora were excited to meet their old friend once again. But as they were approaching the hospital, a dark red portal opened in front of them and they all stopped.

"Guys, what's that?" Rad asked.

"Beats me..." Edo said.

Suddenly, Dani and Tobey came out of the portal and were face to face with the chosen duelists.

"You again!" Rad exclaimed.

"What? Who are these guys?" Edo asked.

"Some losers we owned today." Sora explained.

Then, Hanna appeared out of portal as well, wearing a red kimono. The blue haired girl sat between the two boys and looked at the others with a grin on her face.

"It's Hanna!" Tsugumi spoke with a shocked figure on her face.

"Hanna, you're alive!" Tarja added.

Finally, one last person came out of the red portal. Everyone was stunned when they saw who had appeared along with the rest. It was none other than Tabitha! The blonde witch was wearing a green and purple dress and had colored bracelets on her left hand. As she landed on the ground, the portal closed.

"Oh no, that annoying witch again!" Tarja said.

"Impossible! It can't be!" Tsugumi added.

"But... you were destroyed!" Edo commented.

"Hahaha, it's a pleasure to meet you once again, chosen duelists!" the witch laughed.

"But it's not a pleasure for us!" Tarja replied.

"He's the one that beat me, Tabitha-sama!" Dani said and pointed to Rad with his metallic claw.

"Heh, stand back, Dani!" Tabitha said and walked to the chosen duelists. "I'll show you how to deal with guys like Rad!" the witch continued and took out her deck.

"Bring it on, witch!" Rad replied and took out his deck as well.

Two dueling tables came out of the ground, meaning that they would play a kaijudo duel. Both raised up their shields and drew five cards.

"Be careful! Tabitha is a really strong opponent - she defeated both me and Subaru countless times!" Tsugumi warned Rad.

"Don't worry, I'll handle your witch in no time!" Rad responded to the blonde girl and then turned to the table.

"That fool! He doesn't know what he's up against." Tobey commented.

"Yeah, he'll be defeated in no time." Hanna added.

"You can do it, Rad!" Edo cheered.

"Get that old hag!" Sora cheered as well.

"Go, Rad!" Tarja cheered along with the other two.

Both Rad and Tabitha shouted 'duel start!' and their duel had officially begun. Rad had begun the game, but Tabitha was the first one to summon a creature.

"I summon Melgainer, Electro-Spectre!" Tabitha said.

"I summon Reppi Aini!" Rad said and a cute fire bird with blue eyes and which was half in its egg appeared behind him and flew. "With Reppi's effect I'll reveal my top 2 cards and take one Hyperspatial spell in my hand!"

The two cards were Lyla Aini and Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole. Rad took Bolshack Hole to his hand and Lyla Aini went to his graveyard.

"Heh, I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods!" Tabitha said and a black dragon appeared behind her and roared. "Melgainer, attack! And since I have a God in my battle zone, I'll draw a card! Break his shield, Melgainer!"

"Tsh, I summon Shobu Aini!" Rad said and a fire bird with spiky hair appeared behind him. "Reppi Aini, suicide with Melgainer!"

"Heh, I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Moora Mani! And with Mani's effect I'll draw a card! Ike, Moora Mani, break another one of his shields!"

Rad took cover as Tabitha's creature fired two lasers from its two mouths and broke another one of his shields to pieces. The shield shards united into a card which he took in his hand. The boy then drew another card, charged mana and showed a fire spell from his hand while saying:

"I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and summon Bolshack Dragon, Temporal Blaze!"

A giant red dragon with armor came out from a hole which appeared in the sky and landed behind Rad.

"Huh? But where did he have that?" Edo asked.

"It's a psychic creature." Tsugumi said.

"A psychic what?"

"Psychic creatures are creatures with two forms, a weak one and a strong one. And they usually stay into the hyperspatial zone."

"Ok, now you lost me, Tsugumi..."

"Hohoho, little red haired boy uses psychics too?" Tabitha laughed. "This is going to be interesting!"

"I tap Shobu Aini and destroy it! Then by its effect I summon Bolmeteus 'Young Samurai' Dragon, Temporal Samurai!" Rad said and from the same hole came a robotic red dragon which landed next to Bolshack Dragon. "Hah, let's see you take care of this, Tabby!"

"My pleasure! I summon Ana, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Ana Moora Mani! Mani lets me draw one more card and with Ana's effect you'll have to choose one of your creatures and send it back home!"

"...Bolmeteus 'Young Samurai' Dragon, go back to the hyperspatial zone..."

"Hahaha! Ike, Ana Moora Mani, break another shield of his!"

"I may have only two shields left, but I won't give up yet, Tabitha!"

"Heh, tough words for a guy which didn't break any of my shields yet!"

"We'll see about that! I summon Bolshack Nex and then with its effect I summon Cocco Lupia from my deck! Bolshack Dragon, Temporal Blaze, double break her shields!" Rad ordered and the dragon flew through two of Tabitha's shields.

"I think it's time to get serious!" Tabitha said and showed a darkness spell from her hand. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole!"

"What?"

"I destroy Cocco Lupia and then summon Suva, Temporal Menace!"

A horned demon which was wearing a dark purple armor appeared from the same hole from which Rad's psychic creatures came. The demon landed behind Tabitha and stared at Rad and his Bolshacks.

"Oh no, you have one too, you have a psychic creature!" Rad said.

"Rad, give up and run away now! If Tabitha awakens that psychic creature, you're doomed!" Tsugumi warned the red haired boy.

"Huh? What does 'awaken a psychic creature' mean?" Edo asked.

"Yeah, stop speaking with Rad in Chinese, Tsugumi!" Sora added.

"Remember how I said that a psychic creature has two sides - a weak one and a strong one? The psychics have the ability to 'awaken' the stronger side, and if Tabitha does this, Rad is doomed!"

"The blondie speaks in wisdom, Rad. You'd better surrender while you still can!" Tabitha said.

"I'll never surrender to the likes of you!" Rad replied with a voice filled with courage.

"Those guts won't take you anywhere. Ike, Ana Moora Mani, destroy Bolshack Dragon, Temporal Blaze! Hahaha, still thinking that you'll win now, Rad?"

"Grr... I'm not done yet! I cast Genji Blaster and summon Reppi Aini and Shobu Aini from my deck! Bolshack Nex, double break her shields!"

Rad's dragon jumped and hit two of Tabitha's shields, breaking them into pieces. But the witch didn't seem the least bit scared. She stood there, surrounded by the shield shards, and then she smiled to Rad. That simple smile was enough to bring shivers down his spine. The witch took the two cards to her hand and said:

"Play time's over! I summon Adge, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Adge Ana Moora Mani!"

"That's it!" Tobey exclaimed.

"He's doomed!" Hanna added.

"No, Rad!" Tsugumi shouted.

Tabitha's 4 Gods united into one creature and then Suva's red armor cracked and a giant red demon which weilded two red swords and two blue swords appeared behind her and roared.

"Awaken! Psychic Suva, the Awakening God!" Tabitha said and then all of Rad's creatures got destroyed and he also lost all of his mana. "When Psychic Suva is awakened, he'll destroy all non-God creatures and mana!"

"Oh no..." Rad barely spoke.

"Adge Ana Moora Mani, break his final shield!" Tabitha ordered and her Gods roared so powerfully that Rad's shield cracked into pieces. "It's over, chosen fire duelist! Psychic Suva, totomeda!"

Tabitha's creature hit Rad with one of its swords and threw the boy a few meters away. As the duel had been finished and Tabitha picked up her cards, the witch turned to the others and said:

"Hahahahaha, let this be a warning to you, chosen duelists! Do not dare to interfere with my plans again, or else you will suffer the conciquences!"

"Rad!" Sora and Edo yelled and rushed to the boy.

"Yahoo, we did it!" Dani cheered and hye fived with Hanna.

"Yeah, no one can defeat Tabitha-sama now!" the blue haired girl said.

"Tabitha-sama, it's almost one hour." Tobey whispered to the witch's ear.

"Ok then." the witch whispered back and then she spoke loudly to the chosen duelists. "I'm not going to stand around and play your little games anymore! But mark my words, dare to stand in my way and you'll be destroyed!"

Tabitha opened a red portal and she along with her minions entered it. The portal disappeared and silence had fallen once again upon the city. Sora and Edo helped the hurt Rad up, but the boy easily stood on his feet once he got up.

"Don't worry, the hospital is close. You'll get treatment!" Sora said.

"Heh, it will take more than a final attack to finish me off!" Rad replied.

Now that Tabitha was out of the way, the chosen duelists and Tarja headed to the hospital. On their way, Rad managed to walk by himself and showed signs of getting better, even if his clothes were a bit torn. Once they entered the hospital, they asked at the reception for Subaru's room and a nurse took them upstairs. They walked a bit down the corridor until the nurse stopped in front of room 107 and opened the door while saying:

"Here is his room."

As she opened the door, they saw Subaru sitting on a bed with white pijamas on him and a short bandage around his head.

"SUBARU!" Tsugumi yelled and hugged him. "Oh, thank goodness you're alive!"

"Huh?" the boy reacted and pushed her a bit away. "Excuse me, miss, but who are you?"

That simple phrase made Tsugumi freeze like an ice pick. The girl stared at him with widened eyes and a large mouth and for a moment it was silence. But then Tarja said:

"He probbably has a temporary amnesia or something..."

"Sadly, that's what the doctor said, dear Tarja!" the man which rescued Subaru said and came from the corner of the room.

"Eh, Marcelo?" Tarja said while being surprised.

"Indeed, the one and only Marcelo Cabuli!"

"But... I thought you were dead!"

"That's what even I thought, my beloved muffin! When I was lost in a forest trip, I fell unconscious and was found by some doctors which did experiments on me and held me in cryogenical sleep. Luckily, I was discovered by some benevolent doctors now and brought back to life."

"Marcelo, who are these people?" Subaru asked.

"Oh, Subaru, I didn't introduce them to you - this is Tarja, my beloved fiancee! And these guys... I don't know who they are."

"Me? Your fiancee? So fast?" Tarja asked.

"Of course, my dear!" Marcelo answered with a happy voice.

"What? Subaru, we are your friends!" Tsugumi shouted.

"If only I'd recall you. The last thing I remember... is my father kicking me out of the Geki mansion after I lost the duel against my cousin Lili."

Tsugumi got stunned once again. That day was getting worser and worser by every word that Subaru was saying.

"What is it, Tsugumi?" Edo asked.

"Subaru... forgot everything down to the moment when his father kicked him out of the Geki family. ...That was before he even met me." the girl spoke with tears falling from her eyes.

"Hey, Subaru, why don't you stop joking around, huh? Or do you like seeing Tsugumi cry, you sick bastard?" Rad yelled at the black haired boy.

"Rad, don't! He really doesn't remember!" Tarja interfered.

"Private space, please!" Subaru said and pushed Rad away from the bed. "And besides, I honestly tell you that I've hit my head and I do not 'remember' anything, if there is something to remember!"

"Grr, then it's Marcelo! He must've brainwashed you!"

In the next moment, Subaru got up from the bed, grabbed Rad by his shirt and pushed him against a wall. Then the boy spoke to him with a menacing voice:

"Don't you dare talk like that about Marcelo! He had saved my life and went through all that hardship to bring me back to the hospital! Do anything to him and you'll have ME to answer to!"

"You really did that?" Tarja whispered to Marcelo.

"Of course I did!" Marcelo whispered back.

"How brave of you! But that fiancee thing... I really think we'll have to talk about it later."

"Ok then, my dear!" Marcelo said and kissed Tarja's left cheek. "It's nice to be back with you once again!"

Subaru let go of Rad's shirt and sit back on his bed. He put his head on the pillow and said:

"Marcelo, will you please make these people go away? They've bothered me for too long!"

"If that's your wish, Subaru." Marcelo said and then turned to the chosen duelists and Tarja. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

"Guys, we better leave Suby alone - he needs rest." Tarja said.

"I agree." Sora replied.

"Fine by me." Edo added.

"I'll show him later..." Rad spoke to himself.

"He... has no memories..." Tsugumi murmured.

Tarja and the four chosen duelists left the room and closed the door. But before they left, Tsugumi stood there a bit more and listened to what Marcelo and Subaru were talking. Seeing that she didn't follow them, the rest returned and heard what the two were talking as well.

"So, what are you planning to do now?" Marcelo asked.

"First, I'm gonna move with you and that girl, what was her name again?"

"Her name is Hanna."

"Also, Marcelo, I want to become a stronger duelist!" Subaru said and stared at his deck. "In order to do so, I have decided to enter the Duel Masters summer school! Would you like to join me?"

"I'd be honored!"

"Guys, did you hear that?" Tsugumi whispered.

"Heck yeah, and we all know what that means!" Sora whispered back.

"Ummm, nope?" Edo said and then got Rad's fist on his head.

"It means we're going to school, dummy!" Rad said.

"But... it's summer!" Edo complained.

And so, the chosen duelists and Tarja walked back to the UFO. The next day they would search for the Duel Masters summer school and try to enter it, and once that would happen, they would have a chance to help their friend remember them. They were all hurrying back to the spaceship in the dead of night so that they would have enough rest for tomorrow.

"If going to school with Subaru is what will help me get his memories back, I'll do it gladly!" Tsugumi thought.


	81. Duel Masters summer school

With Rad being defeated by Tabitha, things started to go pretty well at Tabitha's castle. Everyone was training at that night and the witch was sitting on her throne and observing how they were dueling clones. But as they all defeated the clones, the witch got the image of the chosen duelists in her head and said:

"Great job! Now it's only a matter of time until we defeat those chosen duelists and get all the psychic creatures!"

"And I'll be your right hand!" Hanna replied and approached Tabitha.

"You're mistaken, girl, that will be my job from now on!" Tobey said and approached Tabitha as well. "After all, I'm the smartest one around here!"

"You want a piece of me, punk?" Hanna spoke angrily and took out her deck.

"Heh, such illogic nonsense." Tobey said and took out his deck as well.

Two dueling tables appeared and the two started dueling in front of Tabitha in a matter of moments. Even though the witch didn't order them to do it, she stood silent and watched the match. It was turn 4 and Hanna had only Cocco Lupia in the battle zone and 4 shields left, whereas Tobey had Dreaming Moon Knife and Bronze-Arm Tribe in the battle zone and all 5 shields intact.

"I summon Bolshack Nex!" Hanna said and a red giant armored dragon appeared behind her and roared. "With its effect I summon Dark Lupia from my deck!"

"If you're facing me, at least prove to be a challenge, Hanna! I cast Terror Pit, destroy her Bolshack Nex!" Tobey said and a load of dark hands grabbed Hanna's dragon and destroyed it, but then her Dark Lupia also slashed Tobey's Bronze-Arm Tribe with its scythe and killed it. "Huh? But why?"

"Fool! When one of my Dragons is destroyed, Dark Lupia destroys one of your creatures!"

"It seems that I've underestimated you. A mistake which shall not repeat itself pretty soon. Dreaming Moon Knife, break another shield!"

The creature slashed one of Hanna's shields with its hand, but the girl didn't seem the least intimmidated. She calmly took the card in her hand and then started her turn.

"I summon Dragon Ultimate God Geki and end my turn!" Hanna said as a giant black dragon appeared behind her and roared.

"Tsh, that thing won't help you too much anyway!" Tobey said. "I summon Bronze Chain Sickle and Franz the 1st, Ice Fang! Dreaming Moon Knife, take down another shield!"

"Ok then, it's time to get serious!"

"What the..."

"I summon Necrodragon Giland! And then I evolve him into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg!"

A giant black dragon with 8 heads above its normal one appeared behind Hanna and roared. Tobey made a step back as Hannna grinned and tapped her cards.

"Ike, Dragon Ultimate God Geki, double break his shields!"

Tobey took cover as Hanna's dragon roared and destroyed two of his shields. The shield shards rapidly united into two cards which he took to his hand. He then smiled and showed one of them to Hanna while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Lunarzberg!"

"Heh..." Hanna silently laughed as the black hands grabbed her Lunarzberg and destroyed it. "You're a bigger fool than I thought!"

"What?" Tobey asked as her Dark Lupia slashed his Franz the 1st and destroyed it.

"When my Lunarzberg dies, not only do you activate my Dark Lupia's effect, but by Lunarzberg's effect I may summon 2 darkness creatures with a cost of 7 or less form my hand for free! I summon Necrodragon Guljeneraid and Heavy, Dragon God!"

"Oh no!"

"By Heavy's effect I shall kill my Heavy and draw a card!"

"I destroy... Bronze Chain Sickle, but I also get shield plus from it!"

"Dark Lupia's effect destroys Dreaming Moon Knife too! Heh, it will soon be over!" Hanna spoke confidently.

"I summon... Space Crawler!" Tobey said and then looked with fear at Hanna's dragons.

"Heh, pathetic to the end! I cast Inferno Sign and revive Heavy, Dragon God! Then I destroy Heavy and your Space Crawler!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes! Ike, Dragon Ultimate God Geki, double break his shields! Then, Cocco Lupia, break his final shield!"

"Ninja strike 4!" Tobey said and showed a water card from his hand. "I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade! Send Cocco Lupia back to your hand!"

"Stalling for time, eh? It won't work on me, Tobey! Ike, Dark Lupia, break his final shield!" Hanna said and the purple fire bird slashed Tobey's last shield with its scythe.

"This can't be happening!" Tobey said and looked at the cards in his hand, which were Bloody Squito, Lost Soul and Bronze-Arm Tribe.

"I'm sorry, but I think you lost this one! Necrodragon Guljeneraid, totome..."

"That's enough!" Tabitha shouted and got up from her throne. "Quit wasting your energy! I do not need my minions fighting against themselves, thank you!"

"She started it!" Tobey said and pointed to Hanna.

"But, Tabitha-sama, Tobey said that he's your right hand man, and that's not true, since we all know that after you, I am next in line!" Hanna explained.

"Enough of your petty whining!"

"But, Tabitha-sama, I was just... "

"Did I not make myself clear the first time?" Tabitha spoke with a cold voice and shut Hanna up. "For us to win this war, we each must update our decks with psychic creatures! So far, Hanna, you've proved that you're the only one not worthy of getting any psychics from me."

"WHAT? But, Tabitha-sama, I've won the duel and..."

"And you've proven to me just how special you think you are to the others. This kind of attitude will not be tolerated, and thus you will be punished by not receiving any psychic creature!"

Hanna layed her head down and clenched her fists in fury as Dani and Tobey approached Tabitha and kneeled in front of the witch. Tabitha made two sets of cards appear in her hands and then offered them both to her minions. Dani had received Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Hyperspatial Energy Hole, Hyperspatial Extra Hole, Hyperspatial Kutt Hole, Jon, Temporal Explorer, Kutt, Temporal Brawler, Maritini, Temporal Dancer and Untouchable, Temporal Hero. Tobey had received Hyperspatial Energy Hole, Hyperspatial Revive Hole, April, Temporal Gunprincess, Aqua Cutlass, Temporal Swordsman and Kaiman, Temporal Flower. Tabitha laughed a bit as she watched upon her minions and then she spoke to the angry Hanna:

"Hanna!"

"Yes, Tabitha-sama?"

"You know what you have to do - find a psychic creature! And then you'll be ready to defeat the chosen duelists once and for all!"

And so, Tabitha and her minions went to bed. It had been a long night and the following day would bring a new psychic creature hunt for them.

The next morning, the chosen duelists all woke up early, packed up some stuff in their backpacks and by 7 AM they were out of the UFO and looking for the school, except for the tired Edo, who was just following the others while silently whining to himself. But as they were walking, they suddenly saw a big crowd which was sitting and waiting to enter the yard of a giant building. Above the building was a big shiny floating sign which said: 'DUEL MASTERS SUMMER SCHOOL - GRAND OPENING, TODAY!'.

"This is gonna take some time, hehehe..." Edo commented and sweated.

"For the love of God, do all these guys want to enter the school?" Rad added.

"Seems so..." Sora said and sweated as well.

Then a pillar rose from the school yard's earth and everyone stared at it as it reached the heavens. Then the image of a blonde boy with blue eyes which was wearing a white uniform appeared in front of them. They saw that it was the same boy who was sitting on the pillar.

"Greetings, I am Hakuoh!" he said and many cheers followed.

"I can't believe it! It's THE Hakuoh!" Tsugumi said and blushed.

"I don't get it, what's so special about him?" Rad asked.

"Hakuoh was one of the best light duelists ever in my time! But I don't get it how he managed to get here... I mean, it's 100 years!"

"Maybe he used beauty cream." Edo said.

"As all of you know, today is the grand opening of the Duel Masters summer school." Hakuoh said. "But, before we open it, I want to make it clear that everyone can enter, but I will make a class of 20 duelists which will be the strongest in the whole school and which shall have me as their teacher! At first I decided to test everyone's abilities through a test of knowledge, but then I got an even better idea! All of you which are here now, duel each other! And the last 20 ones which are standing shall be my students!"

The school yard's gates then opened and revealed many rows dueling tables. Everyone cheered , and before Tsugumi, Rad, Sora and Edo could react, they were immediately challenged to duels. Everyone took out their decks and rushed to the tables from the school yard, thus beginning the fateful match which would separate the weak from the strong. It was a long and hot summer day. Many duelists fell from exhaustion and loss of duels, whereas others could barely resist. However, the determination to enter the school was big. When the computerized clock announced with a female voice that it was 2 PM, Hakuoh saw that there were only 40 duelists left to face each other. The blonde boy smiled, as he knew that his class would soon be formed. He then watched upon every duel with attention, so that he could see the strengths and weaknesses of all his future students.

"I cast Heaven's Gate and summon two Syrius, Firmament Elemental!" a boy said.

"Heh, Revenge Chance, I summon Kankuro, Stalwart Unstoppable!" Sora said.

"Oh no! You've got an even bigger creature than mine!"

"You got that right! And now it's my turn! I summon two Spirit Rider Ragmarl and with their effects I shall send both my Ragmarls to my mana zone, and both your Syrius shall have the same fate!"

"My blockers! They're gone!"

"And you shall follow them! Kankuro, break all of his shields!"

"I... got no shield trigger..."

"Princess Cub, Free Spirit, totomeda!" Sora said and the boy fell on his back, defeated.

"I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy Deathraios!" another boy said.

"Heh, I destroy Eagle Aini!" Rad said.

"And now, grave evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death! Ike, Death March, break his shield!"

"Ok, I'm done wasting my time with you! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

"It can't be!"

"Ike, Genji Double Cross, destroy his Bloody Squito and double break his shields! Bolmeteus 'Young Samurai' Dragon, Temporal Samurai, destroy his Death March and break his last shield! Reppi Aini, totomeda!"

"Nooo!" the boy cried as he fell on his back, defeated.

"Ike, Fighter Dual Fang, double break his shields! Heh, you have one shield left!" a girl said.

"Oh, but the fun is already starting!" Edo replied and showed a card from his hand. "I summon Cyber G Hogan and use his Chain Cascade effect! Now I summon Butterfly Brandy, Electro-Taiga and Fuuma Belarita! I use both their Chain effects and summon... Aqua Jester Loupe and Aqua Jack! And with their Chain effects I summon... Aqua Hulcus and Aqua Guard!"

"This can't be! He's formed an army of water creatures!"

"Ike, Aqua Sniper, break her shield!"

"This isn't over yet! Shield trigger, Natural Snare! Send Aqua Guard to your mana zone! Now I summon Dreaming Moon Knife and evolve it into Barkwhip, the Smasher! Ike, Barkwhip, break his final shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hogan Blaster!" Edo said and shuffled his deck, and afterwards he revealed a card. "I summon Cyber G Hogan and with his Chain effect I also summon Aqua Super Emeral and Ribbity Frog! With Ribbity's effect I shall send your Dual Fang to your hand!"

"Heh, it doesn't matter anymore!" the girl said with a confident voice. "I've got Super Spark in my shields, so there's no possible way you can win this game, no matter how many creatures you have!"

"We'll see about this! Here's the power of a true man! I cast Hogan Blaster!"

Edo shuffled his deck and then revealed Cyber J Eleven. The boy smiled and summoned it while saying:

"I won!"

"What?" the girl asked.

"If I have 11 or more creatures in the battle zone, Cyber J Eleven makes me win the game!" Edo said.

The girl looked at Edo's table and saw that he had two Cyber G Hogan, Aqua Sniper, Butterfly Brandy, Fuuma Belarita, Aqua Jack, Aqua Jester Loupe, Aqua Hulcus, Aqua Super Emeral, Ribbity Frog and Cyber J Eleven. In total they were 11 creatures, and thus proved that Edo was right. The girl bowed down her head in shame and left the dueling table as Edo was enjoying his victory.

"I summon Lucky Tulk, the Oracle and Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law! And with Five Star, Spirit of Luck's effect I shall put two more cards on two of my shields!" Tsugumi said.

"Heh, this won't save you from your final defeat!" the boy she was facing replied. "I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Ike, Genji, destroy her Ultimus and double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate! I summon two Aldora, White Knight Spirit!"

"Oh no!"

"Now it's my turn! I summon another Lucky Tulk, the Oracle and make both my Aldoras able to attack! Ike, Aldora, triple break his shields! Then my other Aldora, break his final shields! Five Star, Spirit of Luck, totomeda!" Tsugumi said and the boy fell on his back, defeated. "Now that's what I call a duel!"

Tsugumi looked around and saw that Subaru was also between those who were still standing. The girl sighed with relief and prayed that he would win his duel as well.

"I cast Deadly Love and destroy my Dark Strike, Reaper Beast and your King Neptas!" Subaru said. "Then, since Dark Strike was destroyed, I summon Black Ganveet, Legion of Demise for free! Ike, Zamaru, Treasure of Darkness, break his shield and discard a card from his hand!"

"This isn't over yet! I summon King Ripped-Hide and draw 2 cards! Ike, Candy Cluster, break another shield!"

"Heh, it's over!"

"What?"

"I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Leviathan!" Subaru said and the boy revealed two cards, which were Energy Stream and King Tsunami. "I discard King Tsunami and you'll lose a shield as well!"

"Curses!" the boy said as he put his Aqua Surfer shield to the graveyard.

"Attack, Black Ganveet, and we'll both discard our hands! Break his last three shields!"

"Impossible! I got no shield trigger!"

"Zamaru, Treasure of Darkness, totomeda!"

The boy fell defeated and Subaru wiped his hands and packed all his cards into a deck. The boy then turned around, walked away while ignoring Tsugumi, which was staring at him, and went to a table where Marcelo was dueling. The boy stopped a few feet away from the table, crossed his hands and watched how his friend was dueling.

"Go, Bolmeteus Steel Dragon, throw his last shields to the graveyard! That's it, you're helpless now! My Lucky Tulk, Emerald Grass, Dia Nork and Szubz Kin will protect me from any attack you'll try to make!" the girl which he was facing said.

"Heh, think again, dear!" Marcelo said and put a darkness card on his battle zone. "I summon End of the World, Dark Divine Dragon! With his effect I will put all the cards from my deck in the graveyard, except for three selected ones!"

"Are you nuts? This way you'll lose the game even faster!"

"I beg to differ." Marcelo said as he put 25 cards into his graveyard. "This beauty is what shall make me win!"

"Hah, I'd like to see that!" the girl said.

"Oh, and you shall see it! Hannibal Zeta, the Charismatic Annihilator, attack! Hell's Soul Recall! I'll put 20 cards from the graveyard back into my deck, and for every 4 cards I put, I'll destroy one of your creatures!"

"Oh no!"

"Bye bye, Lucky Tulk, Emerald Grass, Dia Nork, Szubz Kin and Bolmeteus! Ike, Hannibal Zeta, break her final shields! Troll, Grafitti Doll, totomeda!"

The girl fell defeated and Marcelo wiped the sweat off his forehead. He then looked at his right and saw that Subaru had watched his whole duel. The long haired boy nodded to him and smiled. Marcelo smiled as well and picked up his cards. Then, the two joined the other 18 duelists who had won their duels. They stood in front of the school doors and waited for the pillar on which Hakuoh was standing to descend into the ground. And once it did, Hakuoh jumped off it and stood in front of them with a smile.

"Congratulations! You have all passed the test for entering my class! Now I bid you welcome to the Duel Masters summer school!"

The doors to the school opened and everyone cheered once again. Hakuoh turned his back to the others and climbed the stairs, bring followed by the other 20 duelists, who were all eager to see how their new dueling training would look like. A long summer of dueling was waiting for them, and they all knew it would be worth it.


	82. Students with two faces

Hakuoh took the 20 duelists with him and stopped in front of a class door. He pressed a red button on the wall and made the door open. They all entered the room, which was filled with 21 benches, one dueling table, a teacher's table, a computer and shelves filled with books about the art of Duel Masters and the history of the game. The students each chose a bench as Hakuoh sat at the teacher's table. Rad chose the front seat from the middle row, Edo chose the back seat from the middle row, Sora chose the back seat from the left row, which was close to the door, Tsugumi chose the middle seat from the middle row, Subaru chose the back seat from the right row, which was close to the window, and Marcelo chose the sixth seat from the right row, right in front of Subaru. Now that everyone was seated, it was silence in the class room, for everyone was waiting for Hakuoh to give them a speech, and so he did.

"Welcome to the Duel Masters school, as you already know, I am Hakuoh, your teacher from now on! In the following months you shall be taught the art of dueling and see different dueling combos. We'll occasionally have duels, that's what the dueling table is here for. The classes will also consist of theoretical learning about various effects of creatures. The way you will pass the courses is by defeating in a duel the person I choose for you to face! And don't think that he or she will be an easy opponent! When you'll finish this school, you'll be either a true kaijudo duelist, if you pass, or a failure, if you don't pass. The choice is yours!"

After the speech, Hakuoh went on teaching the basic rules to everyone, just to be sure that nobody forgot, and then the bell announced recess.

"Ok, you may all leave. The next class starts in 30 minutes!" Hakuoh said and almost everyone left the class. "Wait! Rad, Sora, Edo, Tsugumi, Subaru, don't go!"

"Huh? How did he know our names?" Rad asked.

"What does he want?" Subaru asked himself.

"I'll be outside if you need me!" Marcelo said and left the classroom.

The five chosen duelists stood near Hakuoh's table and the blonde boy waited for the others to leave the classroom. Once he saw that they were all alone, he said:

"I know who you are, chosen duelists!"

"Huh?" Edo spoke, confused.

"But how?" Sora asked.

"It's because of me!" an old bald man which was dressed in a brown robe said and entered the class room.

In that moment, Rad, Edo and Sora widened their eyes and their jaws dropped at the sight of the old man. They all rushed to him and hugged him while crying:

"Master, you're back!"

"Huh? Master?" Tsugumi asked.

"This old man in the last surviving apprentice of my Temple." Hakuoh said. "He had the mission of finding the chosen duelists and train them in order to protect the Proof of Duelmasters from Rezo. But he had only found Rad, Edo and Sora, since you and Subaru were too old and..."

"Woah, woah, wait a minute!" Subaru said. "What's with all this crazy 'chosen duelist' thingy? And what's wrong with me being too old?"

"There's nothing wrong, Subaru! I'm just saying that you are the chosen darkness duelist and that I've brought you, Tsugumi and the rest here for an important mission!"

"What important mission, Hakuoh-sama?" Tsugumi asked.

"As you have seen, the notorious witch, Tabitha Lenox, had returned once again! This time she is planning on getting the psychic creatures which had just appeared in our world under the form of cards. Luckily, I've got some myself, and I see that Rad has some too, but there are still many psychics out there that must be retreieved by us before Tabitha and her minions have a chance to get them and use them for her evil plots! It is your job to work as a team and get back the psychics before it's too late and..."

"Enough of this bullshit!" Subaru said with a louder voice. "Listen, I have come to this school to train and become a better duelist, not to go on an imaginary adventure with these creeps to pick up psychic creatures which fall from the sky like raindrops!"

Subaru then turned his back on Hakuoh and started walking to the door. Hakuoh got angry and got up from the teacher's desk while shouting:

"How dare you speak to your teacher like that? Come back here at once!"

"Tsh... make me!" Subaru spoke arrogantly and then left the classroom.

"Why that little..."

"Take it easy, master!" the apprentice said. "Give him more time to get used to the idea."

"I'm sorry, but he had insulted me in front of the other chosen duelists!" Hakuoh said and took out his glowing deck. "He had forced me to make an example of him in front of the class!"

Suddenly, an alarm resounded in the classroom. The four chosen duelists panicked, but Hakuoh rushed immediately to the computer, pressed the numbers 4,6,5,2,4,6,7, and opened a secret door into the wall. Everyone walked in it and they saw a room filled with computers, many machines which were building decks and a large cilinder in which a yellow orb was floating. The chosen duelists were all amazed of what they were seeing. Hakuoh immediately sat at a computer and turned it on, revealing a picture of the city's outskirts.

"What's going on, Hakuoh-sama?" Tsugumi asked.

"Psychic creatures! The computer had found two!" Hakuoh exclaimed.

"So, yeah, what's the whole deal about those psychics?" Edo asked.

"Tabitha Lenox and her minions are after them! It is your job to go and get the psychic creatures before them!"

"But what about the next class?" Sora asked.

"Don't worry, I'll tell the others that you were out to fetch me something to drink! Now hurry to the outskirts of the city!"

"Yes, Hakuoh!" the 4 chosen duelists said and ran away, leaving Hakuoh alone with the apprentice.

"They still have to learn."

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama, but they're ambitious and energic. We could use this in our battle against the witch."

"Let's hope they're not too late."

At the outskirts of the city, Tabitha and her minions were searching for the psychic creatures. The witch was sitting on a bench and calmly watched how Dani, Tobey and Hanna were searching in the grass for the psychic creature cards. But because the process was taking too long and the witch was getting bored, she conjured up a cup of tea and started drinking it.

"Hahaha!" Dani laughed and cut the grass with his metal claws. "Here, psychy, psychy! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Watch out, Dani, or you might cut the cards as well!" Tobey said.

"Tsh, this isn't going anywhere! We're on a wild goose chase!" Hanna complained, but when she raised her head up, she saw the chosen duelists.

"You can say that again!" Sora said and grabbed Hanna's arm.

The green haired girl used all her shamanic powers and threw Hanna in the air, and she hit Tobey, both ending up by falling on Dani. Tabitha got up from the bench and said:

"The chosen duelists!"

"It's time to get my rematch, witch!" Rad said and took out his deck.

"Give it your best shot! I can handle that and much more!" Tabitha replied and took out her deck as well.

Two dueling tables popped out of the ground and the two duelists began their match. But as they were dueling, Sora senced a strange energy coming from behind. She turned arond and felt that it was coming from the bushes. The green haired girl ran to them, but Edo thought that she was going to have fun without him, so he rushed as well. Both jumped in the bushes and searched them a bit.

"Eew, don't tell me that they're doing that!" Tsugumi said and blushed.

"I FOUND IT!" Sora yelled and jumped out of the bushes with a nature card in her hand.

"I FOUND IT, TOO!" Edo yelled and came out of the bushes with a water card.

"Curses! They got the psychics!" Tabitha said.

"Not for long!" Dani said and took out his deck.

"Yeah, we'll get them back!" Tobey added and took out his deck as well.

Dani and Tobey ran to Sora and Edo and challenged them to duels. Four more dueling tables came out of the ground and the duels began. It was Dani VS Sora and Tobey VS Edo.

"I summon Aqua Guard!" Dani said.

"I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana!" Sora said.

"I summon Rikabu's Screwdriver!"

"Heh, that thing won't do anything against me since I have no blockers! Anyway, I summon Spirit Rider Ragmarl and put Ragmarl to my mana zone!"

"I put Aqua Guard to my mana zone! And now it's my turn! I cast Hyperspatial Extra Hole and summon Untouchable, Temporal Hero!"

"Ooh, you got psychics too?"

"Yes, and with them I will crush you! Ike, Rikabu's Screw Driver, break her shield!"

Sora watched as the creature made of screws flew through one of her shields and broke it. The girl smiled and took the shield to hand while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit!"

"Hah, Untouchable can't be chosen by you!" Dani said.

"Fine, then I send Rikabu's Screwdriver to your mana zone! And now I summon Princess Cub SP!" Sora said and then tapped her other card. "Princess Cub, Free Spirit, break his shield!"

Dani took cover as the small and cute bear jumped and hit his shield with all its might, until it got shattered at last.

"Your little zoo doesn't scare me! I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and destroy Princess Cub, Free Spirit!" Dani said and two creatures landed from the hyperspatial zone as Sora's Princess Cub blew up. "And now I summon Kutt, Temporal Brawler and Jon, Temporal Explorer! Ike, Untouchable, break her shield!"

"So many psychic creatures! I gotta act fast before he doesn't get the chance to defeat me!" Sora thought and then took the card in her hand. "Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life and get one more mana! And now I summon Bronze Chain Sickle and get another mana card! Then, I tap Princess Cub SP and tap the last 5 untapped mana cards in my mana zone!"

Then, another hole appeared in the sky and a giant dragon dressed in samurai armor and weilding a long sword appeared behind Sora and roared to Dani. The green haired girl smiled and said:

"I summon Kankuro, Temporal Actor!"

"Tha... that's that psychic creature!" Dani spoke while being utterly shocked.

"Exactly! And once I awaken it, you'll be history!" Sora spoke with confidence.

"No! I won't let you do that! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Ike, Genji, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate! I cast 2 Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare and Torcon into my shields!"

"Grrr... I end my turn! BUT... I shall do some awakenings now!" Dani said and two of his psychic creatures turned into stronger creatures. "Since I summoned Genji, I awaken Kutt into Severance, the Awakened Giant! Then, since I've awakened Kutt, I'll also awaken Untouchable into Untouchable Powered, the Awakened Protean!"

"Heh, play time's over, Dani! I evolve Bronze Chain Sickle into Fighter Dual Fang! Ike, Dual Fang, destroy Genji Double Cross!"

"Why you little... You'll pay for this!"

"Oh really? By the way, since I summoned a creature with more than 7000 power I shall awaken Kankuro!"

Then, Sora's dragon roared and got surrounded by a shiny green aura. When the aura faded away, the dragon got larger and was wearing a tougher armor with giant necklaces around his neck.

"Meet Jungle Kankuro, the Awakened Dramatic!" Sora said and Dani started trembling at the sight of the enormous creature.

"This isn't over yet! I summon Rothus, the Traveler and destroy Rothus!" Dani said.

"I destroy Princess Cub SP!"

"Ike, Severance, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Torcon and Princess Cub, Free Spriit! Send Jon back to the hyperspatial zone!"

"Oh God, how in the world did you get all those shield triggers in your shields?"

"Tough luck?"

"Untouchable, break her last shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare! Send Severance back to the hyperspatial zone!"

"Tsh, at least I have 4 shields, while you have none!"

"Who cares how many shields I have, when I won?" Sora replied and began to attack. "Ike, Jungle Kankuro, triple break his shields!"

"Noo!" Dani yelled and took cover as Sora's dragon slashed three of his shields with its sword.

"Torcon, break his final shield! And with this I say good bye - Fighter Dual Fang, totomeda!"

Dual Fang hit Dani with its sword and threw him away a few meters. Then Sora turned to the beautiful dragon behind her and admired him. It was her first psychic creature, and she couldn't be more happy to have such a strong dragon in her deck. Meanwhile, at Tobey's and Edo's duel. Edo had only Ribbity SP in his battle zone and 3 shields left, whereas Tobey had all his shields intact and Bronze Chain Sickle and April, Temporal Gunprincess in the battle zone. It was Edo's turn. The boy drew, charged mana and showed a water card from his hand while saying:

"I summon Aqua Strummer! With his effect I will rearrange the 5 top cards from my deck!"

"Heh, interesting strategy indeed." Tobey commented.

"And now I tap Ribbity SP and summon G Hogan, Temporal Star!" Edo said and a giant blue robot appeared from a hole in the sky.

"Your robo-psychic is nothing, compared to my beauties! I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole and draw a card! Then I summon Aqua Cutlass, Temporal Swordsman! Ike, April, break his shield and discard a card from his hand! Then, Bronze Chain Sickle, break another shield! Also, I awaken April into Death April, the Awakened Requiem! Hahaha!"

"Then it's showtime!" Edo said and showed the next card from the top of his deck. "I summon Cyber G Hogan! With his Chain effect I also summon Aqua Reactor and Cuty Heart! With Cuty Heart's effect I send Aqua Cutlass back where it came from!"

"Why you little.." Tobey murmured.

"G Hogan, Temporal Star, destroy Bronze Chain Sickle! And now I end my turn... and since I've summoned 3 creatures this turn, I awaken G Hogan!"

"Oh no!"

G Hogan got surrounded by a blue aura and grew in size. When the aura disappeared, G Hogan had turned into an even bigger robot which was black, had tiny horns and was weilding two giant boulders.

"Awaken! Ocean G Hogan, the Best Awakened!" Edo shouted.

"A-amazing..." Tobey said and his jaw dropped.

"It's awesome, right?"

"Indeed it is, but it shall not stop me from defeating you! I summon two Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade! Send Aqua Reactor and Aqua Strummer back to his hand! Ike, Death April, discard another card from his hand and break his final shield!"

Edo watched how Tobey's creature broke his final shield and then the brown haired boy smiled. He took the shield shards into hand, which united into a card and he said:

"It's time to show you what a real man is capable of! I cast Hogan Blaster!"

"What the..." Tobey spoke shocked.

"I summon... Aqua Surfer! Send Death April back to where it came from!" Edo said.

"Hah, is that all you got?"

"Actually, that's just the beginning!"

"What?"

"Ocean G Hogan's effect lets me reveal the top card of my deck whenever I summon a creature, and if the top card is a creature, I may summon it!"

"But... that is overpowered!" Tobey exclaimed.

"Indeed it is!" Edo said and winked. "The top card is Crystal Zweilancer, so I evolve Aqua Surfer into it!"

A giant armored golden centaur weilding two large golden spears rose from the sea and jumped in the air, landing exactly behind Edo. Tobey was horrified by the creature.

"Also, the madness continues!" Edo said. "With Ocean G Hogan's effect I also summon Aqua Guard! And then with the same effect I evolve him into Crystal Super Paladin!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tobey yelled.

"Oh yeah, now it's time to ride the wave, baby! Ocean G Hogan, triple break his shields! Cyber G Hogan, break his final shields!"

"Mommy..."

"Crystal Zweilancer, totomeda!"

The centaur rushed towards Tobey and blew him away with a spiral of water which it casted from one of its golden spears. The boy landed next to Dani, defeated. Seeing that, Tabitha opened a portal and fired a beam which lifted the two and threw them in the portal. Then she turned to Rad and said:

"We'll finish this match some other time!"

"What? Come back here!" Rad yelled.

"Hanna, we're leaving!" Tabitha said and rushed in the portal, soon to be followed by Hanna.

The portal closed and everything went back to normal. Now that Sora and Edo had gotten both psychics and awakened them as well, it was time for them to head back to school.

Meanwhile, at the school, recess had ended and everyone was back in their class. Hakuoh also returned from the recess and found everyone in class, except for the four chosen duelists. The blonde teacher turned to the black board and there was silence until he took out his deck from his uniform. He then turned to the class and said:

"It saddens me to announce you that today I've had the first act of indiscipline in my class, along with my first class ever! And even though I want you all to be relaxed and to enjoy my classes, there is a certain point where discipline and respect is required. I believe that we all have alot to tell and hide from each other and alot to learn from others, but in the moment when you dare to insult your own teacher and banter him, you've gone too far! Yes, I'm talking about you, Subaru!"

"Eh?" Subaru asked and got up from his bench. "All I did was to refuse to believe in those fairy tales you've told me! Pardon me if refusing to take part in a crazy 'chosen duelist' team hurt your feelings, your highness!"

"So you persist... Very well then, Subaru Geki, I challenge you to a duel!" Hakuoh said and took out his glowing deck.

"Fine!" Subaru replied and took his glowing deck as well. "This way I'll shut you up for good!"

The whole class stared amazed at Subaru as he proudly walked to Hakuoh and stood in front of him with all his might. Hakuoh stared at him with disgust and then walked to the dueling table. Subaru did the same thing and both set their shields and drew 5 cards, thus beginning their duel.

"So that you don't accuse me of being unfair, I'll let you go first!"

"Fine, you'll regret it later, blondie boy! I summon Emily, Injection Doll!"

"No, Subaru, it's you the one who shall regret it! I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"We'll see about that! I summon Zamaru, Treasure of Darkness! Emily, break his shield!"

"I charge mana and end!"

"Pathetic, here's how you REALLY must duel! I cast Deadly Love and destroy Emily! Then I destroy Bloody Shadow and discard a card from your hand!" Subaru said and Hakuoh discarded Super Spark. "Ike, Zamaru, break his shield and make him discard another card!"

Hakuoh discarded Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit and then took another shield of his into his hand. He then started his turn, charged mana and showed a card from his hand while saying:

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!"

"Tsh, your excuse for a lion doesn't scare me a bit!" Subaru said and tapped his creature. "Ike, Zamaru, break another shield and discard the last card from his hand!"

"Ok, Subaru, it's time to show you how to play!" Hakuoh said and placed a card on his Ashliger card. "I evolve Ashliger into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

"What the..."

"Queen Alcadeias! Brilliant... the beauty of this move is that the creature served both as a defensive and a offensive measure. Master Hakuoh just locked down half of Subaru's deck, and from the looks of it, the Master's revenge had just begun!"

There stood a boy, early in his teens. His arms where folded across his chest, covered in a neatly ironed brown suit. A red tie was tucked nicely under, like a candle placed on the ground. If one were to examine his face closely, they would find one pupil green, the other slightly red, gleaming with focus as he watched the duel ahead. Hakuoh nodded to him and then turned to the duel and said:

"Exactly! And now it's time to show you what a real Duel Master is! Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields!"

Subaru took the card to his hand and saw that they were Terror Pit and Lost Soul. Both were non-multicolored spells and Queen Alcadeias didn't let him cast them. The boy drew his card which was Ganveet Twist, another multi-colored spell, so he practically was cornered. But Subaru didn't give up yet. He placed Lost Soul in his mana zone and then tapped Zamaru while saying:

"Zamaru, break another shield, now!"

"Heh, seems like you're losing your might, huh, Subaru?" Hakuoh spoke arrogantly. "Now it is time to show you the power of light! I charge mana and then I destroy Zamaru with Queen Alcadeias!"

"Against mono civilisation decks with an assortment of spells, Queen Alcadeias is indeed the bomb. But I am more worried about the cards in Subaru's hands. There are plenty of creatures that kill and once Master Hakuoh looses his Queen, he loses half game." the same boy which commented earlier said.

"No worries, I can handle anything this second rate duelist can pull out!"

Hakuoh's words brought anger into Subaru's heart. The boy quickly drew his next card, but was disappointed to see that it was a Ghost Touch. He placed it in his mana zone and ended his turn.

"Only spells in hand, eh? Well that's too bad!" Hakuoh said and drew his next card. "I charge mana and attack with Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields! Is that really all you can do, Subaru? Rush your opponent alot and when he pulls out something like Queen Alcadeias, you become weak? Come on, I've expected more of you! Are you sure you're a student of mine?"

"Grr... SHUT UP!" Subaru yelled. "It's time to make you pay for what you've said! I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper, and destroy Deathraios and your Queen Alcadeias!"

Everyone stared shocked at the dueling table as Hakuoh calmly placed Queen Alcadeias and Ashliger to his graveyard.

"Then I summon Emily, Injection Doll! How do ya like that?"

"It's good, but certanly not enough!" Hakuoh said. "I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast and Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint! With the effect of Gregorias I return Bloody Shadow to my hand!"

"We'll see about that! I summon Black Ganveet, Legion of Demise! Ike, Emily, break his final shield! Look who's got no shields left! And next turn you're history!" Subaru said and stared at the Ganveet Blaster card from his hand.

"It's time to show you the worthless ant you are!"

"What?"

Hakuoh's hand glew with a powerful white light as he drew his next card. He tapped 8 mana and then placed the card on his Gregorias card while saying:

'I evolve Gregorias into Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord!"

"What's that?" Subaru asked with fear.

"Ballcadeias is your doom, Subaru Geki!" Hakuoh said. "When he is summoned, I destroy all creatures in the battle zone, except for him! Also, Ballcadeias won't let you cast any spells!"

Subaru put Black Ganveet and Emily to his graveyard, while Hakuoh put Ashliger to his graveyard as well. Hakuoh then tapped his Ballcadeias card and said:

"Ike, Ballcadeias, break his final shield!"

The card in Subaru's last shield was Terror Pit, but he couldn't use it due to the fact that Ballcadeias didn't let him. The boy stared angrily at his teacher, as he said:

"It's over, Subaru Geki, you lost!"


	83. The psychic of victory

It wasn't a bright situation for Subaru at all. The black haired boy had no shields left and no creatures. Moreover, Hakuoh's Ballcadeias was preventing him from using his Terror Pit and Ganveet Blaster. The boy's only hope was if his next card was either a grave evolution creature, so that he would win the game, or something which would help him destroy Ballcadeias. The tension could be felt in the whole room. Everybody was staring at Subaru's deck as the boy drew his next card. Hakuoh stood there and waited for the boy to react.

"Well? What did you draw?"

"Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade..." Subaru spoke with a disappointed voice.

"And that won't help you that much. Oh well, it's over, Subaru!" Hakuoh said and tapped his card. "Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord, totomeda!"

The card's strength was so powerful that Subaru was pushed away and fell on a bench. Hakuoh packed Subaru's cards and walked to the boy. Under everyone's stares he offered Subaru the deck and then slapped the boy on the cheek.

"Don't you ever act like that with me again!" Hakuoh said.

"Tsh... I act the way I want!" Subaru sourly replied. "And what's your problem anyway?"

"My problem is the fact that you don't want to join the chosen duelists!"

"As I said, I'm not here for your fairy tale crap, I'm here to become a stronger duelist!"

"Then, Subaru, you shall forever be the weakling of the group! Class, I've just showed you today how to deal with wimps which don't know how to handle their very own cards! From now on, I'd like you to do the same with guys like him!"

Hakuoh calmly walked to the teacher's table as Subaru got up from the bench and walked to his seat. The boys and girls from the class were either laughing or making fun of him, and all he felt was anger. If it weren't for his classmates being there, he'd tear Hakuoh limb by limb. How dared he insult him? And for what? For not joining some team? That was outrageous. From that moment, Subaru felt nothing but hate and disgust for his teacher. The boy sat down and then Marcelo spoke to him:

"You were very close, pal! I still don't get it why he was so mean to you."

"Tsh... what a showoff. He thinks he's so great, but I bet that if I drew a Death March, he'd be on his knees right now!" Subaru replied to Marcelo with a low voice.

Fortunately for them, it was the last class. The hour passed fast and then they all went home. Their next school day was tomorrow and it began at 8 AM. But as everyone left the class, the four chosen duelists returned to Hakuoh. When they entered the class, they found the blonde boy sitting at his teacher's table and eating an apple. Once Hakuoh saw them, he got up and said:

"Ah, guys, how was the trip? Did you capture the psychics?"

"Heck yeah!" Edo said and showed his Ocean G Hogan. "And we've also awakened them!"

"Indeed, Hakuoh-sama!" Sora added and showed her Jungle Kankuro.

"Excellent work! Wait a minute, if you've awakened them... was Tabitha there as well?"

"Of course, Hakuoh-sama. I dueled her, but the coward ran away." Rad said.

"Thank goodness that you've got the psychics!" Hakuoh said and got up from the table. "In order to defeat the witch once and for all, we'll have to get more psychic creatures!"

"But, Hakuoh-sama, what are Tabitha's intentions? What is she going to do once she has the psychics?" Tsugumi asked.

"It's not the time for you guys to know that. Just have patience and collect more psychics, and when the time comes, I'll tell you what are Tabitha's true intentions."

But what Hakuoh didn't know was that outside of the classroom, two of his students had overheard their conversation. One of them was the student dressed in a brown suit and with a red tie which had commented on the duel earlier, whereas the other was dressed in a dark blue suit and had his right eye blue and his left one yellow. If one looked closely at his eyes, one could see that he almost looked like Rezo. Both those students entered the classroom and shocked Hakuoh.

"Wally, Spunky, what are you doing here?" Hakuoh asked.

"With all respect, Master, we didn't mean to intrerrupt you, but..." the student dressed in brown, Wally, apologized.

"We heard that you are with the legendary chosen duelists!" Spunky, the student dressed in dark blue continued. "And we just couldn't resist the temptation to face them!"

"I hope you are not mad at us!"

"No, I'm not, Wally. Actually, it could be an interesting match to see you, the beginners, against these chosen duelists!" Hakuoh said. "But since there's only one table, you can't have the duels in the same time!"

"No worries, I'll be first!" Edo suddenly said and walked to the table. "Who's facing me?"

"I will!" Spunky said and approached the table. "Wow, you're actually Edo Kanda, the chosen water duelist!"

"Um... I think..."

"It's an honor to meet you! You truly are a legend in the water duelist culture!"

"Wow, I never knew I was! Woohoo, I'm a star!"

"Enough chit chat, let's do this!" Spunky said and set up his cards.

"Heck yeah!" Edo replied and did the same, thus beginning the duel. "I summon Aqua Guard!"

"Impressive move, Edo! What do you think of mine? I summon Marine Flower!"

"Wow, another guy which summons a creature from the first turn! We rock, pal!"

"We surely do, Edo!"

"Hm... I summon Aqua Reactor and put one of my cards under the top card of my deck!"

"Interesting move. Anyway, I evolve Marine Flower into Astral Reef! With this creature I will draw 3 cards!"

"Cool!" Edo exclaimed.

"Ike, Astral Reef, break his shield!" Spunky said and Edo took one of his shields to his hand.

"My turn, I cast Streaming Shaper!"

Edo revealed the top four cards of his deck, which were Butterfly Brandy, Electro-Taiga, Aqua Super Emeral, Aqua Jester Loupe and Cyber J Eleven. The boy took all 4 cards to his hand and then tapped one of his cards while saying:

"Ike, Aqua Reactor, break his shield!"

"Wow, awesome move, Edo! Streaming Shaper is one awesome card!" Spunky spoke while being amazed.

"Indeed it is!" Edo replied with the same excitement in his voice.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Qurian and draw a card! Astral Reef, break another shield!"

"Now it's time to show you how a true pro at water duels! I summon Aqua Jester Loupe and use his Chain ability!" Edo said and revealed his top card. "Perfect! I summon Aqua Hulcus and draw a card! Also, Jester lets me draw a card as well! Ike, Aqua Reactor, break another shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures!" Spunky said and showed a light card which was in his shields.

"Oh dope..."

"My turn, I summon Majestic Star, the Electro-Apocalyptic! Ike, Astral Reef, destroy Aqua Jester Loupe! Qurian, suicide with Aqua Hulcus!"

"Still, you'll need more if you wish to beat me! I cast Hogan Blaster and summon... Aqua Sniper! Send Astral Reef and Majestic Star back to your hand! Ike, Aqua Reactor, break another shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Cuty Heart! Send Aqua Sniper back to his hand!"

"Woah, I didn't expect that... what was your name again?"

"It's Spunky. And now it's time to get serious!"

"Ok then, Spunky, give me all you got!"

"I summon Majestic Star, the Electro-Apocalyptic and Marine Flower!"

"Oh, come on, Spunky, I've expected more from you!" Edo complained. "Oh well, I summon Ribbity Frog! Send Marine Flower back to his hand! Aqua Reactor, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate!" Spunky said and showed the card from his hand. "I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Aqua Guard back to your hand!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"And now I summon Qurian and draw a card, then I summon Mirlun and look at your hand!"

Edo revealed the cards in his hand, which were Aqua Guard, Hogan Blaster, Aqua Super Emeral, Aqua Surfer, Aqua Jack and Cuty Heart.

"Wow, now that's one awesome hand!" Spunky said.

"Indeed it is!" Edo replied.

"Oh well, I attack with Majestic Star, break his shield! Also, with its effect I tap your Ribbity Frog, and you can't untap it on your next turn!"

"Darn! Oh well, no shield trigger. My turn, I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand! Then I summon Cuty Heart and send Mirlun back to your hand! Ike, Aqua Reactor, break his final shield!"

"It's not over yet! My turn, I summon El Destorade, Dragonic Meteor of Taiga!"

"W-what's that?"

"That, Edo-kun, is one of my trump cards! Whenever I summon the first creature in my turn, if I have equal or more shields than you, I may reveal the top card of my deck, and if that's a creature that costs less than the creature I summoned, I may summon it too!"

"Aha, so if you have more shields than me, El Destorade practically turns the first creature you summon into a Chain creature!"

"Exactly! And if I have less shields than you, El Destorade gives me one more shield!" Spunky said and put the top card of his deck on his shield zone. "Ike, Majestic Star, break his shield and tap his Cuty Heart!"

"Block it, Aqua Super Emeral!" Edo said.

"Qurian, break his shield! There, we both have one shield left!"

"Yes, but this won't hold me back the least! I summon Cyber G Hogan!"

"Wow, you have that card? Awesome!"

"Yep, I surely do!"

"Man, I really wish I had a Cyber G Hogan too!"

"Why's that, Spunky?"

"If I had one, I'd be able to summon El Destorade easier with its Chain ability, and then I could also have more free Chains!"

"Wow, I've never thought of that! Then you'd have a great Chain reaction!" Edo joked. "Indeed, Cyber G Hogan would be fitting in your deck. You know what? If you prove to me that you deserve it, I might offer you my Cyber G Hogan!"

"Really? Thanks alot, Edo-san!" Spunky spoke with a happy voice.

"You're welcome! Anyway, with Cyber G Hogan's effect I summon Aqua Guard and Ribbity SP! And now, Aqua Reactor, break his final shield once again!"

"Shield trigger activate! I cast Super Spark!"

"A...amazing!"

"Tap all his creatures!"

"You've left me with no words, Spunky! I would never expect you to make such a comeback!"

"Thanks alot, Edo-san! Any now I summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang and evolve it into Maxwell X, the Super-Electric!"

"Wow... that's one awesome looking creature!"

"You think? It took me alot until I got one! Anyway, ike, Maxwell, break his final shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Cuty Heart, send his... Majestic Star back to his hand!" Edo said and then nodded to Spunky, to which the boy also responded with a nod.

"El Destorade, Spirit of Taiga, totomeda!" Spunky said.

Seeing that he had lost, but also enjoying every second of the duel, Edo walked from his place at the table to Spunky. The boy was confused, why was Edo coming at him all of a sudden? Then, the boy saw the card of his dreams, Cyber G Hogan, being offered to him by Edo's hands.

"Heh, I believe that Hogan is at better place in your hands. Congratulations for the awesome victory, Spunky!"

"E-Edo-san... thank you!" Spunky said and took Cyber G Hogan from Edo's hands, and afterwards he shook hands with him. "It was an honor to duel you!"

"Ok, enough with all these compliments, I'm getting sick!" Rad said.

"You've actually managed to defeat the chosen water duelist, Spunky. I'm impressed!" Hakuoh said.

"Thank you, Hakuoh-sama!" Spunky said and bowed.

"Oh well, I guess I should duel someone as well?" Wally said and walked to the table.

"Hm... I'm in the mood of having a match as well." Sora said and followed Wally to the table.

"I'm sure that you'll prove to be a true challenge, chosen nature duelist. Shields up!"

Thus began the duel between Sora and Wally. As they were charging mana, Hakuoh looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 5 PM. He then turned to the others and said:

"Guys, make it a fast one! The school's gates will close in 15 minutes!"

"Just enough to win this game! I summon Torcon!" Sora said.

"We'll see about that! I summon Gonta, the Warrior Savage!" Wally said.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana! Torcon, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana! And now it's my turn! Mana evolution, I evolve Bronze-Arm Tribe into Huckle Kirin Sawyer, Jungle Governor! Ike, Gonta, Huckle Kirin Sawyer, break two of her shields!"

"Heh, I didn't expect such rush from you! Oh well, shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare! Send Gonta to his mana zone!"

"Why thank you for giving more mana, miss!"

"The pleasure is all mine! I summon Spirit Rider Ragmarl and send Ragmarl to my mana zone!"

"I send Huckle Kirin and Bronze-Arm Tribe to my mana zone!"

"Ike, Torcon and Bronze-Arm Tribe, break two of his shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Torcon and Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

Then the two paused a bit and looked at each other. It was their fourth turn and they had already done lots of damage to each other. Both had lots of mana and 2 or 3 shields left.

"Heh, you're truly a great rusher!" Wally complimented Sora.

"I could say the same about you! Anyway, it's your turn!"

"Ok then, I summon Dreaming Moon Knife and evolve it into Sarutahiko, the Great Hero!"

"W-what's that?"

"This, dear Sora, is my trump card! Sarutahiko's effect lets me search in my deck for 2 Ultimate Evolution or Ultimate Evolution MAX creatures and take them to my hand! I shall take Galaxy Destiny, the Super Enlightened and Romanoff Kaiser NEX, the Super Enlightened! Harutahiko, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare into my mana zone!"

"Heh, good way to stall for time, I daresay!"

"If you say so... Anyway, I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and Princess Cub SP!"

"Those tiny creatures won't save you from your fate, Sora! Ultimate Evolution, I evolve Sarutahiko into Galaxy Destiny, the Super Enlightened! Ike, Galaxy Destiny, attack! And with its effect I'll summon Huckle Kirin Sawyer and Max Crimson Blade Lord from my deck! It's over now! Break her final shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare and send Huckle Kirin Sawyer to your mana zone! Also, shield trigger, I cast Mana Nexus and put Princess Cub, Free Spirit into my shield zone!"

"You got away this time as well, but in my next turn I shall summon Romanoff Kaiser NEX and then victory will be mine!"

"Think again!" Sora said and placed a card on her Bronze-Arm Tribe card. "I evolve Bronze-Arm Tribe into Fighter Dual Fang!"

"Beautiful move, but if I get any shield triggers, all your efforts might have been in vain." Wally said.

"We'll see! Ike, Dual Fang, break his final shields!"

Wally took the two cards into his hand and saw that they were Wind Axe, the Warrior Savage and Drag Moon, the Enlightened. The boy smiled to the green haired girl and said:

"Oh well, you won this one! It was an honor to face you, chosen nature duelist!"

"Thank you, and now, Princess Cub SP, totomeda!" Sora said.

And so, the first day at Hakuoh's Duel Masters summer school had ended. They all went home and the school's gates closed, allowing the security system to watch upon the building's safety over the night.

Later that night, at Tabitha's castle. The witch wasn't pleased at all with the failures that her minions had had that day. She was sitting on her throne and using her powers to locate the next psychic creature, while Dani and Hanna were staying in front of her and waiting for orders. Tobey was exhausted from all that dueling and decided to go to sleep earlier.

"Hahaha, I've found another psychic creature! But there are so many more for us to find... "

"And once we have all the psychic creatures in our possession, nothing in the Universe will stop us!" Hanna said.

"For now the psychic creature's energy is low, but I'm sure that I'll sence it perfectly until tomorrow." Tabitha said. "Tomorrow morning we'll all wake up very early and go search for that psychic creature! We cannot allow the chosen duelists to get to it first!"

"Under your great leadership there is no way that the chosen duelists will be able to beat us, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna continued.

"Oh, I can't wait to use my psychics to blast Rad and the others into the next galaxy! It will be so fun!" Dani said.

"THOSE PSYCHICS BELONG TO ME!" Hanna yelled and was about to rush at Dani.

"That's enough, Hanna!" Tabitha said and the girl stopped.

"Forgive me, Tabitha-sama!"

"These petty fights must end right now! You will put your jealousies aside so that the mission won't have to suffer from your insubordonation!"

"Y-yes, Tabitha-sama..."

"Ok then, it's time for us to go to bed! Tomorrow a new psychic creature awaits us!" Tabitha said and got up from her throne.

"Yes, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna and Dani saluted the witch and then left.

As time passed, morning came once again upon the city. The 4 chosen duelists headed back to school, but once they entered it, they were confronted by Hakuoh. He immediately told them that a new psychic creature had been found at a volcano in the Philippines and it was their job to retrieve it. He also told them that he'll excuse them from missing a couple of classes, and so they all turned back and ran to Rad's rocket. The chosen duelists immediately took off and left Hakuoh to stare at them flying away and pray that everything turned out fine.

In about one hour they had reached the Philippines, and they were heading southwards as Sora was concentrating in order to sense the psychic creature's energy. Meanwhile, Tsugumi and Edo were admiring from above the villages and cities. It truly was a pleasant sight for them. In about 10 minutes they had reached a certain volcano from which Sora said that she felt the psychic energy growing stronger. Being sure that that was the place where the psychic creature was located, Rad landed with his rocket at the bottom of the volcano and then the four chosen duelists started climbing the volcano by foot.

"Oh, God, this is too much for my feet!" Edo cried.

"Stop whining, you've barely climbed two feet!" Sora said. "You need to move more if you wish to not turn fat from sitting all day and playing video games!"

"But this is not for me!" Edo cried, but then Rad hit his butt with a tree stick really hard. "OUCH!"

"MOVE ALREADY! I'm tired of having to see THAT whenever I try to look up!" Rad yelled.

"Why mee?" Edo cried even more.

After half an hour of climbing, the chosen duelists had finally reached the mouth of the volcano. But as they set foot on the crater, they saw Dani, Tobey and Hanna.

"Uh oh, we've got company!" Tsugumi said.

"Yep, it's your friendly welcoming committee!" Dani replied and took out his deck.

"Oh great, we'll have to face these losers!" Sora said and took her deck out as well.

"Heh, while we're keeping them busy with out duels, Tabitha-sama will find where the psychic is hidden in the volcano, and then victory shall be ours!" Hanna thought and then took out her deck.

Meanwhile, inside the volcano, Tabitha was sitting on a rocky corridor which was sticked to the volcano's walls and was searching for the psychic creature. The more was was walking in circles, the more she felt it. After 15 minutes of walking, she stopped in front of the wall and stared at it as a glowing red light came out.

"Hahahahahaha, I've found it! The psychic creature will soon be in my hands!" the witch said and turned her hands into two sharp claws which she used to dig into the wall.

Back outside, while the others were caught in intense duels, Rad was able to finish his duel faster.

"I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" Rad said. "Ike, Genji, break her final shields!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Hell's Scrapper and destroy Lyla Aini and Cocco Lupia!" Hanna said.

"Good, but not enough! Bolshack Nex, finish her off, totomeda!"

The dragon blasted Hanna and the girl fell directly into the volcano. In that same time, Tabitha had revealed the psychic creature and said:

"Oh my... it's beautiful! Hahaha, this one will get a special place in my deck!"

But before the witch could take it, Hanna landed on her and both fell on the ground. In the next moment, Rad rushed into the volcano, all the way up to the two, and then he stopped and saw the hole in the wall. Inside it was the shining psychic creature. He was amazed by it, but that didn't stop him from slowly taking it. Then he admired the card even closer and read its name:

"Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman... Wow, it's so awesome!"

"The psychic creature..." Tabitha said and got up. "Give it back to me at once!"

"Never!" Rad said and took out his deck.

"Heh, if that's the way you want it..."

Two dueling tables came out and the 'volcano duel' between Tabitha and Rad began.

"This time there's no way you can run, witch! I summon Reppi Aini!" Rad said and revealed his top two cards which were Mach Lupia and Spear Lupia, and both went to his graveyard.

"Heh, that psychic creature won't stay in your deck much longer! I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods!" Tabitha said.

"I wouldn't bet on that if I were you, Tabitha! I summon Eagle Aini, the Explosive Wing!"

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana! Then I cast Faerie Life and gain another mana!"

"I summon Reppi SP Aini!"

"Heh, it's show time! I summon Adge, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Adge Moora!" Tabitha said and her two black dragons united into one and roared. "Ike, Adge Moora, double break his shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell's Scrapper and destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe!" Rad said and Tabitha's creature got crushed by the red metallic scrapper. "Now it's my turn, I tap Reppi SP Aini and with its effect I summon Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman!"

A red dragon dressed in samurai armor and weilding two swords in the forms of crosses descended from a hole in the sky and floated behind Rad.

"Th-that's the psychic creature!"

"And it shall be your demise!" Rad added. "Eagle Aini makes all my Flame Commands speed attackers, so I attack with Genji Double Cross, double break her shields!"

"Argh!" Tabitha yelled as Genji slashed two of her shields with its swords.

"Eagle Aini, break her shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Grave Deal, Shadow of Pure Flame and destroy Reppi Aini!"

"I end... and now I shall awaken Genji Double Cross!"

"What? But how?"

"At the end of my turn, if all my creatures are tapped, I can awaken Genji Double Cross!"

Genji was surrounded by a red aura and it grew in height and width a bit. When the aura was gone, Genji was wearing an even stronger armor which also had a golden crown on his head, and his two swords were now in supports on the back of his armor.

"Meet Crimson Genji Double Cross, the Swordmaster Awakened!" Rad said and Tabitha stared at the creature with her jaw dropped.

"This... this doesn't scare me a bit!" Tabitha said and showed a darkness card. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and give -2000 to your Eagle Aini! Then I summon Suva, Temporal Menace! Ike, Grave Deal, destroy his Eagle Aini! Adge Moora, take care of Reppi SP Aini!"

"Tabitha, Tabitha... you should know when to give up!"

"I'll NEVER give up until I see you all kneeling down in front of me as my slaves!"

"That day will never come, witch! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

"Oh no..."

"Ike, Genji Double Cross, destroy her Suva and break her final shields!"

"Not so fast!" Tabitha said as she took the cards from her shields to her hand and showed one of them. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Crimson Genji Double Cross!"

"Heh, that's what you think! When Crimson Genji would leave the battle zone, I may put the top card of my deck into the graveyard, and if that card is a Fire Bird, I'll keep Crimson Genji AND summon a fire psychic creature with the cost of 7 or less for free!" Rad said and put the top card of his deck into his graveyard, which was Cocco Lupia. "Perfect! Crimson Genji stays and I summon Bolshack Dragon, Temporal Blaze for free!"

"This can't be happening! I can't lose to the likes of you!"

"Farewell, Tabitha! Crimson Genji Double Cross, totomeda!"

The dragon took out both its swords and hit the witch with it. She was blown away out of the volcano, along with Hanna. When Dani and Tobey saw that, they both packed up their cards and rushed after their master, which landed safely in a tree. Luckily for them, Tabitha still had the power to make herself and Hanna descend safely on land. But as Tabitha opened the portal for her and the others to retreat, she spoke to Hanna with an angry voice:

"This is your fault, Hanna."

Meanwhile, at the volcano, as Rad was packing up his cards, he saw that his Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon started burning all of a sudden. At first he was scared, but then Crimson Genji Double Cross leaned to him and said:

"Fear not, Rad, your card is transforming into the new leader of the fire civlisation!"

"What? But what happened to Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon?"

"He had been injured in a battle and sought a replacement for him at the throne of the fire army. Our new leader is Bolshack Cross Nex!" Crimson Genji said and Rad's card turned into a Bolshack Cross Nex card.

"Cool!" Rad exclaimed.

"Now go back to your friends!"

Crimson Genji Double Cross vanished and only his card remained. Rad packed up his deck and ran back to his friends. While they were flying on their way home, Rad could think of only one thing and that was his new psychic creature, Crimson Genji Double Cross, and how he had helped him to earn victory against Tabitha Lenox that day.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle. The defeated witch was sitting in front of her window and watching the beach as her thoughts were still at the psychic creature she had lost.

"Hanna is at detention as you've requested, Tabitha-sama." Tobey said while entering the throne room.

"Very well." Tabitha replied.

"Tabitha-sama, I know that our mission failed, but why did you discipline her in such a harsh matter?"

"Because had it not been for her, I would've got that psychic creature! Grr... Rad got lucky today, but his luck will soon wear out!"

Tobey bowed down to the witch and then walked out of the room, leaving her all alone once again. Tabitha turned back to the window and kept staring at the sea.


	84. A trip to the penguins

It was a new day at Tabitha's castle. Dani and Tobey were sitting in front of Tabitha's throne and they were eagerly waiting for new orders. The witch had her eyes closed and was using her powers to detect the energy coming from psychic creature cards. For a few moments it was silence, but Tabitha then opened her eyes and got up from the throne while saying:

"I've just detected a new psychic creature! Let's make sure that the chosen duelists don't get to it first!"

"Yes, Tabitha-sama!" both Dani and Tobey replied.

"Hm... where on Earth is Hanna?" Tabitha asked. "I haven't seen her since I've freed her from detention last night."

"Hahaha, she's probably out on her own to find that psychic creature since she's the only one which doesn't have any." Dani laughed.

"Yeah, but I bet that this girl is so dumb that she'll end up running in circles while looking for it." Tobey laughed as well.

Then the door opened and Hanna entered the room with her deck in her hands. She gave Dani and Tobey a cold stare and said:

"Will you say the same things after I crush you?"

Dani and Tobey sweated and made a step forward to Tabitha's throne so that they would be safe. The witch stared at the three with a bored look on her face and then said:

"Enough playing around! Let's go and find that psychic creature!"

At the school things seemed pretty normal. The students were enjoying Hakuoh's lessons and also making new friends, and the chosen duelists were living their dual lives as students and psychic creature hunters just fine. They even managed to make new friends, and the best part was that only Wally and Spunky knew their secret, but they never told it to anyone. The two would occasionally have training duels with them, and in return they would see the awesomeness of Rad's, Sora's and Edo's psychic creatures. But not everyone was having a good time. Tsugumi was more concerned about Subaru and in every class she secretly looked at him without the boy noticing. But the girl was too shy to go and talk to him personally because she feared that he might remember that she was the one which hugged him without no reason at the hospital, and that might infuriate him. Subaru, however, wasn't doing very well at all. In every break he was laughed at for losing to Hakuoh, and whenever he lost his temper and would challenge someone to a duel, he'd be laughed at even more. Marcelo was the only person with whom he could talk to, his only friend. Whenever Tsugumi saw Subaru in breaks, he was either sitting alone in a corner or talking with Marcelo. But she saw that he was starting to get a bit warmer as the days passed, so she decided that that day he would talk to him at last.

As the bell rang, announcing the one hour lunch break, everyone got out of the classroom, except for Subaru and Marcelo. Tsugumi noticed that, so she lied to the chosen duelists that she had forgotten something and walked back into the classroom. There she saw Marcelo and Subaru with darkness cards on Subaru's desk. It seemed like they were working on a deck.

"In order to abuse the effect of Soul Recall creatures, I will need many cards into my grave." Marcelo said. "That's why End of the World, Dark Divine Dragon is so good."

"Yes, but there are many other cards that you could use to fill your graveyard." Subaru replied and showed his friend two cards. "I highly recommend Bloody Cross and Primal Scream."

"Hm... indeed, those cards would be great in my deck."

Tsugumi took a deep breath and slowly approached the two. When she was almost near their bench, she suddenly spoke to them:

"Hi, guys, what are you doing?"

Subaru and Marcelo turned to Tsugumi with almost mean stares and the girl sweated. But soon, Subaru's eyes showed kindness and he replied to her:

"Oh, fine, we're just working on Marcelo's deck."

"Cool! I see that he's also a darkness duelist?" Tsugumi said, but then Subaru looked at her, suspectingly.

"But how did you know that I was a darkness duelist?" the boy asked her.

"Uh... well... I... just happened to hear that Subaru Geki had a duel with Hakuoh, and he had almost defeated him with his brilliant darkness deck."

"Hmph... had I drawn a Death March, Reaper of Death, it would've been curtains for that good for nothing loser!"

Tsugumi got worried as she saw that Subaru was turning a bit angry. She thought that it was all her fault for reminding him that he had lost to Hakuoh, but then Subaru smiled to her and said:

"Not that I won't beat him next time, right?"

"Yeah, you'll surely do!" Tsugumi replied, being relieved deep inside for not making him angry.

"Oh, and what was your name again, miss? I remember you raising your hand and asking Hakuoh some questions here and there, but I was so distracted by your beautiful golden hair and your angelic voice that I couldn't seem to remember how you are called." Subaru said and he suddenly blushed.

"My name is Tsugumi. Oh, and thanks for the compliment!"

Subaru suddenly turned his sight away from her as he realized that he had talked too much. He feared that if he showed his softer side and weakness to her, the others from the class might use it in their advantage to bully him even more. Wishing for the conversation to end, the boy got up and spoke to her while not even turning to see her in the eye:

"Tsugumi, eh? What a beautiful name. Well, it was nice knowing you, but I have to go now!"

"Wait, Subaru..." Marcelo tried to stop him, but the boy walked out of the class. "Oh great... I'll have to finish the deck all by myself!"

Tsugumi was surprised that Subaru had suddenly left the room, but the compliments that she had heard coming from his mouth had given her a light of hope. The girl walked out of the classroom and headed to the mess hall, but then she came face to face with Hakuoh.

"Tsugumi, the exact person I was looking for!"

"W-what's the matter, Hakuoh-sama?"

Hakuoh approached the girl and looked around so that he wa ssure that nobody saw them. The girl blushed as she thought that Hakuoh was about to kiss her, but the blonde boy leaned to her ear and whispered:

"As you know, I've been gathering some light psychic creatures in these past months."

"Yes, but what's with that?" Tsugumi whispered back.

"Here, I think that this psychic would prove to be more useful into your hands!" Hakuoh said and offered Tsugumi a light psychic creature.

"Ha-Hakuoh-sama... I don't know what to say!"

"Just take it! And go back to the class room! I'm going to get Rad, Sora and Edo so that you guys go search for the new psychic creature."

"What? There's a new psychic creature out there?"

"We'll talk more when the time comes!"

Hakuoh left Tsugumi all alone on the corridor and the girl stared at the card she had received from him. It was an Angel Command with the cost of 6 and power 5500. Its name was Five Star, Temporal Luck.

In about ten minutes, Hakuoh had gathered the four chosen duelists in the corridor and had told them that the new psychic creature was located in Antarctica. He had also offered them some thick jackets and the coordinates to where the psychic was located. And thus, the four chosen duelists took off with Rad's rocket and headed towards the South Pole.

But they didn't know that Tabitha and her minions were already there. Because it was the polar night at the South Pole, Tabitha had casted two spells upon herself and her minions. The first one offered them an aura which protected them from the cold and the second one offered them night vision similar to cats. Then they all spreaded out and started searching for the psychic creature as Tabitha used her powers to sence where each and every one of her minions were, so that they wouldn't get lost.

When the chosen duelists arrived, it wasn't quite the best experience. The blizzards were really cold, the winds were pushing the rocket back, as if they didn't want them to come, and Sora could barely feel the psychic creature's energy. Rad turned on the rocket's lights and started to fly to the coordinates that Hakuoh had offered them.

Meanwhile, Hanna was approaching a strange ice cave from where she saw a red light coming. The girl stopped a bit and spoke to herself:

"Huh? What was that?"

Hanna walked a bit more to it and then she felt the psychic creature's energy by herself. The girl smiled and then spoke out loud:

"Yes! I've found it! My very own psychic creature!"

Hanna rushed inside the cave and saw that the red light was coming out of an ice wall. The girl knocked it a bit and saw that it was pretty tough, so she said:

"You're all mine, psychic creature! But first I have to get you out of there."

Hanna walked out of the cave so that she could find something sharp to use in order to break the ice wall, but then she saw a red rocket landing in front of her. The rocket's lights were all turned on, and they were all set on Hanna. Then, Tsugumi jumped out of the vehicle with her deck in her hands. The girl approached Hanna while Sora shouted to her:

"Be careful, Tsugumi!"

"Don't worry, Sora-chan, I'll get my hands on that psychic in no time!" Tsugumi replied and then turned to Hanna. "You might want to pack up and go home!"

"Sorry, Tsugumi, but I was here first! That psychic creature is all mine!" the blue haired girl said and took out her deck.

"Very well then... Duel start!"

Two dueling tables came out of the ice and the duel between the two girls began.

"I summon Dark Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Lucky Tulk, the Oracle!" Tsugumi said.

"I cast Dark Soul Creation and destroy my Dark Lupia! Then I draw 3 cards!"

"I summon Tulk SP!"

"Heh, your Light Bringers don't scare me a bit, Tsugumi! I summon Cocco Lupia and Necrodragon Giland!"

"It's time to get down to business! I summon Tulk, the Oracle and then tap Tulk SP! With its tap ability I tap my other 4 mana and then summon Five Star, Temporal Luck!"

A golden armored angel with three red spikes on its metallic head descended from the heavens and gazed upon Hanna. The girl was amazed by the creature's power, as its light was making the darkness of the polar night fade away in fear. The three Light bringers flew around Five Star and cheered the mighty angel's arrival.

"You... have a psychic creature?" Hanna asked.

"Yes, I do have one." Tsugumi replied.

"Well, that won't stop me from destroying you! I evolve Necrodragon Giland into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg! Ike, Lunarzberg, double break her shields!"

Tsugumi took cover as the black dragon fired a laser upon her shields and broke two of them. Then an even brighter light fell upon them as Tsugumi showed one of the cards from her shields and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate!"

"Oh no!" Hanna said.

"I summon Aldora, White Knight Spirit!" Tsugumi said and a giant angel by the form of a metallic battleship appeared behind her. "And now it's my turn! Awaken!"

Suddenly, Five Star was surrounded by a bright yellow aura and grew it height a bit. When its aura disappeared, the angel's armor turned from golden to a mix of yellow and orange. Also, two of the spikes from its head turned into two red wings, and the creature now held a laser gun in one of its hands.

"W-what's that?" Hanna asked while sweating.

"I awakened Five Star into Lightning Five Star, Heavenly Luck Awakened!" Tsugumi said.

"It's fabulous!" Sora exclaimed.

"Agreed!" Rad added.

"Would somebody give me the sun screen?" Edo asked, but instead received a knuckle from Rad.

"And now I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law!" Tsugumi said. "Ike, Aldora, triple break her shields!"

"Argh!" Hanna yelled as the ship fired its lasers and broke three of her shields.

"Tulk and Lucky Tulk, break her final shields!"

The two light bringers flew through Hanna's shields and broke them to pieces, but then one of her shields turned into a shiny card which she took and showed it to her opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Tulk SP and Lucky Tulk!"

"You were a good opponent, Hanna, but it's over! Lightning Five Star, totomeda!" Tsugumi ordered and Lightning Five Star fired a light beam from its gun and threw Hanna and her cards back into the cave.

Rad, Sora and Edo cheered Tsugumi for her victory, but then Lightning Five Star descended to its owner and spoke to her:

"Congratulations for the victory, miss Tsugumi!"

"Wow, I didn't know you can talk!" Tsugumi replied and smiled to the creature.

"It is true that I have the power to communicate with you and the other chosen duelists, master. Anyway, you must hurry! The enemy will be here soon!"

Lightning Five Star disappeared along with the other creatures and Tsugumi packed up her cards. Rad, Edo and Sora also got out of the rocket, but just then, they heard a familiar voice yell to them:

"Not so fast, chosen duelists!"

They all looked back and saw Tabitha, Dani and Tobey shining in the night with their protective auras. The three approached them and then Tabitha continued speaking with a confident voice:

"Don't you dare try to get that psychic creature! It's all mine!"

"We'll see about that!" Rad replied and took out his deck.

"Heh, this icy place will be a great grave for you!" Tabitha said and took out her deck as well.

Six dueling tables came out of the ice and so the duels began. It was Tabitha VS Rad, Dani VS Tsugumi and Tobey VS Edo. But while they were dueling, Sora secretly sneaked inside the cave. The green haired girl walked a few steps in the cave, hoping that the psychic creature was close, because the rocket's lights weren't revealing a lots of the cave. Luckily, she soon found Hanna, who was using a sharp piece of ice to tear a wall.

"Yes, soon I'll have my very own psychic creature!" Hanna said and hit the wall of ice more.

Sora noticed that Hanna's efforts weren't in vain. The blue haired girl was making the ice wall crack in the place where the psychic creature card was located. After a few more hits, the ice seemed ready, so Hanna let the piece of ice go and simply slapped the ice wall, creating a hole in it. The girl saw that the psychic creature was a fire card, so she quickly took it into her hands and said:

"Hahaha, yes! Mission accomplished!"

But just then, Sora snatched the psychic creature from her hands and ran away. Hanna yelled angrily at the girl to come back and then followed her, but Sora was much faster. When the green haired girl ran out of the cave, the chosen duelists saw that she had the psychic creature, so they all abandoned their duels and followed Sora into the rocket. By the time Hanna came out of the cave, the chosen duelists flew away. Also, the blue haired girl was greeted by an angry Tabitha.

"You disappoint me yet again, Hanna! You're pathetic!"

"But, Tabitha-sama, I..."

"Enough of your petty excuses!" Tabitha spoke with a loud voice.

"Heh, I say it serves her right for trying to be a one man army!" Tobey said.

"Now she's just a pile of trash!" Dani added.

"Enough! We're going home!" Tabitha said and opened a portal.

On their way home, Sora was able to look at the psychic creature better. When they left the area of the South Pole, the sun could let her examine the card. The girl got a surprised look on her face as she spoke to the others:

"Guys, this creature has no awakening effect!"

"What? So this means that we didn't fight for a psychic creature?" Edo asked.

"No, it does have the symbols of a psychic creature, but there's no awakening effect written on the card!"

"Are you sure, Sora?"

"Yes, Rad!"

"Then what's written on the card?" Tsugumi asked.

"Let's see... It's a fire creature with 5000 power and 5 mana cost. Its name is Hydra Gilsaurus and its race is Rock Beast/Alien. Also, it says that when a player summons a creature or casts a spell without paying its cost, that player chooses a card in his mana zone and puts it into his graveyard." Sora said.

"Hm... an interesting card indeed! Let's show it to Hakuoh, he'll know what to do!" Rad replied.

Back at the city, it was past 8 PM and the classes had ended for a long time. Subaru and Marcelo walked back to Marcelo's home, which was a modern cabin lying at the beach. When they entered the cabin, they saw a tired blue haired girl dressed in a red kimono which was sleeping on one of the beds. Subaru rushed to her and said:

"Hanna, are you ok?"

"Don't worry, Subaru." the girl said while opening her blue eyes. "I got tired from all this house work, that's all."

"Well, then you should stop worrying about all that housework! You will get sick if you continue at this rate!" Subaru spoke with a rather harsh voice.

"I'm sorry I worried you so much. You must hate me now, huh?"

"What are you saying? Of course not!"

Subaru put a pelt on the girl and then checked her temperture. Then he gave her a kiss on the cheek and left to admire the sea. Marcelo closed the door and stretched his arms while falling on his bed.

Subaru was walking on the beach with his MP3 turned on, listening to a black metal song with a symphonic orchestral intro. Its name was A Dreaming Beauty by Graveworm, and he found it most fitting while admiring the beauties of nature, such as the sea at sunset. But then the boy saw someone approach him, so he took out his headphones and took a better look at the person who was approaching him. It was Tsugumi, and she stopped right in front of the boy with a rather desperate look in her eyes.

"You... you're the girl with which I've talked today, right?"

"Tsugumi Shirayama."

"Tsu... gumi..."

"I'm here because there's something I wanted to say to you."

"To say to me?" Subaru asked while being surprised.

"Subaru! Maybe you don't remember me right now, but I'm going to make you remember!" Tsugumi said and tears started falling from her eyes. "I KNOW YOU'LL REMEMBER ME! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

The girl then ran away and left the boy all stunned as the wind blew through his long black hair. Subaru then smiled and spoke to himself:

"Tsugumi Shirayama... you're one interesting girl indeed!"

As Tsugumi was running back to the UFO with the sun setting behind her and her tears flying away in the calming summer wind, only one thought was in her mind.

"I believe in you, Subaru! Whatever happens, I am not going to lose you again!"


	85. Fighting for a birdy

It was a hot sunny day at Tabitha's castle. On the beach near it were some duels happening. Dani, Tobey and Hanna were facing Edo, Sora and Rad. The victor would go search for the new psychic.

"I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Ike, Genji, break his final shields!" Dani said and the dragon slashed Edo's last shields with its cross swords.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and Cuty Heart!" Edo said and the two creatures appeared behind him. "Send Jon, Temporal Explorer and Martini, Temporal Dancer back to your hand!"

"Good, but not enough! Untouchable Powered, the Awakened Protean, totomeda!"

The dark blue robot punched Edo with its mechanical fist and threw him a few feet away on the sand. Dani stood proudly in front of his dueling table and looked at how Tobey and Hanna were dueling.

"Ike, Fighter Dual Fang, break his final shields!" Sora said and Dual Fang slashed Tobey's last shields with its swords. "Spirit Rider Ragmarl, totomeda!"

"Not so fast! Ninja Strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom!" Tobey said and a frog like purple demon appeared behind him and destroyed Sora's creature with its mace shaped tongue. "Hanzou's effect gives -6000 to Ragmarl and destroys it! And now it's my turn! Ike, Kaiman, Temporal Flower and Aqua Cutlass, Temporal Swordsman, break her final shields! Death April, the Awakened Requiem, totomeda!"

Tobey's creature aimed all of its guns at Sora and in the next moment the chosen nature duelist was blasted into oblivion. Then both Dani and Tobey watched at Hanna and how she was dueling.

"I summon Magical Dragon Babelginus and destroy Babelginus! Then I revive Dragon Ultimate God Metsu and two Necrodragon Guljeneraids! Ike, Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, break his final shields!" Hanna said and her black dragon fired lasers from all its 9 heads and destroyed Rad's last two shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hell's Scrapper! Destroy her Cocco Lupia, Dark Lupia, God Lupia and Spear Lupia!" Rad said and all of Hanna's fire birds got smashed by a metallic scrapper. "And now it's my turn! Crimson Genji Double Cross, break her final shields! Tornado Shiva Double Cross, totomeda!"

Rad's creature blasted Hanna a few feet away and the girl landed in the sea's water. Then Tabitha hit her throne with her fist and said:

"I don't believe it, even a battle simulation is too tough for her!"

The opponents, the beach and the sea disappeared and revealed that Dani, Tobey and Hanna were in Tabitha's throne room the whole time.

"You call yourself a duelist, Hanna? You're lucky it was only a training exercise and not a real battle, or you'd be anihilated!" Tabitha said.

"Yeah, it just proves that without a psychic creature you're just useless!" Dani added.

"Tabitha-sama, please, I promise I'll do better if you let me have the next psychic creature!" Hanna whined to her master.

"Oh, I think she's gonna start to cry! Hahaha!"

"Hey, you take that back, Dani!"

"Enough! I sence a new psychic creature!" Tabitha said and got up from her throne. "Prepare for the trip!"

Meanwhile, at the school, the classes were about to begin. At Hakuoh's class room, almost everyone was present and sitting at their benches, waiting for their teacher to come. Tsugumi was sitting ashamed on her seat, with her head on the bench, and thinking about what happened the other day.

"What will I do after saying a thing like that to Subaru?" the girl thought.

"Hey, what's wrong with Tsugumi?" Sora asked.

"Well, she tried to make Subaru remember her yesterday, and it didn't work. You'd expect her to be a little overheated because of that." Edo said and sweated.

Then, Subaru entered in the class with his headphones on. The long haired boy walked to his bench, took off his headphones, saluted Marcelo, put his stuff in his bench and then turned to see Tsugumi sitting with her head on her bench. The boy walked to her and once he was near her bench, he said:

"Good morning!"

"Subaru!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she saw the boy, but then she blushed and turned her head away from him. "G-good morning!"

The boy was amused by the girl's sudden reaction. He walked to the other side of her bench and he was once face to face with her.

"What's wrong? Where is that spirit that I saw yesterday?" the boy asked and smiled to her.

"I-I don't know!" Tsugumi said and blushed even harder.

"Oh, I'm so frustrated! I just want to hit Suby in the head until he remembers!" Edo exclaimed.

Sora winked to the brown haired boy, and in the next moment, before anyone could even react, she rushed to Tsugumi's bench and knocked her right fist in Subaru's head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Subaru yelled to her while putting his right hand on his head.

"Oh, just unleashing my frustrations." Sora joked.

"Stop it, Sora-chan, you'll make him forget even more!"

"What's wrong with you, Tsugumi? Maybe after one or two more punches he mght remember!"

"Grr... that girl is gonna pay for what she did to me!" Subaru spoke in his mind and walked back to his place.

Then the bells rang and announced that the classes had begun. Everyone sat on their seats and in a few minutes Hakuoh entered the room. That's when they all got up and saluted him. Hakuoh then called Rad, Sora, Edo and Tsugumi to his table and offered them a piece of paper.

"I need you to go out and buy me some teacher's books. And don't worry about the classes, you'll be excused for now."

The four chosen duelists left the class room and as they were walking on the corridor, Rad read the note Hakuoh had given them, which said: "There's a new psychic creature in an forest located at 50 kilometers in the East from our city. Good luck at finding it!". They all rushed out of the school and back to the UFO. There they all entered in Rad's rocket and took off to find the forest.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and her minions had already arrived in the forest and were searching for the psychic creature.

"Tabitha-sama, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Yes, Tobey, I can sence the psychic creature's energy easily. We will find it in no time!"

"Hah, distrusting Tabitha-sama's powers again?"

"What was that, Hanna?"

"Nothing, I was just talking to myself, Tobey."

"Tsh, keep talking, because no one else is listening to you anymore!" Tobey said with a cold voice.

"What was that?" Hanna shouted to Tobey.

"Yeah, Hanna, give it up! You couldn't find your way to the psychic creature even if I pointed right to it!" Dani added.

"Enough chit chats! I sence that the psychic creature is very close by!" Tabitha said and pointed to the right.

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Dani cheered.

"That psychic creature will be mine! There's no way I'll let Tobey or Dani get it!" Hanna thought.

Tabitha ran to the right and her minions followed her. They crossed a difficult path which was filled with logs, bushes, thick trees and mud. Tabitha could've used her powers to destroy all those obstacles, but she chose not to because she intended to save them for later. After 5 minutes of running through the forest's obstacles, they stopped in front a large tree which was reaching the heaens with its might and watching upon the rest of the forest. A red light was coming from one of its large branches.

"The psychic creature is up there!" Tabitha said and pointed up to the branch.

"Please let me retrieve it, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna said.

"This one's mine. I believe that for the benefit of the team it would be better if I increased my powers."

"But you said that the next psychic creature we find will be mine!"

"Stop pestering me, Hanna!"

But then a powerful wind blew against them and they saw a red rocket landing in front of the tree. As the vehicle touched the ground, its doors got opened and the four chosen duelists jumped out of it and were face to face with Tabitha and her minions.

"Tabitha, your little hunting trip ends here!" Rad said.

"We'll see about that!" Tabitha replied.

Everyone took out their decks and dueling tables appeared in front of them. It was Dani VS Tsugumi, Tobey VS Edo and Tabitha VS Rad. But what they didn't notice was that both Sora and Hanna sneaked to the tree in order to get the psychic. Sora was much faster than Hanna, but as she jumped in order to reach the branch with the psychic creature card, her head got hit on a lower branch and she fell on the ground unconscious. Hanna pushed her away with her foot and then started climbing the tree as fast as she could.

"That psychic creature will be all mine!" Hanna said.

As she reached the branch on which the psychic creature card was located, the girl walked on it slowly and carefully. But as she approached the card, it slowly moved to the edge of the branch. When Hanna stretched her left hand to grab it, the card fell. The girl yelled and jumped after it, and that was when everyone turned their sights to the tree and saw what was going on. But as she was about to touch the ground, Hanna grabbed the psychic creature card with her left hand and lowest branch with her right hand. Then everyone heard her laugh.

"Hahahahahaha, I've got it! At last I have one for my own!" Hanna said and then yelled. "IT'S MINE, MY VERY OWN PSYCHIC CREATURE!"

Everyone was shocked of what had happened, especially Tabitha. Hanna then let go of the branch and landed on the ground. The blue haired girl rushed to Tabitha's dueling table and pushed the witch aside.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Hanna?" Tabitha asked.

"Let me show you my incredible power!" Hanna said and put her deck on the table. "Rad, I challenge you to a duel!"

"If it's the only way I can get that psychic creature back... Ok, I accept your challenge!" Rad replied and put his deck on the table.

Both raised their shields and drew five cards. Then they both shouted 'Duel Start!' and their match began. Dani, Tobey, Edo and Tsugumi decided not to waste time facing each other and sat back to watch the one important duel.

"I summon Genji Aini!"

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Hanna said and a red fire bird appeared behind her.

"I summon Reppi Aini!" Rad said and revealed the top 2 cards of his deck, which were Rekuta Aini and Galaxy Cross Aini, Sky Lord Dragonmech. "Tsh, both go to my graveyard!"

"Not that lucky, eh?"

"I beg to differ."

"What?"

"I tap Genji Aini and destroy Reppi Aini! Then with Genji Aini's effect I summon Reppi SP Aini!"

"Tsh, your birdies scare me the least! I summon two Necrodragon Giland!"

"Well, then my birdies should scare you now, Hanna! I tap Reppi SP Aini and summon Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman!"

A red dragon dressed in samurai armor and weilding two swords in the forms of crosses descended from a hole in the sky and landed behind Rad.

"Taking it the psychic way, eh? Well, I have my own psychic creature as well!" Hanna said and showed a fire card which shined. "I cast Hyperspatial Shotting Hole! Rise, my beautiful psychic creature!"

Another hole appeared in the sky and a shiny red and yellow fire bird with blue eyes and with wings and tail similar to flames flied out of it and stood above Hanna.

"I summon Master Lupia, Temporal Wing!" Hanna spoke, proudly. "With its effect I may reduce the cost of my Dragons by 1 for each creature with 'Lupia' from my battle zone!"

"And since she also has Cocco Lupia, which already reduces the costs of her Dragons with 2..." Edo said.

"...Rad is in big trouble!" Dani continued.

"This isn't over yet! I summon Flame Shiva Double Cross, Blastdragon! Ike, Genji Double Cross, double break her shields! Genji Aini and Reppi SP Aini, break her shields!" Rad said and his creatures broke 4 of Hanna's shields. "That should take care of you!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast not one, but two Terror Pits!" Hanna said. "Destroy Genji Double Cross and Flame Shiva Double Cross!"

"Oh no! My Dragons!"

"Hahaha, not so confident anymore, huh? Well, too bad for you, Rad, because now it's my turn to shine! I summon Heavy, Dragon God and destroy Cocco Lupia!"

"I destroy... Genji Aini..."

"Then I evolve Heavy into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg! Ike, Lunarzberg, destroy his Reppi SP Aini!"

The black dragon roared and smashed Rad's last Fire Bird, destroying it. The boy sat there with a shadow covering his face and with fear of the blue haired girl which everyone had underestimated until that very moment when she totally unleashed herself. But the boy didn't give up yet. His hand glew with a powerful red aura and he drew his next card and yelled:

"THIS ISN'T OVER YET! I SUMMON GENJI DOUBLE CROSS, BLASTDRAGON!"

"What the..." Hanna spoke, shocked.

"Ike, Genji, break her final shield now!" Rad shouted and the Dragon slashed Hanna's last shield with its cross like swords.

"Hahahahahaha, I love the look of despair from your eyes, Rad, it makes me more determined to win!"

"What?"

"Master Lupia, awaken!"

The mighty fire bird got surrounded by a red aura and grew in size alot. When the aura disappeared, its fire was now blue and the bird was wearing a golden armor. Genji made a step back as the bird gave him an eagle howl. Rad sweated hardily as Hanna laughed and spoke to him:

"Hahaha, meet the new member of my army! This is Psychic Nex, the Awakened Blue Flame!"

"That power..." Tabitha murmured.

"But how did it awaken?" Tsugumi asked.

"Master Lupia awakened at the start of my turn because I had three Dragons in the battle zone! As for Psychic Nex's effect, he's a 22000 powered quadruple breaker which won't allow Rad to choose any of my Lupia creatures, and he also makes all of my Dragons break an additional shield for each creature with Lupia I have in the battle zone! And the best part is that he also has 'release'!" Hanna said.

"But what's 'release'?" Dani asked.

"Release is an effect which few psychic creatures have. When an awakened psychic creature would leave the battle zone, the release effect would just make it flip to its original weak form." Tabitha explained.

"In other words, the chosen fire duelist is doomed!" Tobey said.

"Ike, Necrodragon Giland, triple break his shields!" Hanna said and the long black dragon roared and flew through 3 of Rad's shields, destroying them. "Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, break his final shields!" Hanna continued and the 9 headed Dragon fired lasers from all of its heads and destroyed Rad's last 2 shields. "Psychic Nex, finish him off, totomeda!"

The blue fire bird howled and then fired an enormous laser which not only that it blasted Rad off, but it also destroyed a part of the forest. When the laser stopped, everyone, except for Hanna, was lying on the ground with small burns. However, Rad was severly damaged. Hanna laughed so loud that she scared off the rabbits and squirrels which came to see what was going on.

"Now it's so easy to win a duel! I must be the strongest duelist ever! Even stronger than Tabitha! Hahahahahaha!"

If a few moments ago, Dani and Tobey would laugh and mock at Hanna, now both were afraid of the girl. Tabitha stared at the girl angrily and opened a portal while saying:

"Oh, we'll see about that, Hanna! Everyone, let's go home!"

Tabitha, Dani and Tobey got up frokm the ground and rushed into the portal, but Hanna stood a little more as the chosen duelists got up and looked at her with fear.

"Hey, chosen duelists, you'd better keep your eyes on me from now on!" Hanna said and then ran into the portal, which closed after she entered it.

Rad was so damaged that he couldn't even walk well anymore. Tsugumi and Sora helped him get inside the rocket and Edo was the one which piloted it. Still, Edo being Edo, he didn't know how to pilot it well and either they flew with super sonic speed, or flew in circles, or were about to crash on the ground a couple of times, and other stuff. But by lunch time they 'safely' arrived home. Rad was immediately taken to the hospital and the rest of them took a shower and went back to class. In the break they offered Hakuoh the bad news about how they had lost the psychic creature, but he encouraged them by saying that there were more psychic creatures out there.

And so, time passed, the classes ended and the sun was about to set. Tsugumi was walking to the beach once again, hoping that she would find Subaru and talk to him. But as she reached the stairs which led to the beach, she saw Subaru having a walk on the shore with a blue haired girl that was dressed in a red kimono. They were holding their hands and walking as the water was wetting their naked legs. Tsugumi was even more astonished when she recognized the girl, so she turned around and ran away with tears falling from her eyes. The girl was Hanna.


	86. A man's honor

It was a rainy morning. The clouds had completely darkened the sky, and had it not been for the street lights, you wouldn't see anything. Subaru and Marcelo were running to the Duel Masters summer school with an umbrella under their heads. But as they were about to enter the schoolyard, they saw a beggar stretching his hand in front of them at the entrance. Marcelo ignored him, but Subaru stood there as the rain was falling on him. He was listening to a black metal ballad on his headphones, A Coming Storm by Cryptic Wintermoon, but that didn't take his attention away from the poor man. He stared at him with pity in his brown eyes, and the beggar suddenly looked at him in the face with a curious stare. But then the bell rang and Subaru rushed into the school as well. Both he and Marcelo were the only ones which weren't in their classroom yet, so they were running as fast as they could on the stairs in order to reach the last floor. The reason why they went on the stairs was because the elevator wasn't functioning that day.

"Why did you stop at that beggar, Subaru? We're now late because of you!"

"Sorry, Marcelo, I don't know what's gotten into me... And for your information, the real reason we're late is because you wanted so bloody much to eat pancakes at breakfast and we had to wait for Hanna to make some!"

After a few minutes of climbing, both had reached the final floor. Once there, they immediately ran to Hakuoh's classroom, and once they opened it, they saw that everyone was sitting on their seats and that the class had already begun. Hakuoh turned to them with an angry look on his face and said:

"Late again, I see. Well, mister Subaru and mister Marcelo, it seems that this truly shows your devotion to these courses and the game."

"Hakuoh-sama, we can explain..."

"I don't want to hear it, Marcelo! It once again shows that you and your friend are nothing more than losers and the ones holding back the class! No wonder Subaru lost so badly to me... If this incident ever repeats, I'll have you out of my class for good! Understood?"

"Y-yes, Hakuoh-sama..." Marcelo said, but Subaru didn't say anything.

"And what about you, Subaru?" Hakuoh asked.

"Subaru, say that you agree, or else you'll be in trouble!" Marcelo whispered to Subaru, but the boy still didn't say anything.

"Tsh... silence is an answer too. You may have gotten away with it now, but you'll regret this later, Subaru Geki. Go to your seats!"

Both Subaru and Marcelo walked to their seats as the boys from the class laughed at them, except for Edo, who was having a nice warm nap. It seemed that the noises that the boys were making while humiliating the two didn't bother Hakuoh at all, as he waited for them to finish and then continued the lesson. During the short breaks, Subaru never left his place. All he did was to stare at the window at the beggar who never moved from the schoolyard's gates. There was something interesting about that poor man, but Subaru didn't know what. It seemed as if they had some kind of profound connection, even if they had never met. But Subaru was brought back to reality by a voice which spoke to him:

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?" the boy said and looked at his right. "Tsugumi-san, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I've seen that you were a little depressed and lonely, so I thought I should come and cheer you up." Tsugumi replied.

"Nah, leave me alone. Not that I have anything against you, but the others might laugh at you for daring to talk to a creep like me."

"No, you're not a creep! Stop thinking that!"

"Heh, what do you know?"

"More than you'd even imagine, Subaru." Tsugumi thought and then spoke once again to him. "You shouldn't pay attention to what the others, including Hakuoh, say about you! I believe that deep inside that dark curtain that you surround yourself with lies and nice and warm person!"

"Heh, I once believed that too..." the boy replied with a sad tone in his voice. "But that's not important right now. Say, isn't it time you went back to your seat? Hakuoh will be back any minute."

"No, I want to talk with you more!"

"You do? Heh... interesting... this has never happened to me before. Very well then, I promise you that these days we'll have a private talk together!"

"Y-yes..."

Tsugumi was surprised to see Subaru look at her with a rather seductive look in his eyes as he suggested that they should have a private talk. But then she also remembered seeing him on the beach with Hanna, and that disturbed her a bit. The girl blushed and walked back to her bench as Hakuoh entered once again the classroom and a new class began.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle. Since it was a rainy day, Tabitha couldn't sence any psychic creature energy, so everyone was sitting around in Tabitha's throne chamber and doing nothing important. Tabitha was sitting on her throne and enjoying a nice glass of wine, Dani and Tobey were dueling and Hanna was sitting in a corner and watching everything.

"Jonjo Jon, the Awakened Adventurer, totomeda!" Dani said and a giant mechanical mouse hit Tobey and threw him away.

The boy landed right on Tabitha, managing to hurt her a bit and spill her wine all over her.

"What are you doing, Tobey? How dare you spill my wine all over me?" Tabitha said and pushed the boy off her. "Remove yourself from my sight!"

"T-Tabitha-sama, let me explain, it was an accident!" Tobey said while kneeling down in front of her.

"Heh, such a fool..." Hanna commented as Dani laughed so loud that the whole castle resounded from his laughter's echo.

Back at the school, Hakuoh's class had finally finished and the lunch break came at long last. Everyone went to the cafeteria and stood in line for the food. However, everyone's attention changed when Subaru and Marcelo entered the cafeteria. The two could hear the girls gossiping between the tables and the boys laughing arrogantly as they passed. But as they approached the queue, a tall and muscular boy appeared in front of them and blocked the way.

"Hehe, I've heard that you're a fan of the darkness civilisation, huh?" he said.

"Excuse me, but you're in the way." Subaru calmly replied.

"I asked you a question, so don't get all fancy and try to escape!" the boy continued and suddenly grabbed Subaru by his black T shirt. "So, long haired fag, do you like the darkness civilisation or not?"

"Suck it, I'm not answering any questions until you let us go!" Subaru said with a confident voice.

"Oh, so that's how you like it?" the muscular guy said and punched Subaru in the stomach so hard that the boy almost spat blood. "I'm gonna ask ya once more, do you like the darkness civilisation?"

"I don't know... but your mother did like me alot last night!" Subaru said and then spat in the bully's eye.

"WHY YOU FUCKING BITCH!" the bully shouted and threw Subaru against a wall. "How dare you do that to the mighty Billy?"

In that moment Tsugumi would've run to Subaru, but the crowd was too big for her to move. However, she could see how Subaru managed to get up, even if his mouth and nose were bleeding a bit. Marcelo was too scared to make any move, so he stood there and watched what was going on. Billy took out his deck and spoke to Subaru:

"Hey, woman wannabe, how 'bout ya prove how cool ya are in a duel? Or will you fail as epically as in yer duel with Hakuoh?"

"Tsh, it took you THAT much to get to the point? You could've simply challenged me to a duel when you saw me, you brainless ape!" Subaru replied and took out his deck.

The two walked outside of the cafeteria and went to an empty classroom where there was a dueling table. They both set their cards and began their match. Many students gathered around them, and most of them were watching the duel silently, whereas the few who weren't quiet were cheering Billy. It wasn't a long duel, as Billy proved that his rush was far more superior to Subaru's discarding techniques.

"I evolve Blizzard Moon, the Enlightened into Galaxy Operation Theta, the Super Enlightened! With its effect I cast Invincyble Cataclysm and put your last 3 shields to the graveyard!"

"Oh no!" Subaru said as his shields, which were Lost Soul, Locomotiver and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll went to his graveyard.

"Haha, you were too easy! Just another proof that the darkness civilisation sucks! Ike, Galaxy Operation Theta, totomeda!" Billy said and Subaru fell on his back along with his cards.

What followed after this was an immense rain of cheers for Billy and a wave of laughter for Subaru. After the boy managed to grab his own cards and get up, everyone started pushing him around and telling him to leave the school. Subaru couldn't resist and after some insults and screams he was thrown out in the cold rain. Tsugumi would have tried to stop them, but she was too far from him in that crowd to even try anything. As for Marcelo, when they asked him if he was his friend, Marcelo moved his head, showing that he denied that, and was left alone.

Outside, Subaru was lying on the ground all alone and staring at the wet ground. The boy clenched his teeth and started hitting the ground with his fists while silently sobbing inside. All he ever wanted was to become a stronger duelist, but it seemed that everything went against him. He was there, all alone, without any friends, lying in the rain of shame. It seemed like everything was over for him.

But then, he saw someone stretch its hand in front of him. He looked up and saw the beggar from earlier. Subaru took the beggar's hand and got up. Then the two found a small shelter from the rain under a tree. They sat there and stared at the rain and the lights coming from the school for a couple of minutes. Then the beggar spoke to Subaru, revealing the fact that he was old from his voice:

"Why did you let them do those things to you? You don't look like the type of person which would just stand down and let himself be humiliated!"

"I tried, I really tried! But... Hakuoh defeated me in front of everyone and made a fool out of me. He tried to convince me to join some kind of super hero team and I don't want that! So he decided to make my life a living hell for not doing what he wanted me to do."

"So you let those boys pick on you because of that?"

"What else can I do? My only friend here is Marcelo, everyone else hates me..."

"Was Marcelo that boy with which you entered the school today?"

"Yes, he's the one."

"Well I don't see him with you. He should be in the rain, suffering along with his friend. Do you know who I think that is your friend?" the beggar said and then pointed to one of the school's windows at which Tsugumi was sitting. "That girl over there."

"That's... Tsugumi!" Subaru said with a surprised voice. "Still, I don't think you should judge Marcelo only for that, sir."

"Oh, believe me, sonny, I got a life's experience when it comes to friends."

"If you say so..."

The two stood silent for a couple of minutes. Then Subaru remembered something and looked into his jacket's pockets. The boy took out a sandwich with cheese and ham and then he turned to the beggar and said:

"Here, take it!"

"Oh no, I don't want to spoil your lunch!"

"I insist!" Subaru said and then the beggar saw that there was no way to make him give up, so he took it and started eating it.

"Thank you." the beggar said and bit the sandwhich. "It's been some time since anyone ever gave me anything to eat."

"You're welcome. And don't worry, I'm sure that there are many people out there that would love to take care of a poor old man such as you!"

"Do you really think so?"

"Certainly!"

"And you don't expect anything in exchange for feeding me?"

"Not at all! What kind of sick bastard would do that? Goodness is its own reward!"

"I see...Then I think you are the one to which I must show this." the old man said and took out a card from his pockets.

"Wow! I didn't know you were a duelist!" Subaru exclaimed.

"No, I'm not, but I've found this card on the street yesterday and I got the feeling that I should come here and give it to someone who was worthy."

"And you think I'm the worthy one? Haha, come on, I've lost to those guys so many times!"

"Yes, but you showed me that you had something better - a kind heart."

The beggar offered Subaru the card and the boy examined it. It said that it was a psychic creature, and that made him confuse. He read the card's rules and found out that psychic creatures are taken out from the deck at the start of a duel and put in a separate zone, the hyperspatial zone. Then, after he read the card's other effects, he smiled and turned to the beggar while saying:

"Thanks for the card. I'll be sure to use it against those who bullied me!"

"Good luck!" the beggar said and tapped Subaru's shoulder. "Make sure to get back your honor! You can do it!"

Subaru put the card in his deck and walked back into the school. Once he was in there, the students started laughing, but he ignored them this time. The boy walked through the crowd and entered the cafeteria. There he saw Billy sitting at a table and eating a cheeseburger while everyone around him was cheering. Subaru ran through the crowd, picked a bottle of ketchup and suddenly threw it on Billy's face. Everyoe started laughing and then Subaru shouted to the one which defeated him:

"Hey, tough boy, don'cha like some condiments on that burger? Or you fear you'll get fatter than you already are?"

"Why you little bitch!" Billy said and got up from the table. "I see that ya want more pain, huh?"

"Woah, woah, if you hit me, you'll have to face principal Hakuoh afterwards!" Subaru said and pointed to the cafeteria's door, where Hakuoh appeared.

"Grr... fine, then I'll humiliate you one more time in a duel!"

"Bring it on!"

The two took out their decks and walked to the same room where they dueled the first time. Everyone gathered around the table, in the room and at the room's door. Hakuoh was between the front rows and Tsugumi was somewhere in the room, near the door.

"I cast Ghost Touch!" Subaru said and Billy discarded Emperor Tina.

"I summon Luciano, Electro-Fuuma!" Billy said.

"I summon Zamaru, Treasure of Darkness!"

"Heh, I evolve Luciano into Emperor Maribel! Meteorburn, I send Luciano to the graveyard, return Zamaru to your hand and draw a card! Ike, Emperor Maribel, break his shield!"

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Black Shadow, Darkfang Ninja!"

Billy discarded Corile and Subaru took one of his shields to his hand. The black haired boy then charged mana and said:

"I summon Dark Strike SP! With its effect I force Emperor Maribel to attack on your next turn!"

"Hah, why thank you! Anyway, I summon Pakurio! Show me your hand!" Billy said and Subaru revealed the cards in his hand, which were Dark Strike, Reaper Beast and Darkness Southern. "Heh, Dark Strike goes to your shields! And now, Emperor Maribel, break that Dark Strike shield!"

"Um... what was the purpose of that move? I mean, you just wasted a turn by..."

"Shut up and do your turn!"

"Fine then, I tap Dark Strike SP and with its effect I summon Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier!"

Suddenly, an image of Black Ganveet appeared in the room. It was like a hologram, but it felt very table also cracked at the middle, almost as if it wanted to turn the duel into a kaijudo duel. Everyone was amazed by what was going on and Billy started to shiver a bit. Subaru gave him an evil smile and said:

"When Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier is summoned, I'll destroy one of your tapped creatures! Good bye, Emperor Maribel!"

"You'll pay for that! I summon Qurian and draw a card! Ike, Pakurio, break his shield!" Billy said and Subaru took another one of his cards to his hand.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Ganveet Twist! Destroy Qurian and discard that card!" Subaru said and Billy got horrified as he discarded Galaxy Operation Theta.

Then, all of a sudden, Black Ganveet got surrounded by a bright purple aura and the table got separated in 2 and its halves were pushed away from each other. The others were pushed back by a strange force as Subaru's and Billy's shields appeared along with Dark Strike SP and the purple aura around Black Ganveet disappeared as the demon grew in size, lost its horse and golden armor and received a bone armor, red wings and two sharp swords.

"W-what's that?" Billy asked while sweating.

"Your nightmare!" Subaru replied while giving him an evil stare. "This is Darkness Ganveet, the Assassin Awakened!"

"Such a powerful creature..." Spunky said.

"Indeed, Darkness Ganveet is one sweet psychic creature, and in the hands of someone like Subaru it could cause some severe damage!" Wally added.

"Heh, so it seems that he finally got his psychic creature. Let's see if the chosen duelist inside him is still there." Hakuoh spoke in his mind.

"My turn, I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade! Ike, Darkness Ganveet, double break his shields and destroy his Pakurio!" Subaru said and Billy took cover as Darkness Ganveet slashed two of his shields. "Dark Strike SP, break his shield!"

"I... I summon Marine Flower..." Billy said and stared at the cards in his hand, which were Caribbean Moon, the Enlightened and Wan Ken, Crimson Lord ~Full Speed Ahead~.

"Not so tough anymore, huh? Well then let's see how you'll like the humiliation I had to endure! I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy my Deathraios and your Marine Flower! Ike, Gal Volf, break his final shields!"

The wolf demon rushed to Billy and slashed his final shields with its swords. Then the demon jumped back behind Subaru and Darkness Ganveet slowly approached the terrorized bully.

"P-please, have mercy!" Billy said and fell upon his knees.

"Mercy is not for the likes of you! Darkness Ganveet, totomeda!" Subaru ordered and Darkness Ganveet hit Billy with its swords and threw him against the wall, causing a hole in it.

Then the creatures disappeared and Subaru calmly gathered his cards. Everyone suddenly started cheering him and laughing at the defeated Billy. Subaru made his way through the crowd and ignored everyone who tried to congratulate him, including Marcelo. However, when he passed Tsugumi, he gave her a quick smile, and that made the girl blush. The boy walked to the entrance door of the school, and once he was out of the crowd, he took out his jean jacket and remained in his black T shirt. Subaru got out in the rain and walked into the yard while saying:

"Hey, are you here? I brought you a jacket to keep you warm!"

When the beggar heard those words, he smiled and got up from the tree. He slowly walked away from the school yard, and by the time Subaru reached the tree, he was no more.

"Farewell, my friend, and may you become a stronger duelist than I ever was."


	87. Bring the cards of Victory!

It was a hot day in the Sahara desert. The sun was roasting the sand and there was barely any breeze to chill out the tired body of Tobey. The boy was walking on the sand with a binocular on his eyes, looking for something other than sand and dunes. But then, all of a sudden, someone jumped out of the sand in front of him.

"Halt! Who goes there?" Tobey demanded, but then he saw that the one which came out of the sand was his partner. "Oh, Dani, it's you."

"Yeah. What's wrong? Your brain's fried?" Dani said while cleaning his shoulders and hands from the sand.

"Did you locate the psychic creature?"

"Grr... negative! I tell you, I got sand in my mouth, sand in my hair, I even got sand in places I rather not mention, but there's no trace of the..."

"Well, keep looking!"

"Hmph, fine!"

Dani then pushed some sand over Tobey and ran to a sand dune. Then the boy held his breath and jumped in the dune while digging with his metal claws.

"That moron... I won't forget this!" Tobey said and tried to clean the sand, but then his feet suddenly sank into the sand. "Huh? What's going on here?"

In the next moment, Tobey disappeared into the sand.

Meanwhile, at the Duel Masters summer school. The classes were about to begin in 15 minutes and more students were rushing into the school in order to not be late. Hakuoh was watching them through the window of his office and the apprentice was sitting behind him and waiting for him to give him an order.

"Subaru had received the chosen psychic creature of the darkness civilisation, wether he liked it or not."

"Indeed, Hakuoh-sama, and his performance was truly outstanding!"

"Still, his memories are still gone and we have to find a way to bring them back! If he doesn't join the other chosen duelists, then I'm afraid that sooner or later, Tabitha and her minions will manage to defeat them!"

"But I don't get why you are full of worries, Hakuoh-sama. I mean, the only psychics that Tabitha had got so far are Suva, Temporal Menace and Master Lupia, Temporal Wing."

"That's what you think!" Hakuoh said and opened a notebook on which he kept record of the psychic creatures they had found so far. "She had also gotten Jon, Temporal Explorer, Kutt, Temporal Brawler, Maritini, Temporal Dancer, Untouchable, Temporal Hero, April, Temporal Gunprincess, Aqua Cutlass, Temporal Swordsman, Kaiman, Temporal Flower and the psychic creature which we must prevent her from awakening it..."

"You are right, but most of those psychic creatures are weaklings in comparison with the beauties that the chosen duelists have!" the apprentice replied. "And there are still many out there."

"No, you're wrong! Me and Rad have most of the light and fire psychic creatures! If my book is correct, there are only 9 normal psychic creatures left!"

"But what about the psychic super creatures?"

In that moment Hakuoh looked at a card which was floating above a small pedestal. It was Hydra Gilsaurus.

"The psychic super creatures... are still to be found." Hakuoh calmly spoke. "But until then, I will offer my students the Victory cards today!"

"Huh? But, Hakuoh-sama, why would you do this? Don't you think it's a bit early?" the apprentice asked.

"No, my students have to be ready! It won't be long until Tabitha collects the final psychics and comes after us!"

"What do you mean by that? Won't the chosen duelists stop her?"

"Patience, my friend, and you'll soon understand."

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama."

A few minutes later the bell rang. Everyone entered their classrooms and waited for their teachers to come. Hakuoh calmly walked to his class with two boxes of cards in his hands. But this time he could hear noises coming from it. It was very weird for him, since his students waited calmly for him every day. When he opened the door, he was greeted by two surprising things. Firstly, most his students were talking loudly to each other or talking at the phone instead of getting ready for the class, and secondly, Subaru was at the dueling table along with Tsugumi and was showing her some cards.

"What happened to them?" Hakuoh asked himself and made a few steps back from the door. "And Subaru... had he remembered already?"

"And by casting Deadly Love you can also profit from the destruction of creatures, such as Emily or Dark Strike." Subaru said and showed the two cards to Tsugumi.

"I see, but what about the destruction of creatures?" the girl asked.

"Well, usually we have Deathraios, Terror Pit or Ballom Emperor for that. The point is, you shouldn't stay all that focused on Five Star and Heaven's Gate. If you do, then people might manage to come up with new strategies against it, and you'd be finished. Would you like to have your opponent use Ghost Touch against you in the early turns and discard your Aldoras? Or even use Gajirabute, Vile Centurion on the shields which had been powered up by Milzam?"

"Of course not! I promise I'll try my best to discover new strategies for the light civilisation!"

"I think that's enough!" Hakuoh said and entered the class. "Tsugumi, go to your seat, now! And Subaru, if you're so good at teaching Tsugumi what to do, why don't you become the teacher of the class?"

"Forgive us, Hakuoh-sama, we were just..."

"No, Tsugumi, I won't ask for any forgiveness! For far too long had this guy kept messing with me! One day, I swear that I'll humiliate you in front of the others in the same way you did to me!"

"Heh, we'll see about that. But until then, go to your seats, both of you!"

Subaru and Tsugumi packed up their cards and walked to their seats, with Tsugumi giggling at Hakuoh's almost immature behaviour. Hakuoh walked to the teacher's table and put two boxes down. Then he opened them and said:

"My students, today I bring you a gift - the Victory cards!"

"What?" the whole class exclaimed.

"Excuse me, master Hakuoh, but what are Victory cards?"

"Good question, Wally. Well, I hereby announce you that from now on there will be no more DM sets released." Hakuoh said and the class gave a shocked sigh. "Calm down, calm down, there will be new sets, but they'll be named DMR from now on. And every DMR contains Victory cards, just like this." Hakuoh continued and showed the class a light evolution creature. "This card is called Justius, Lord of Spirits. As you can notice, the card's artwork had changed, along with the mana circle space. The rest is just like the cards you know of. But, there will be new effects coming with this new set, so we'll have some classes dedicated to that. But until then, I invite you all to come and each take the cards you see fit for your decks, but make sure you don't take more than 20 cards, so that there will be enough cards for everyone!"

"Huh? What did he say?" Edo asked while waking up from his sleep.

"Go and get some cards, you dimwit!" Sora replied and hit Edo's head with a fan.

"Ow, okay, okay!"

Everyone in the class got up from their seats and sat in line at the table of Hakuoh, where they could take the Victory cards they desired for their decks. All that took them an hour, including the break, after which they were allowed to use the next class to build their decks. Once that was done, they continued their normal school programme.

Back at the search for the new psychic creature, Tobey woke up and saw that he was in a dark cave. The boy took out a lantern from his pockets and used it to look around, thus seeing that there were hieroglyphs on the walls. Tobey smiled and silently spoke:

"Heh, I must be in an underground hidden pyramid. And from what these pictures show, the ancient Egypteans had hidden a rectangle which possessed enormous powers. That's the psychic creature! And with my knowledge of Egyptean mythology, it will be a piece of cake to find my way out of here... with the psychic! Hahaha, Tobey, you're the man!"

Back at the school, a few more hours had passed after the lunch break and it was time for everyone to go home. Tsugumi was walking her way through the crowd in the schoolyard and trying to find Rad, Edo and Sora. But as she got out of the schoolyard, she was confronted by Subaru.

"Hey, Tsugumi!"

"Oh... Subaru... what an unexpected meeting... I mean encounter... I mean I wasn't expecting to meet you... and..."

"You know, I've been waiting for you."

"What?" Tsugumi spoke with a little surprised look on her face.

"I promised you that these days we'll have a private talk, and I consider that now is the time." Subaru said and took the girl's hand.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"You didn't think that we'd have a private talk in front of the school, did you? How about you come over to my place?"

"Y-your... place?" Tsugumi said and blushed. "I-I'd love to, but what about my friends?"

"Oh, Marcelo told them that you wanted to inform them through him that you had an appointment at the hairdresser." Subaru replied and winked. "Now how about we go?"

"S-sure!"

The two walked down the streets until they reached the beach. On the way, Tsugumi didn't pay attention to anything else but Subaru. The fact that he was holding her hand seemed to have been lasting for an eternity. The girl wished so badly to throw herself in his arms and scream his name loudly as she'd tighten her embrace, but she knew that if that happened, he'd only be freaked out. However, once they reached the beach, she was brought back from her dreams by the boy's voice.

"So, wanna take off your shoes? Or you'd like to have sand in them?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I was daydreaming." Tsugumi said and leaned to take off her shoes.

"Figures... Anyway, the house is a few feet away from that flag over there." Subaru said and pointed to a red flag. "Now let's go!"

Since Hanna was in Egypt with Tabitha and the rest to find the psychic creature and Marcelo was busy with shopping, the house was empty when Subaru opened the door.

"Hello? Is anybody home?"

"It seems not." Tsugumi said.

"Meh, Hanna probably went shopping with Marcelo. He said he'd be going to the grocery store after school." Subaru replied and walked into the kitchen. "Come inside!"

"Okay, Subaru!"

Tsugumi shyly entered the house and closed the door after her. The girl sat on a chair and waited for the boy to come back. But as he was back, he had only a pair of speedos on and was holding a glass filled with Cola and two cubes of ice. Tsugumi sweated hard at the sight of him and began to feel nervous. Subaru placed the glass on the table and said:

"Thanks for waiting!"

"Um... Subaru, is that Cola?"

"Yeah, what's the matter? Never had before?"

"No, no, it's just..."

"You're worried it's too cold?" Subaru said and took a small drink from the glass. "It's good!"

Seeing that his lips had touched the glass, the girl accepted it from him. She then drank all of the black liquid, but that didn't matter to her. She was drinking from the part where Subaru drank, so she could feel the taste of his lips, almost as if they were having a kiss. Once she was done, she placed the glass on the table and smiled to him while saying:

"Thank you, it was good!"

"Heh, glad you managed to chill out a bit! Now, Tsugumi, about that private talk I promised." Subaru said and sat down. "What is it so important that you have to tell me?"

"First of all... why are you sitting in front of me in your swimsuit?" Tsugumi spoke with a little louder voice. "Come on, if someone entered the house and saw us like this, they'd think..."

"Oh, don't worry, I was going to take a swim after our little chit chat. Well, is there anything else?"

"Well, who is this Hanna girl?"

"Oh, she... thinks she's my girlfriend."

"WHAT?"

"Well, I do respect her for everything she did to help me and Marcelo. She makes us food, provides us shelter, cleans up our mess and always greets us with a smile when we come home. I'd feel really bad if I broke her heart, but I honestly don't have the kind of feelings she expects from me!"

"Poor Subaru, he's still caring for others, no matter what!" Tsugumi thought.

"But why do you care about Hanna, anyway? Are you fearing that you can't seduce me?" Subaru said and put his forefinger on Tsugumi's nose as he stuck out his tongue.

"What? Of course not! What were you thinking?" the girl yelled and blushed hardily.

"Well, I AM in a swimsuit, so maybe you were having some pervy thoughts in your head."

"I do not! What do you think I am?"

"Hehe, I'm just messing with you."

"Stop it! It's not funny!"

Subaru then got up and walked to the kitchen once again. Tsugumi looked at the window while sweating and was a little angry at the boy which kept teasing her. But when he returned, she saw that he had his deck in his right hand.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"How about a duel, Tsugumi? Outside, in the afternoon sun's heat, with the sea playing a delicate concerto for our ears, what do you say?"

"Um... ok, why not?" Tsugumi replied and took out her deck. "Although I wish I had a swimsuit too."

"Don't worry, nobody comes to the beach at this time." Subaru said and opened the door. "Come!"

The two walked out of the house barefoot and went to two dueling tables which were situated a few feet away, near the sea. There they put their decks on them, deployed their shields, drew their cards and began the duel. Tsugumi was very nervous, as she had not faced Subaru in a long time and feared that the strategies that he had shown her that day would make her lose.

"Oh well, let's try out some of these Victory cards!" Subaru said and showed a darkness card. "I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll! Then I destroy Jenny and discard a card from your hand!"

"Argh!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she discarded Milzam. "M-my turn, I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana!"

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery! With its effect I reveal my top 3 cards and take all the darkness ones to my hand!"

The top 3 cards from Subaru's deck were Melnia, the Aqua Shadow, Terror Pit and Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper.

"Heh, all are darkness and all go to my hand!"

"Impressive move, now you have 5 cards in your hand again!" Tsugumi complimented the boy. "Still, it won't matter much! I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law!"

"That's what you think, Tsugumi! I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!" Subaru said and a purple ghost with shiny orange eyes, skull hat and orange skull staff appeared behind him. "With its effect you shall choose two cards in your hand and show them to me! But... since you have only two cards, you don't have much of a choice!"

"Oh no!" Tsugumi exclaimed and showed Subaru her Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits and Bronze-Arm Tribe, and had Subaru discard Alcadeias. "This is not good!"

"It certainly isn't... for you!"

"We'll see about that!" Tsugumi said and drew her next card. "Heh, things might work out in the end. I evolve Ultimus into Justius, Lord of Spirits!"

"What's that?" Subaru asked and stared at the big red amored angel which appeared behind Tsugumi.

"Justius is an 8500 powered blocker which is a double breaker and does not allow any of your creatures with 5000 power or less to attack!"

"Hehe, I have to say that you've done an impressive move as well!"

"Thanks, but now it's time to attack! Ike, Justius, double break his shields!"

Subaru took cover as the angel slashed his shields with its swords. He waited for the shield shards to unite into two cards, and when that happened, he saw that he had no shield triggers.

"Well then I guess it's my turn! I summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow and end!"

"Why do you keep summoning those little creatures? They won't help you!"

"I have my plans."

"If you say so, Subaru." Tsugumi said and drew a card. "I charge mana and attack with Justius once more! Double break his shields!"

Subaru took cover once again as the angel slashed two more of his shields. Once again, he didn't get any shield triggers. But this time he gave Tsugumi an scary smile and that made her sweat.

"I think that your Justius had had enough fun for a day!"

"What?"

"I evolve Melnia into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons!" Subaru said and a black demon with mouths instead of hands and chest appeared behind him and roared.

"What? Since when do you evolve Ghosts into Demon Commands?" Tsugumi asked.

"Actually, Zabi Implosion evolves on fire or water creatures! And with its effect I may summon a fire, water or darkness psychic creature with cost 7 or less for free! So I bring Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier to the field!"

A demon dressed in a golden armor, who was weilding two scythe like swords with two blades and was also riding a horned skeletal horse descended from a hole in the sky.

"When Black Ganveet is summoned, I'll destroy one of your tapped creatures! Say good bye to Justius!" Subaru said and Ganveet slashed Justius with one of its swords, destroying him. "And now... I end my turn!"

"This isn't over yet! I cast Mana Nexus and put Super Spark into my shields!" Tsugumi said.

"Heh, right into my trap!"

"What?"

"Since you finished your turn with no more cards in your hand... I shall awaken Black Ganveet! Arise, Darkness Ganveet!"

Black Ganveet got surrounded by a bright purple aura the demon grew in size. When the aura disappeared, it revealed that Ganveet had lost its horse and golden armor and received a bone armor, red wings and two sharp swords.

"That's... the creature which you used to defeat Billy!"

"Yep, and now you shall be defeated by it, Tsugumi! Ike, Zabi Implosion, double break her shields!" Subaru said and the demon roared and fired lasers from its mouths.

"Shield trigger, I summon not one, but two Tulk SP!" Tsugumi said and the two light bringers with fish armor appeared behind her.

"Heh, as if they'd help you much... Darkness Ganveet, destroy one of those Tulks and double break her shields!"

"Not so fast, Subaru! Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate!"

A powerful light appeared behind Tsugumi and from it came a giant red armored angel with golden shields.

"I summon Milzam, Spirit of Miracles!" Tsugumi said. "Then I use shield plus and put 5 more cards on my Super Spark shield!"

"Tsh... I end!" Subaru said.

"My turn, I summon Lucky Tulk, the Oracle! And now I tap Tulk SP and summon Five Star, Temporal Luck!"

A golden armored angel with three red spikes on its metallic head descended from the heavens and gazed upon Darkness Ganveet, who was giving in return an angry face.

"And now Milzam, Spirit of Miracles, destroy Darkness Ganveet!" Tsugumi ordered and the angel fired its lasers upon the demon, making it blow up.

"Heh, your luck ends here, Tsugumi!" Subaru said and his hand suddenly glew with a powerful purple light.

"What... do you mean?"

"My turn, I evolve Zabi Implosion into BALLOM EMPEROR, LORD OF DEMONS!"

The black demon got surrounded by a dark aura and turned into a gray demon with two goat heads and many pairs of hands. Tsugumi made a step back in fear as the demon fired a single wave of darkness and destroyed all of her creatures.

"Heh, it will be over soon! Kitarou, break her shield!" Subaru said and the ghost hit one of the girl's shields with its staff and broke it. "I end my turn!"

"Good, I got Justius, Lord of Spirits! And since my last shield is the Milzam one, Subaru probably didn't attack it due to his fear of shield triggers. This might give me one more chance, if I just draw an Angel Command!" Tsugumi thought and drew. "Yes, it's exactly what I needed!"

"What are you doing there, Tsugumi? It's your turn!"

"Okay! I summon Gaga Shaula, Spirit of Understanding!" Tsugumi said and then thought. "And next turn I shall summon Justius and break your final shield. Also, he will incapacitate your Kitarou for some time, and you'll concentrate more on destroying my Justius than on breaking my final shield, which already has shield triggers!"

"Play time's over!"

"What are you talking about, Subaru?"

"It's time I showed you the power of the darkness civilisation! I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Angel Command!" Subaru said and Tsugumi discarded her Justius. "Heh, you kept an evolution in your hand, waiting for the right moment to summon it, huh? Well, it won't work with me! And now, say good bye to your final shield!"

"Noo!" Tsugumi yelled as her shield got slashed into pieces by Gal Volf and all of the cards from it went to the graveyard.

The cards in Tsugumi's last shield were Five Star, Spirit of Luck, Pure Arial, Tulk SP, Memories of the Planetary Dragon, Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Super Spark. The girl looked disappointed at her graveyard and then turned to the boy, who was about to finish her off.

"You have much to learn, Tsugumi... about both your enemy's cards and your own!" Subaru said and tapped one of his cards. "Ballom Emperor, totomeda!"

The goat demon created a purple laser ball in the lowest pair of hands and in the next moment he casted it upon Tsugumi, blasting the girl away with her cards. The girl fainted in the process and landed on the sand. Subaru calmly packed up his own deck and then he picked her cards from the sand and formed another deck. Afterwards, he walked to her and stared at the unconscious girl.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, Tabitha, Hanna and Dani were still searching for the psychic creature. But as they gathered in one place to rest from all the searching, the whole ground started shaking.

"Tabitha-sama, what's happening?"

"I wish I knew, Hanna."

Then, a sharp pillar suddenly came out of the sand and rose to the sky. As it was coming out of the sand, it revealed that it was getting bigger and bigger, meaning that it wasn't a pillar, but a pyramid. When the pyramid stopped rising up, the sand off it fell and then its main entrance opened. Then they saw someone running out from the building while waving something with its right hand.

"Oh no, it's a mummy!" Dani yelled and hid behind Tabitha. "Save me, Tabitha-sama! I'm too cool to have my brains eaten!"

"You fool, that's no mummy, that's Tobey!" Tabitha replied and watched how the boy ran to her.

"Tabi-Tabitha-sama, I got the psychic creature! And I found it by myself, all by myself!" Tobey said and showed a darkness creature with 7 mana cost, 4000 power and the name Rumble, Temporal Sage.

"Heh, good job, Tobey!" Tabitha said and then spoke in her mind for a moment. "Weird, the chosen duelists didn't come after the psychic creature this time. Maybe it's because we found it before it could unleash its energy. Afterall, only I knew about the magical rectangle from Egypt legend. Oh well, I guess that this time we were lucky!"

"So what should we do now, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"Let's go back home! We got what we came for!" Tabitha said and opened a portal.


	88. A day at the beach

After defeating Tsugumi in a duel, Subaru took her to the UFO and left her and her deck right in front of it. The girl was found by the other chosen duelists and taken inside immediately. Luckily, she woke up fast and didn't tell them anything about the fact that she had dueled Subaru. She blamed everything on too much stress and they all bought it.

And thus a new day came. The sun was rising once again upon the city of our heroes. Even if it was dawn, there were many people who were already traveling to work. The same could be said about Tabitha and her minions too, except for the fact that they were looking for a new psychic creature in the sewers of the city. Tabitha and Tobey were wandering through a sewer tunnel which had dirty water. And unfortunately for Tobey, Tabitha's powers weren't in their greatest shape that day, so they both had to walk in the water.

"Of all the places that psychic creature had to be!" Tabitha said. "It's impossible for me to even fly here! These tunnels are too small!"

"It's going to be difficult to find the psychic creature, Tabitha-sama." Tobey replied. "I sure hope Dani has better luck than we do!"

Meanwhile, in another part of the sewers, Dani was climbing a wall with his metal claws.

"Gosh, I feel like a monkey!" he thought.

The boy kept climbing until he reached a small 'cave' from which more dirty water was coming. There he rested a bit and looked at the big height he was.

"Woah! I climbed that much? Haha! I'm awesome!" Dani exclaimed.

"I'm awesome!" an echo recounded.

"No, I'm awesome!" Dani shouted.

"No, I'm awesome!" the echo responded.

"Grr... You suck!" Dani yelled.

"You suck!" the echo added.

"No, you suck!" Dani yelled even louder.

"No, you suck!" the echo persisted.

"Damn sewer people!" Dani thought.

Suddenly, Dani heard the sound of a moving water getting louder and louder. When the boy used his flashlight to see what was happening, he sawa giant wave of sewer water coming towards him.

"Why me?" Dani asked and suddenly got hit by the water.

Meanwhile, the sun was rising at the beach, blessing both the sand and the sea with its warming morning rays. Since it was Saturday, the Duel Masters summer school was closed, so Subaru, Marcelo and Hanna decided to have fun on the beach that day. Marcelo was wearing a pair of dark blue swim trunks, Hanna was wearing a black and red bikini and Subaru had a kimono on him. They were all unpacking and setting their stuff.

"Ah, it's so great to see the beach at sunrise." Marcelo said.

"Yeah, isn't it romantic?" Hanna said and grabbed Subaru's hand.

"Yeah, it surely is peaceful." the long black haired boy said and smiled.

Then, all of a sudden, their thoughts for a lonely and relaxing day on the beach had been immediately ruined by one single and familiar yell:

"GUYS!"

"Oh no, it's Tsugumi..." Hanna thought and sighed.

"We're here too!" Tarja added and ran to the beach with a basket filled with food.

"You guys didn't think about having a party without us, did you?" Sora said and came after Tarja with a bag filled with sheets.

Tsugumi, Tarja, Sora and Rad ran directly to Marcelo, Hanna and Subaru. Once they reached them, they started unpacking and setting up their stuff as well. Tsugumi was wearing a pair of yellow bikinis, Sora was wearing green ones and Tarja had pink ones.

"Tsugumi!" Subaru exclaimed, let go of Hanna's hand and ran to the blonde girl. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I came here with Tarja-san and my other friends for a small beach party. Didn't know that you guys would be here."

"Oh yeah, BEACH TIME!" Rad said and threw off his clothes, revealing his red swim trunks.

"...You just had to bring these specimens with you, Tsugumi?" Subaru asked and sweated.

"They're my friends, wether you like it or not." the girl calmly replied.

"And I'm not going to comment on your friend choices."

"He sure is a jerk sometimes." Tarja whispered to Tsugumi.

"Remember, it's not the real him." the girl whispered back.

"Guys... did Edo fall from Rad's rocket on our way to the beach again?" Sora asked while looking around for the brown haired boy.

Everyone turned their heads to Rad and stared at him with suspecting looks, waiting for him to confess his fault. Rad sweated and made a few steps back while saying:

"Don't look at me! I didn't throw him out intentionally... this time. I SWEAR!"

Suddenly, a giant whale came out of the sea with Edo sitting on its head with a black and light blue swimsuit on which Aqua Sniper was drawn.

"You know what, guys? Apparently, dolphins aren't the only ones who save humans!" Edo said and then everyone turned to Rad once again.

"I SWEAR I didn't throw him! You gotta believe me!" Rad cried.

"Oh no, I thought I saw a flying ice cream and went a bit too far to look." Edo continued and then jumped off the whale. "Bye, mister whale!"

The whale smiled to him and then made a turn and swimmed back to its home. As the animal disappeared, Edo turned to the rest and walked to Subaru while saying:

"Hey, Suby, how've you been, old buddy?"

"Old buddy?" Subaru thought and then spoke to him. "Oh, I've been fine, hanging out with Hanna and Marcelo. What about yo..."

"Look, I found this oister!" Edo said and showed it.

"An oister?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yeah, it had that hard shiny thing inside that you can't eat, so I threw it out... instead, there's plenty of water in it!" Edo said and opened the oister, squirting Subaru's face with sea water.

"...Idiots will be idiots." Subaru said with a not amused face.

"Oh, and those are your friends..." Edo said and turned to Hanna and Marcelo. "Oh my God! Hi, Hanna!"

"No, stay away!" Hanna said and made a step back.

"Remember our times at the Geki mansion?" Edo said and rang a bell in front of the girl. "Me the master and you the nice maid. It was fun, right?"

A vein popped in Hanna's head and the girl angrily smacked Edo's face, making him fall on the sand.

"OUCH! Aw man, what was that for?"

"Poor guy." Marcelo said and helped Edo up. "So you must be Edo, the chosen water duelist. I am Marcelo Cabuli, Subaru's best friend."

''You mean second!'' Edo replied.

"Um... no, I am his best friend. I saved him and ever since we've been best pals!"

''No, you're lying! I'm his best friend! We hanged out ever since we met each other! There's no way you could be his best friend!''

"That's what me and him had been doing ever since I saved him!"

"Um... guys..." Subaru tried to intervene.

"Not now, we're discussing important matters!" both Edo and Marcelo said to him.

"But don't I have a word about this?" the long black haired boy replied.

"NO!" both yelled.

"Guys, guys, stop that. It's not the moment for you to argue about that." Tarja intervened in their discussion.

"But, Tarja, this guy thinks he can steal my best buddy!" Edo said, but then the woman leaned to his ear.

"Edo, the situation is very complicated, but when things get back to normal, you'll have your friend back." Tarja whispered.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Stand here and see how this bastard steals my pal?" the brown haired boy whispered back.

"He won't steal Subaru. At least not when Suby gets his memories back. I'm sure when that happens, he'll choose you over Marcelo."

"If you say so... Just get him out of my sight!"

"Marcelo, why don't we leave them do... whatever they're doing. You two should stop your pointless conversation." Tarja said.

"Okay, but what will we do?" Marcelo asked.

"We'll see."

Both Tarja and Marcelo walked a few feet away from the chosen duelists, leaving an angry Edo stare at them.

"Anyway, do you like Subaru's kimono?" Hanna said to the others. "I just made it yesterday and..."

In the next moment, Subaru threw off his kimono on the sand and revealed that he had a pair of black swimtrunks on.

"This is my new swimsuit!" Subaru proudly spoke.

"My hard work!" Hanna cried while staring at the kimono.

"Who's up for swimming?"

"Bet ya can't get first to that rock!" Rad said and ran into the water.

"HEY! COME BACK!" Subaru yelled and followed Rad into the sea.

Meanwhile, at Tarja and Marcelo.

"So, what have you been doing lately?" Marcelo asked.

"Well, all the same - doing the housework, cooking and stuff like that, while the guys are at school." Tarja said.

"Cool! Me and Subaru had had some tough times during school, but we got through them. Also, Hanna proved to be a great house help too."

"That's good." Tarja said and then thought. "Hmm, actually this conversation isn't much interesting... Does that mean we don't have much to tell?"

"So... have you reflected upon my offer, dear fiancee?" Marcelo asked.

"What offer?"

"You know, getting married."

"Actually I haven't thought much about you lately, but it would be rude if I tell you that." Tarja thought and then spoke. "Oh, yeah, the marriage... Isn't that too fast? I mean... you just got back..."

"Yes, but I want NOTHING to ever get between us again!" Marcelo said.

"And what if it doesn't work out... I mean... our marriage."

"Oh come on, baby, of course it works! I love you and you love me!"

"Hm... do I?" Tarja thought and then said. "But sooner or later, love goes away."

"Come on, lovely pie." Marcelo replied and kissed the woman's cheek. "How could your love for me fade away?"

"You're right, it can't fade away when I'm not sure." Tarja thought.

Meanwhile, at the sewers. Dani woke up and turned on his flashlight. He saw that he was in a darker tunnel which had more dirty water. When he got up, he saw something shining with a red light hanging on the ceiling.

"The psychic creature!" Dani exclaimed.

The long haired boy jumped to the ceiling, but suddenly fell back on the water. He tried once more and the same thing happened. Then he hit the water with his fists and said:

"Darn! I'm too short to reach it! Oh, why didn't I like milk when I was little?"

Back at the beach, Marcelo and Tarja were returning to the rest of the group and Subaru and Rad were coming back from the water as well.

"Haha, loser!" Rad laughed.

"It wasn't fair, you ran into the water before I even knew you wanted a race!" Subaru complained.

"Well boo hoo."

They all made a grill, put on some music from Rad's rocket and sat at a table, talking and enjoying themselves. Occasionally, the girls would go and have a small bath in the water, and that would be the moment when Edo directed his attention to Marcelo, and seemed that the more that person was smiling and laughing, the more he was about to explode. Just seeing Subaru and Marcelo that close friends was breaking the poor boy's heart. When the girls returned from their bath, Edo lost control of his temper and said:

"Crap, I have some bones to pick with that Marcelo guy. Oh, Marcelooo!"

The brown haired boy got up from his chair and walked to Marcelo with his fists ready for a good beat up. But as he was about to hit him, he slipped and fell, his face having a not so nice landing on a rock.

"OUCH!"

"Ar-are you alright?" Marcelo said and tried to help Edo up, but he slapped his hand away and got up by himself.

"I'll be asking you that after I'm done with you! You know as good as I that Suby belongs to us, so stop throwing lies into him!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I've saved him from an imminent drown and ever since we've been best friends."

"I appreciate you having saved Suby, but keeping him away from us is not cool!" Edo said and showed his glowing deck.

"Eh?" Marcelo said and made a few steps back.

"He is not your challenge, Edo, I am!" Subaru said and came between Marcelo and Edo with his glowing deck.

"Please step aside, Suby, I want to give this guy a lesson!"

"No! You've gone too far now! When you threaten my best pal, you'll face the wrath of Subaru! This battle is between us!"

Subaru stared at Edo with fierce eyes as two dueling tables appeared from the sand. Both put their decks on them and deployed their shields.

"Fine, but if I beat you, you'll let me get his ass whooped!" Edo said and drew his five cards.

"Eh? I couldn't do that to my best friend and the one which saved my life!" Subaru replied while drawing five cards as well.

"Yeah, he would be your best pal if he didn't keep lying!"

"Edo, keep it down!" Sora said.

"What lies are you talking about?" Marcelo asked.

"You know reeeal good what I mean!" Edo said to Marcelo and then he turned his sight to Subaru. "Alright, Suby, let's get this over with!"

"Since when did Edo become the villain?" Rad asked.

"Tsh, I think I'll start by summoning Melnia, the Aqua Shadow!" Subaru said and a purple and dark blue ghost made of water appeared behind him.

"Then I summon Aqua Cascade!" Edo said and a human like liquid creature with two purple swords appeared behind him.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma! Melnia, break his shield!"

Edo took cover as Melnia flew to him and slashed one of his shields with the liqud spear from its left arm. The shield shards united into a card which he took to his hand, and then he started his turn.

"I summon Aqua Sonicwave! Send Maxval back to his hand!"

"Heh, I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll! Show me your hand!" Subaru said and Edo revealed the cards in his hand, which were Aqua Jester Loupe, Aqua Sniper and Hogan Blaster. "I discard Aqua Jester Loupe! And now ike, Melnia, break another shield!"

"Garh!" Edo exclaimed as he took cover from Melnia's attack. "My turn, I charge mana and summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields! Then I summon Aqua Guard! Aqua Sonicwave, suicide with Melnia!"

"Hm... I charge mana and summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! I destroy Deathraios!"

"I destroy Aqua Guard!"

"Ike, Jenny, break the Super Emeral shield!"

"Heh..." Edo laughed as he watched his shield get broken. "Shield trigger, I cast Hogan Blaster! And my top card is... Aqua Jester Loupe!"

"What the..." Subaru spoke, surprised.

"My next card iiis... K Atlantis, Ocean Peak of Taiga... Oh well, that's cool enough! My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole! I draw a card and then I shall summon G Hogan, Temporal Star!"

A giant blue robot rose from the sea and jumped on Edo's side. The brown haired boy smiled and said:

"Ike, Aqua Super Emeral, destroy his Jenny! Aqua Jester Loupe, break his shield!"

"So this is G Hogan... Heh, how the mighty shall fall!" Subaru said and grinned. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole!"

"What?" Edo said, shocked.

"I destroy Aqua Jester Loupe and summon Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier!"

The sunny sky suddenly got surrounded by thick black clouds as demon dressed in a golden armor, who was weilding two scythe like swords with two blades and was also riding a horned skeletal horse descended by Subaru's side.

"In-intense." Edo said and sweated.

"Black Ganveet's effect shall destroy your Aqua Super Emeral!" Subaru said and Black Ganveet slashed the green water creature with one of its swords.

"Suby, please, this is breaking my heart! Oh well... then I guess I'll use this - I cast Hogan Blaster!" Edo said and stared at his shuffling deck while thinking. "Come on, give me an Aqua Surfer!"

The card which was revealed was Crystal Axe.

"Heh, good enough... Hand evolution! I evolve Aqua Sniper into Crystal Axe! Ike, G Hogan, double break his shields! Crystal Axe, break his final shields!"

"Argh!" Subaru yelled as Edo's creatures broke his shields. "You'll pay for that! Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Crystal Axe!"

"Noo, Axey!" Edo shouted as many black hands grabbed his creature and held it so tight until it blew up.

"Also, shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Deathraios! I destroy Deathraios!"

"I destroy Aqua Cascade!"

"And now... AWAKEN! DARKNESS GANVEET!"

Black Ganveet got surrounded by an aura of darkness and transformed into a huge skeletal demon. Edo stared at the demon with shocked eyes as G Hogan was sending blue energy waves against Ganveet's purple energy waves. The earth started shaking, the sea became more agressive and thunders could be heard from the sky.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Edo said.

"And now... my turn! I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and then grave evolution, I evolve the Melnia from my graveyard into Death March, Reaper of Death! Now it's time to attack, Darkness Ganveet!"

Darkness Ganveet aimed its sword at G Hogan and flew towards the robot.

"When Darkness Ganveet attacks, you'll choose one of your creatures and destroy it and then choose one card from your hand and discard it!"

"I have no cards left, but Hogan..."

Darkness Ganveet slashed Hogan with one of its swords and watched the robot roar in agony and blow up. Then the demon used its other sword and slashed Edo's last two shields.

"Urgh, this is so not cool!" Edo said and fell on his knees as the sky got even blacker and the sea sounded as if it screamed from the pain of Hogan's loss. "Crap, I've never had a duel with such force with Suby... Could it be because of the psychic creatures supplying our chosen duelist powers?"

"Zip it, I'm no chosen duelist. I've just discovered a new power... a power which shall crush you!" Subaru said.

"The chosen duelist power..." Edo murmured as the last two shields got into his hand. "That's it!"

"What?"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Death March back to his hand!"

"Heh, pathetic!"

"Also, shield trigger, I cast Hogan Blaster!"

"Hah, your stupid Blaster will not save you from your doom!"

"Suby, you're about to see the power of the chosen duelists which you, me, Tsugumi and the gang were entrusted with!" Edo said as his body got surrounded by a blue aura.

A water tornado rose from the sea and reached the black clouds from the sky as the cards from Edo's deck started shuffling. Subaru stared at Edo with amazement and said:

"What kind of trick is this?"

"This is no trick! Suby, I'll let you experience the power of the chosen duelists!" Edo said and took the card which was revealed via Hogan Blaster's effect. "AQUA SURFER, EVOLVE INTO CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER!"

A giant golden centaur with two long sharp spears broke through the tornado in which he was closed.

"SUBY, MEET THE CHOSEN WATER CARD!" Edo said and tapped the card. "SNAP OUT OF IT, SUBARUUU! CRYSTAL ZWEILANCER, TOTOMEDA!"

Crystal Zweilancer rushed to Subaru and aimed its spear at the black haired boy. The creature's weapon landed right in front of him.

"W-why didn't you finish me off?" Subaru asked while sweat was falling on his skin.

"Ju-just millimeters away from hitting him..." Marcelo spoke, shocked.

Edo's blue aura disappeared along with all the creatures. A ray of light shined through the thick clouds and the sky got clear once again.

"What... was all this?" Subaru asked.

"This was... this was the power to which... you belong..." Edo said and fainted from the exhaustion.

The girls ran to Edo as Subaru packed up his cards. After that duel, he, Marcelo and Hanna decided to head home and leave the chosen duelists to continue their party.

Meanwhile, at the sewers, Dani tried using his metal claws to grab the psychic creature, but once again failed at getting it. When he got up, he accidentally pulled a switch and made a giant wave of sewer water fall on him. The water took him through many sewer tunnels until he landed on Tabitha and Tobey.

"Argh, what's the meaning of this?" Tabitha asked.

"I found it, Tabitha-sama! I found the psychic creature!" Dani said and showed the card. "Weird... it seems to have two sides, a fire one and a water one, with the same power and cost. Also, it says that its effect is Loop Awaken. The fire one is called Crimson Lord Yanus, Temporal Warpanther and the water one is called Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther..."

"Whatever you say... At least the chosen duelists didn't come after it this time! Let's go home!" Tabitha said and opened a portal. "I could really use a nice shower!"

"Us too!" Tobey and Dani said.


	89. Looking for sea treasures

The weekend had passed and everyone had returned to school once again. But the same could not be said for the chosen duelists. Once they set foot on the school's stairs, they were greeted by Hakuoh, who immediately took them to a private corner and sent them to find a new psychic creature. This time the psychic was located under the sea, so once they entered Rad's rocket, Rad changed it to underwater mode, turning it into a winged submarine. The flying submarine took off to the sea and dived in the water with full speed. They were all going after the coordinates which Hakuoh offered them.

"Wow, this place is awesome!" Edo exclaimed. "That's why water is the best!"

"I disagree, but it's time to make this an awesome trip." Rad said and pressed a button.

Suddenly, four propellers appeared behind the submarine's wings and made the vehicle stop descending and start exploring the depths.

"The psychic creature's signal was pretty weak while we were on surface." Rad said.

"Yes, but look at this!" Tsugumi replied and pointed to the GPS map. "The signal is growing stronger the more we are moving underwater. Who knows, we might be going in the right direction."

"She's right!" Edo said and looked at the window. "Maybe I can spot it!"

Then two dolphins appeared out of nowhere and swimmed near Edo's window.

"Oh, I found the psychic!" Edo exclaimed.

"You did?" Tsugumi asked.

"Oh no, false alarm... Just a couple of dolphins."

"You idiot!" Sora said and hit Edo's head with her fan.

"OUCH! Sora, that hurt!"

"If stupidity would hurt too..."

"Hey, Edo, where did those dolphins come from?" Tsugumi asked.

"I dunno, I think from the right."

"Got it!" Rad said and made the submarine change its direction to the right.

The submarine moved in the water for 15 minutes until it reached the ruins of an ancient city. The chosen duelists were amazed by the splendid view. Its rock buildings were still standing straight, almost as if they had never disappeared into the depths. If they wouldn't have lacked lights and people, they would've thought that the city was inhabited. Rad made the submarine land near a giant pyramid whose doors seemed to have been closed. He chose that place because it was the highest building of the city. Then he pressed a button and made everyone's clothes in the rocket turn into diving suits.

"Ok, guys, let's go find some psychics!" Rad said and pressed a button which teleported them outside of the rocket.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Edo said.

"Ok, I say we first go and search what's inside that pyramid and then split and look into the rest of the city." Rad continued.

"You got it!" Tsugumi replied.

The four chosen duelists swimmed to the pyramid and tried to push the doors with all their strength, but they were surprised to see that they opened easily. The four suddenly fell inside the pyramid, whose doors closed and revealed that it had no water in it.

"Wow, my costume says that this place has air!" Rad said and took off his helmet.

"Really?" Sora asked.

"Look for yourself.

The others also took off their helmets and saw that they could easily breathe in that place.

"That's awesome!" Edo exclaimed.

"It's almost as if this place was meant to be that way." Sora said and wandered in the corridor. "This place is filled with all kinds of tropical plants, almost like a mini garden. This must be the reason why it has breathable air."

"If you say so." Rad said and followed her along with the other two. "So, how about we split and look for the psychic?"

Then they all heard an evil laugh coming from the end of the corridor. They all ran to the direction from where it was coming and ended up face to face with Tabitha and her minions.

"Tabitha!" Rad exclaimed.

"Let's give them a warm welcome, boys!" Tabitha replied and Dani and Tobey approached the chosen duelists with their decks. "You keep them busy while I look for the psychic creature!"

"Yes, Tabitha-sama!" Dani and Tobey replied.

Tabitha ran away and left Hanna to stand behind Dani and Tobey and watch them duel the chosen duelists.

"Don't worry, Rad, we'll take care of them!" Tsugumi said and walked to the enemies.

"Yeah, you and Edo go after Tabitha!" Sora added and did the same as Tsugumi.

Four dueling tables appeared from the brick floor and the duels began. It was Dani VS Tsugumi and Tobey VS Sora. Hanna then walked between the dueling tables and approached Rad and Edo while saying:

"Ok, who will be my opponent?"

"Nobody!" Edo shouted and ran to Hanna and pushed her against a wall, knocking her unconscious. "Ok, Rad, the coast is clear."

"Good, let's go find the psychic!" Rad said and ran along with Edo.

"Heh, they'll never get there in time! I summon Rikabu's Screwdriver! Ike, Deadly Fighter Blade Claw, break her shield!" Dani said.

"We'll see about that! I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana!" Tsugumi said.

"Think again, girly! I summon Pyrofighter Magnus! Ike, Blade Claw and Screwdriver, break her shields! Magnus, bre..."

"Shield trigger activate! I cast Heaven's Gate and summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and Lucky Tulk, the Oracle!"

"Oh great.. Magnus goes back to my hand!"

"Pathetic, Dani! You should do better than that!"

"Oh yeah, Tobey? Let's see what you can do!"

"With pleasure!" Tobey said and turned to Sora. "I cast Secret Clocktower! With its effect I'll look at my top 3 cards and put one in my hand, one at the top of my deck and one at the bottom of my deck!"

"Hah, is that all you got?"

"Think again! I summon Bloody Squito! Ike, Bronze-Arm Tribe, break her shield!"

"Well well well, I think it's time to get serious! I summon Princess Cub SP!" Sora said and a bear cub appeared behind her. "Ike, Bronze-Arm Tribe, suicide with his Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"Block it, Bloody Squito! And now it's time for you to see my true power!"

"Eh?"

"I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole! With its effect I'll take Bloody Squito back to my hand and summon a darkness psychic creature with cost 7 or less! Behold, Rumble, Temporal Sage!"

A white demon which was dressed in black and red monk clothes and holding a book appeared behind Tobey.

"Huh? What's that?" Sora asked.

"Your destruction." Tobey calmly replied.

Meanwhile at Rad and Edo. The two walked on the same corridor where Tabitha went but there was no sign of the witch. After a few minutes they discovered a door to what seemed to be an altar, but it was closed. Rad looked at the strange paintigs from the door to figure out of a way to enter the altar while Edo yawned and put his hand on a brick from the wall. The brick fell deeper into the wall and thus the door opened.

"I never thought I'd say this but... good job, Edo!" Rad said and then ran into the altar. "Now hurry!"

"Wow, Rad said 'good job'... TO ME!" Edo exclaimed but before he could follow Rad he felt someone grabbing him hand and turned back only to see Tabitha.

"Thanks for opening the doors to the altar. Now here's your reward." the witch said and electrocuted Edo.

Back at Tsugumi VS Dani and Sora VS Tobey.

"Heh, those tiny little blockers won't help you so much! You have only two shields left!"

"We'll see about that!" Tsugumi replied and placed a card on her Ultimus card while smiling. "I evolve Ultimus into Justius, Lord of Spirits!"

"W-w-what's that?" Dani asked and stared at the giant angel with red armor.

"Justius will now allow any of your creatures with power 5000 or less to attack! And since your only creature with more than 5000 power is Genji Double Cross..."

"Uh oh..."

"Ike, Justius, double break his shields! Lucky Tulk, break his shield!"

Dani took cover as Tsugumi's creatures broke his shields. To his unluck, none of his shields were either shield triggers or a Genji Double Cross. The boy drew his next card, charged mana and then spoke to the blonde girl with an angry tone in his voice:

"You'll pay for this, Tsugumi! I summon Rothus, the Traveller and destroy Blade Claw!"

"I destroy Lucky Tulk! Anything else?"

"Grr... I end!"

"You'd better give up, Dani! Your creatures cannot stand the power of my Justius!"

"Shut your mouth, blondie!"

"If that's the way you want it... I summon Five Star, Spirit of Luck!" Tsugumi said and a golden angel appeared behind her. "Ike, Justius, break his final shields!"

"Aha, got'cha! Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Justius back to his hand!" Dani said and a blue surfer hit the red armored angel with its surfboard and made it disappear. "Now my creatures can all attack, hahaha!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes! I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole and draw a card! Now, Tsugumi, meet my new psychic creature! I summon Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!"

A blue panther like creature appeared behind Dani and roared at Tsugumi. The girl made a few steps back as Dani tapped his cards and said:

"Ike, Rikabu's Screwdriver, break her shield! Rothus, the Traveller, break her final shield! Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther, totome..."

"Um, Dani..."

"WHAT?"

"Sorry to intrerrupt your moment of victory, but Deepsea Yanus has summoning sickness."

"...It does?" Dani asked with a dumb look on his face.

"Yup." Tsugumi calmly replied.

"Hahaha, what an epic failure!" Tobey laughed.

"Don't laugh too hard, cause you're next in line! I summon Terradragon Drapi and then destroy it!"

"Huh? Why would you do such a foolish thing?"

"Then I tap Princess Cub SP and also tap 5 mana! Then I summon Kankuro, Temporal Actor!" Sora said and a giant dragon dressed in samurai armor and weilding a long sword appeared behind her. "And since I've summoned this turn a creature with more than 7000 power, I'll awaken Kankuro!"

Sora's dragon roared and got surrounded by a shiny green aura. When the aura faded away, the dragon got larger and was wearing a tougher armor with giant necklaces around his neck.

"Arise, Jungle Kankuro, the Awakened Dramatic!"

"Heh, that dragon doesn't scare me the tinyest bit! I now look at the bottom card of my deck, but first I have to guess it, so I say it's... Franz the 1st, Ice Fang!" Tobey said and revealed the card from the bottom of his deck, which was Franz the 1st.

"Um... why did you even do that?"

"Now that I've guessed right, I shall awaken Rumble, Temporal Sage!"

Rumble got surrounded by a black aura and grew in size. When the aura disappeared, it revealed that it had also grown two more pairs of hands, and was wearing a black demonic armor on its lower side and a bone made royal suit on its upper side.

"Hahaha, meet Rumble Lecter, Terror Awakened!" Tobey laughed.

"Oh my God... that thing's huge!" Sora exclaimed.

"And it will also destroy any creature it battles before the battle even happens!"

"Hey, no fair, that's cheating!"

"Too bad, nature girl! I summon Bloody Squito! Ike, Rumble Lecter, triple break her shields! Bronze-Arm Tribe, break her final shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send Bloody Squito to your mana zone! Also, shield trigger, I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit and send Bronze-Arm Tribe to your mana zone!"

"Heh, is that all you got?"

"Nope, I've got much more! Revenge Chance, I summon Kankuro, Peerless Brute!" Sora said and a dragon which looked exactly like Kankuro, Temporal Actor appeared behind her.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Not at all, Tobey! Now it's MY turn! Ike, Kankuro, Peerless Brute, quadruple break his shields! Princess Cub SP, break his final shield!"

"Argh!" Tobey yelled as Sora's creatures broke all of his shields.

Meanwhile, Rad had managed to enter the altar. The so called altar was nothing but a big room made of golden bricks and which had three pillars reaching the ceiling. Rad could see that a purple light was coming from the middle pillar.

"That must be the psychic creature!" Rad said. "Come, Edo, let's... Huh? Edo? Where are you?"

"Hahaha! Is that the scent of a psychic creature that I smell in here?" Tabitha said and appeared into the altar as well.

"Tabitha, what have you done with Edo?"

"Don't worry, he's in the middle of a nap. He won't bother me from getting the psychic!"

"I'll never let you get your hands on it!" Rad said and took out his deck.

"Then so be it! I'll defeat you in no time and retrieve it!" Tabitha replied and took out her deck as well.

Two dueling tables rose from the golden floor and both Rad and Tabitha put their decks on them and began their duel.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards!" Tabitha said.

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Rad said.

"I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods!"

"I summon Reppi SP Aini!"

"Heh, I summon Ana, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink - Ana Mani! Send one of your creatures to your hand!"

"I send Cocco Lupia, and now it's my turn! I cast Whirlwind Tailspin and then tap Reppi SP Aini! I summon Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman, and Whirlwind Tailspin gives it speed attacker!"

"What?"

"Ike, Genji Double Cross, double break her shields! And now, since all my creatures are tapped, I awaken Genji!" Rad said and Genji got surrounded by a red aura, grew it size and received an even stronger armor which also had a golden crown on his head. Also, his two swords were in supports on the back of his armor. "Crimson Genji Double Cross, the Swordmaster Awakened!"

"Exactly what I've been waiting for! I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink - Ana Moora Mani! And now that Moora and Mani linked, I'll draw a card! Ike, Ana Moora Mani, destroy Crimson Genji Double Cross!" Tabitha ordered and her creature fired lasers from each of its mouths and destroyed Rad's dragon.

"No! Crimson Genji Double Cross!"

"Hahahahahaha, feel the power of Tabitha Lenox! I shall rule upon you all!"

"Grr... I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Ike, Genji Double Cross and Reppi SP Aini, break her final shields!"

Tabitha looked at Rad's creatures and how they broke all of her shields to pieces and smiled at him. The witch stood still as the shield shards surrounded her and then she waited for them all to unite into 3 cards which she calmly took in her hand. Then she showed one of them to Rad and said:

"Shield trigger acitvate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Genji Double Cross!"

"Oh no!" Rad said and watched how the black hands grabbed his dragon and smashed it.

"I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and summon Suva, Temporal Menace!" Tabitha continued and a horned demon which was wearing a dark purple armor appeared behind her. "Ana Moora Mani, destroy Reppi SP Aini! Are you ready to surrender, chosen fire duelist?"

"Never! I'll never surrender to the likes of you! That psychic creature belongs to the chosen duelists!"

"Heh, such heroic nonsense..."

"I summon Genji Aini and Shobu Aini!"

"That's it, you lost, Rad! I summon Adge, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Adge Ana Moora Mani!" Tabitha said and her four Gods united into one creature as her psychic creature card glew with a bright purple light. "Suva, Temporal Menace, awaken!"

Suva's red armor cracked and a giant red demon which weilded two red swords and two blue swords appeared behind Tabitha and roared.

"Hahahaha, meet your doom, Rad! Psychic Suva, the Awakening God!"

"No, this can't be happening!" Rad said and stared at the creature while it was firing waves of darkness which were destroying his creatures and mana.

"Oh, but it is, my dear friend! Ike, Adge Ana Moora Mani, double break his shields and untap! Then, double break his shields and untap once more! Break his final shield, now!" Tabitha ordered and the four united Gods broke all of Rad's shields thought different attacks. "You should've surrendered the psychic when you had the chance!"

"I'd NEVER surrender any psychic creature, especially to you!"

"Foolish to the end... Psychic Suva, finish him off, totomeda!"

Tabitha's creature hit Rad with one of its swords and threw the boy a few meters away. As the duel had been finished and Tabitha picked up her cards and flew to the top of the pillar. There she saw the psychic creature which was glowing with a purple light and took it. The witch examined the card for a few moments, but then she heard noises from the corridor.

"Five Star, Spirit of Luck..." Tsugumi said.

"Jungle Kankuro, the Awakened Dramatic..." Sora said.

"TOTOMEDA!" both shouted.

Tsugumi's and Sora's creatures blew Dani and Tobey away and threw them against the wall where Hanna was lying. Tabitha quickly flew to the place where her minions were and came face to face with Sora and Tsugumi.

"Tabitha!" both girls exclaimed.

"I'd like to stay here and chit chat, but it's time for me to get going!" Tabitha said and opened a portal.

The witch made Dani's, Tobey's and Hanna's bodies float in the air and enter the portal and afterwards she ran into it as well. Tsugumi and Sora found Edo and Rad lying on the floor with many wounds. Also, there was no psychic creature to be found, so they persumed that Tabitha got it. The girls took the boys back to the submarine and Sora set it on auto pilot. Afterwards, the submarine took them back home.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle, everyone was having a break. However, Tobey was at the throne chamber because he wanted to know more about the psychic creature which his master had just caught.

"Tabitha-sama, how does that psychic creature awaken? Will you use it in your next duels?"

"This psychic creature has a weird form of awakening, Tobey."

"How come?"

"Its form of awakening is called 'psychic link' and it will work if I have a Gallows Cebu Kaiser and Hydra Gilsaurus in the battle zone along with this creature. Also, it says that the two mentioned creatures will awaken along with it and they'll all link together."

"Hydra Gilsaurus? That's the name of the psychic creature which Hanna lost when we were in Antarctica!"

"Yes, but don't worry, we'll get it back soon! Anyway, this psychic creature also costs 4, has 3000 power and the race Living Dead/Alien. Its effect says that whenever one of my Aliens is destroyed or has its power reduced to 0 by an opponent's spell, I may destroy one of my opponent's creatures instead."

"Great effect, I must say! And what is its name, Tabitha-sama?"

"Its name... is Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel. And when I have Gallows Cebu Kaiser and Hydra Gilsaurus into my hands, nothing will stop me! Hahahahahaha!"

Tabitha's laughter resounded into the whole castle and announced everyone of the storm which was about to come.


	90. The island

The four chosen duelists had finally returned home after their defeat at the underwater city. Luckily, on their way, Rad and Edo managed to wake up. When they entered the city, they stopped at the UFO just for Rad and Edo to get some small treatment and then they all went back to school. It was lunch time and all the classrooms were empty. But even so, Hakuoh and the apprentice were waiting for them in their classroom .

"Hakuoh-sama, what are you doing here?" Tsugumi asked.

"We've been waiting for you." Hakuoh replied.

"Before you ask, we failed to get the psychic creature."

"There's no need for you to feel bad about it, Rad." the apprentice said. "There will be other occasions."

"But, Master, how can we not feel bad about it when Tabitha is growing her collection of psychic creatures?" Sora asked.

"Because it won't matter how many psychic she has as long as she doesn't awaken Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Hakuoh said.

"Huh? Who?" the four chosen duelists asked.

"It's a long story..." the apprentice said.

"Well, we're not going anywhere." Edo replied and sat on his seat.

"Yeah, Master, tell us what's with this whole Devil Diabolos Zeta thing."

"Ok, Sora, I will tell you the true reason... why you even are chosen duelists." the apprentice said. "It all started millions of years ago, in the creature world. It was during the war between the light and darkness civlisations, when their new armies of White Knights and Reapers were battling against each other. That was when the creatures saw the rise of a new clan of creatures from the darkness civlisation, called the Zeta. Most creatures from the Zeta clan were Demon Commands, but none of them was loyal to Dorballom. Their power came from feeding from other's corpses in a way that even Dorballom's army couldn't imagine. They sucked the corpses dry of their energy then used their powers in their benefits while bringing the corpses back as their mini soldiers as well. They all grew in power fastly and managed to not only push back the White Knights, but also to defeat Dorballom's Reaper army. Sometimes they were seen working with the Romanoff clan, trying to somehow dethrone Dorballom. However, Dorballom was smarter than that and used his Reaper incarnation, Ballom Monarch, to destroy their corpse armies or make them backfire with its revival powers. But little did he know that the Zeta clan had a head, known as Diabolos Zeta. This creature possessed enormous powers. Those who were near him and did not bear the name Zeta were automatically weakened or destroyed. When he ascended to battle, most creatures would run away in fear and few of them had the courage to face him. Milennias passed and the wars kept on going. Diabolos Zeta saw that his Zeta allies were starting to weaken, due to the fact that Ballom Monarch kept using his revival skills to steal their corpses, and thus the Zetas started to have more and more losses. In a final desperate attempt to have a new army, Diabolos Zeta used his sword and made a hole through space and time. He then flew in that hole and reached a whole new space which he called the hyperspace. He soon realized that in that place he could create the soldiers he wanted and use them in his own evil scopes. And so he did. Thus the psychic creatures were born - creatures with two incarnations, a weaker side and a stronger side. The power of awakening the stronger side was in Diabolos Zeta's hands, and he did awaken them once they came back to the creature world. The other creatures couldn't stand a chance to Diabolos Zeta's new army. Each psychic creature was extremely powerful and could crush its opponents in a matter of time. But Diabolos Zeta made a terrible mistake when he created the psychic creatures. He made them all to belong to each civilisation, and when they saw that the light, nature, water or fire civlisation was destroyed, they'd turn their weapons back at their own psychic allies and make them pay for what they did. No soon after his first victories, Diabolos Zeta was betrayed by most of the psychic creatures, except for the darkness ones. Seeing that he was in danger once again, Diabolos Zeta decided that the only way he could have complete revenge upon all those who betrayed him was by gathering energies from each civilisation into five orbs which he then used to evolve into an even stronger form, Devil Diabolos Zeta. In this form he was unstoppable, no psychic creature could ever measure its power with his. Devil Diabolos Zeta went on a rampage and successfully managed to defeat Dorballom, Alphadios, Bolmeteus and Zweilancer. He met his match when he went to the nature civilisation and met with Diruga Vejida, who was as strong as him. The Giants and Earth Dragons pushed Devil Diabolos Zeta and his army back into the darkness civlisation while the Snow Faeries used their mana to heal the creatures from the other civlisations. Then, during the resistance, the five civilisation leaders held a meeting and they all agreed to send their strongest generals to the hyperspace in order to become psychic creatures and have the power to destroy Devil Diabolos Zeta. The chosen generals were Kankuro of the nature civilisation, Hogan of the water civilisation, Five Star of the light civilisation, Ganveet of the darkness civlisation and Genji of the fire civilisation. These strong warriors went to the hideout of the Zeta clan and fought back the enemies until they managed to enter the hyperspatial zone. Afterwards, they all created holes in time and space and descended as upgraded psychic creatures. These were Jungle Kankuro, Ocean G Hogan, Lightning Five Star, Darkness Ganveet and Crimson Genji Double Cross. They all fought as a team and were unstoppable for the Zeta clan. When the time for them to face Devil Diabolos Zeta came, they all fought harder than ever. Jungle Kankuro was giving his allies more power, Ocean G Hogan was summoning more creatures from the water civilisation to aid them, Five Star was also summoning creatures from the light civilisation and making them invincible for some time in order to at least pass Devil Diabolos Zeta's attacks and crack his armor, Darkness Ganveet was destroying as much as he could and Crimson Genji Double Cross was fighting with the strength of his friends and his own. After many days of battling, Devil Diabolos Zeta was finally brought to defeat and reduced to his Diabolos Zeta form. But he swore that he would return, so he turned the other psychic creatures into cards, created a hole in space and escaped along with the psychic creature cards and the orbs. After many milennias he was believed to have been dead, but he recently came in contact with Tabitha Lenox and made an alliance with her. The witch accepted and was offered the Lunatic God DMC, which contained her first psychic creature - Suva, Temporal Menace. For some months she was busy with other stuff and ignored the psychic creatures and Diabolos Zeta's plan, but now it seems that she has decided that she wants to help him."

"Still, how do you know so much about the whole psychic creature thing?" Tsugumi asked.

"I go into deep meditation daily, my girl. During these meditation sessions, I receive messages from one of my creatures which is directly at the battle field in the creature world. When I found out of what terrors awaited the world, I proceeded to look after five new duelists which would be able to stop all of this. These five duelists were supposed to own the five chosen cards which represented the leaders of each civilisations. I was successful with finding the chosen fire, water and nature duelists. Rad was a hotheaded and stubborn loudmouthed boy, but I managed to convince him of his true powers and..."

"Come on, Master, don't be so harsh on me!" Rad complained.

"Only the one who cannot bear the truth complains about it." the apprentice said and everyone laughed, except for Rad. "Edo was a boy which left his parents and started earning his existence through dueling tournaments. However, when he won his recent tournament, his Aqua Sniper accidentally killed his last opponent and the boy gave up dueling. Luckily, I was at that tournament and followed him ever since. I spied on him for a couple of months and saw that he still had the potential, so one day I went to him and convinced him to join the temple. As for Sora, she was an orphan which rose in the forest. Had I not found her when she was only 3 years old, she might have been a miss Tarzan or so."

"Hehehe..." Sora laughed while blushing.

"I've trained the three chosen duelists as much as I could and taught them about the art of dueling. I've always prayed and waited for the moment when the chosen light and darkness duelists would reveal themselves to me, but the prophecies which I've received told me that the two shall discover the temple, not the other way around, and they will come together, like a bride and groom to the church. Sadly, another storm was coming, and the storm's name was Rezo, the Red Priest. He intended to steal my powers and recreate the Proof of Duelmaster, but I managed to teleport into another dimension before it was too late. However, while spending my exile in that dimension, I could feel Devil Diabolos Zeta's presence approaching our world faster and faster. When Rezo's demise came and our world returned to normal, I immediately teleported back and the first thing I did was to find the pyramid of White and Toto."

"Huh? White and Toto? What do they have to do with this?" Tsugumi asked.

"I knew that Hakuoh-sama's being was still inside White, and only with his power I would be able to stop Devil Diabolos Zeta's awakening. I managed to separate him from White's body and we both left. The Temple of Duel Masters was in ruins, so we decided to build a Duel Masters summer school over it. In this time we've also located the five civilisation orbs and we've hid them inside the school."

"You mean... the five civilisation orbs are here?" Rad asked.

"Indeed, and it is your job as chosen duelists to guard each orb before Tabitha Lenox will come after them."

"But, Master, what about the remaining psychic creatures? There are loads of those!"

"Indeed, my dear Sora, but we do not have all summer for these psychics. And besides, if Tabitha decides to get her hands on those orbs, it will only be a matter of time until Devil Diabolos Zeta awakens!"

"I guess you're right." Rad said. "Oh well..."

Suddenly, the psychic creature alarm resounded in the classroom and they all went into the secret room filled with computers which were responsible of tracking down psychic creatures. But before going to the computer which turned on the alarm, Hakuoh showed them the yellow orb which was offering energy to the whole room and said:

"This orb here in that cilinder is the light civilisation orb."

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"And when the time comes, it will be your duty to guard it, child." the apprentice said.

"I'd... be honored."

"But what about the other orbs?" Sora asked.

"Their hideouts shall be revealed to you when the time comes." Hakuoh said and then pressed some buttons on a computer. "The next psychic creature is located... in Hawaii?"

"Oh, come on, we've just returned from the sea!" Rad said.

"Woohoo, Hawaii!" Edo cheered and quickly changed into in hawaii shirt and shorts, with sunglasses and a coconut with a straw in it. "Everything's great about that place - the sun, the palm trees, the dancers, the traditions, the waves, and oh God, the coconuts!"

"...How did you get these clothes so fast?" Sora asked while staring at Edo.

"Internet." Edo calmly spoke and drank from the coconut.

The chosen duelists went into Rad's rocket and took off to the Pacific ocean. However, this time Hakuoh and the apprentice decided to join them. It took them half an hour to fly to the island, and once the reached it, they saw that thick black smoke was coming out of its volcano.

"That volcano's blowing smoke." Rad said.

"And it could erupt anytime. We gotta hurry if we wanna find that psychic creature!" Hakuoh added.

But as soon as they landed on the island, they saw that it was abandoned for some reason. But their feeling that the island was abandoned faded away as they heard a voice behind them saying:

"Well well, it seems that the chosen duelists had already arrived! Oh, and they brought some friends to their party too!"

"Tabitha!" Rad said and turned to see the witch and her minions.

"And her buffoons." Sora added.

"Hey, who're you calling a buffoon?" Dani spoke, indignated.

"There's no way you'll ambush us!" Tsugumi said.

"And you'll not get the psychic creature!" Edo added.

"We'll see about that!" Tabitha replied and took out her deck. "Dani and Tobey, you go look after it! We're not leaving here without the psychic creature!"

"What about me, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"You stay here and help me keep these guys busy!"

"Yes, Tabitha-sama!"

Dani and Tobey ran to the volcano and were quickly followed by the chosen duelists. Meanwhile, Hakuoh and the apprentice took out their decks and four dueling tables rose from the sand. They all put their decks and the duels started. It was Tabitha VS Hakuoh and Hanna VS the apprentice.

"Tabitha, get off this island!"

"Think again, Hakuoh. You will not escape my wrath! I summon Melgainer, Electro-Spectre!"

"If that's the way you want it, then so be it!" Hakuoh replied and put a card on his table. "I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"Weak as always. I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods! Ike, Melgainer, break his shield!" Tabitha ordered and her creature attacked, but then Bloody Shadow came in front of it and stabbed it with its knight sword.

"Bloody Shadow, block the attack!"

"Grr... at least I draw a card due to Melgainer's effect. I end!"

"I charge mana and end!"

"Hah, pretty pathetic, Hakuoh! Now watch this! I summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Moora Mani! I'll draw a card, thanks to Mani's effect, and now I attack! Ike, Moora Mani, break his shield!"

"I summon Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and take Bloody Shadow from the gravyeard to my hand!"

Meanwhile, at the duel between Hanna and the apprentice.

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Hanna said and a red fire bird appeared behind her.

"I summon Yukigon, Mystical Beast Fairy!" the apprentice said and a snow man with a bear head appeared behind him. "Now all my rainbow cards are put into the mana zone untapped!"

"Heh, that won't help you much, old man! I summon Necrodragon Giland!"

"I summon Commander Innocent!"

"Huh? What's that?

"That, little girl, is a 6000 powered blocker which can't attack and which can evolve into any kind of creature!" the apprentice said and then tapped his other card. "Yukigon, break her shield!"

"That's good, but not enough to defeat me!" Hanna said and showed a fire spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole! I destroy Commander Innocent and summon Master Lupia, Temporal Wing!"

The apprentice's creature blew up and then a shiny red and yellow fire bird with blue eyes and with wings and tail similar to flames appeared above Hanna.

"Very impressive, Hanna, but now it's my turn!" Tabitha said and showed a darkness spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and summon Suva, Temporal Menace!"

A horned demon which was wearing a dark purple armor appeared behind the witch and roared. Hakuoh and the apprentice made a step back as they saw both Tabitha's and Hanna's mighty psychic creatures standing in front of them.

"This is starting to get ugly..."

"Indeed, Hakuoh-sama."

Meanwhile, at the chosen duelists, they had followed Dani and Tobey, who were going after a signal which Tabitha made them see with her powers. The signal was a blue light which was coming from a cave near the volcano. But as they all entered the cave, the volcano started erupting and there was an earthquake in the cave.

Back at the duels, even if they heard the volcano erupting, they couldn't abandon their duels. They had to finish what they started.

"Heh, I'll defeat you fast and then the lava can wash you off! Ike, Necrodragon Giland and Cocco Lupia, break three of his shields!" Hanna ordered and her creature did so.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper!" the apprentice said. "Destroy Master Lupia and Cocco Lupia!"

"Oh no!"

"And now it's my turn, I summon Triple Mouth, Decaying Savage! Now I'll get one mana and discard a card from your hand!"

Hanna discarded Dark Soul Creation and looked at the apprentice with an angry stare.

"Ike, Yukigon, break another shield!" the apprentice said.

"You'll pay for this! I evolve Necrodragon Giland into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg!" Hanna said and a giant black dragon with 8 heads above its normal one appeared behind her and roared. "Ikee, Lunarzberg, break his final shields!"

"You should know that only with calm will a true warrior win his battle. If you show your opponent that you can control your wrath, then you have already won half of the battle!"

"What are you babbling about, old geezer?"

"Some youngsters will just never learn. Oh well, shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy your Lunarzberg!"

"No!"

"And since you have no cards in your hand, you will not be able to summon any darkness creatures due to Lunarzberg's effect. Now it's my turn, I summon Amaterasu, Founder of the Blue Wolves and cast Crest of Mother! I send Amaterasu to my mana zone and replace it with Dolgazer, Veteran of Hard Battle, which will let me draw two cards! Ike, Yukigon and Triple Mouth, break two of her shields!"

"Argh!" Hanna yelled as her shields got broken. "Time to give you some of your own treatment! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Yukigon and Triple Mouth! How did ya like that?"

"A true duelist must face all situations possible. That's the only way he will be sure of having experience." the apprentice said. "Each duel is another test!"

"Bla bla bla, time to get serious! I summon Dragon Ultimate God Metsu! Let's see you handle that!"

"My pleasure, I evolve Dolgazer into Asura, the Great Enigma! With Asura's effect I will look at the top 3 cards of my deck! Then I put one to my shields, one to my mana zone and one to my hand! Ike, Asura, break her final shields!"

"Curse you! I summon... Metal, Dragon God! Destroy one of his mana cards! Ike, Dragon Ultimate God Metsu, break his final shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy your Metal, Dragon God! Is that all you have, little girl?"

"How dare you do this to me, you old geezer?"

"Actually, Hanna, it's you the one at fault. You're still not good enough." Tabitha said and then turned to her own duel. "Ike, Moora Mani, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate!" Hakuoh said and picked up the card from his shield. "I cast Heaven's Gate and summon Syrius, Firmament Elemental and Milzam, Spirit of Miracles!"

"Oh no! This can't be happening!"

"My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and tap your Suva! Then I summon Chakra, Temporal Thunder Dragon!"

A dark blue robotic dragon descended from the heavens and appeared behind Hakuoh while roaring at Tabitha.

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight! Ike, Syrius, triple break her shields! Milzam, break her final shields!"

"Noo!" Tabitha yelled as all of her shields got broken. "You'll pay for this! Shield trigger activate, I cast two Terror Pits! Destroy Syrius and Milzam!"

"Hmph." Hakuoh murmured as his creatures blew up. "I end!"

"My turn, I summon Ana, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Ana Moora Mani! I draw a card and now you must choose one of your creatures and send it back to your hand!"

"Bloody Shadow goes back!"

"Ike, Ana Moora Mani, break his shield!"

"Block it, Gregorias!"

"Heh, next turn you are doomed, pretty boy! Mark my words!"

"No, Tabitha, it is you the one who shall be doomed! Awaken! Great Chakra, the Storm Awakened!"

Chakra got surrounded by a bright yellow aura and grew in size. Two golden wings appeared on its back as a golden armor covered its blue metal.

"But... how?" Tabitha asked.

"When I have more or an equal number shields to yours, Chakra's Holy Field activates and I awaken it!" Hakuoh said. "Also, Great Chakra's ability negates all the effects of my blockers which prevent them from attacking! So I summon Bloody Shadow! Totomeda, Bloody Shadow!"

"Huh? What... ? Block it, Suva!"

"It's over, Tabitha! Great Chakra..."

"Asura..." the apprentice added.

"TOTOMEDA!" both shouted and their creatures blew off Tabitha and Hanna.

Now that Tabitha and Hanna were out of the way, Hakuoh and the apprentice ran to the place where the lava was falling. When they got close enough, they saw that there were some big rocks on the lava which were falling along with it. On one of the rocks were the chosen duelists, on another was the psychic creature card and on one which was approaching it was Dani. Tobey ran all the way from the volcano and met up with Hakuoh and the apprentice.

"You... what happened there?"

"None of your business, blonde boy!" Tobey said to Hakuoh. "Where's Tabitha-sama?"

"Right here!" Tabitha said and appeared along with Hanna, both having small burns. "Did you get the psychic creature?"

"No, Tabitha-sama. Dani is trying his best."

"Hurry up, Dani! Grab that psychic creature and let's get out of here at once!"

"I've almost got it, Tabitha-sama!" Dani said while rowing in the lava with a club made of rock.

The rock on which Dani was lying approached the psychic creature's rock fast and then he jumped on it. Dani quickly grabbed the psychic creature card and then Tabitha used her powers and made him float in the air.

"What's the name of the psychic creature?"

"I'll read it in a second, Tabitha-sama!" Dani said and looked at the card. "Its name is... Gallows Cebu Kaiser."

"Yes, that's one of the psychic creatures that I need!" Tabitha thought.

"No, I won't let you have it!" Sora said and grabbed Edo. "Do your best and get it back!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Edo asked but then he got thrown towards Dani by Sora. "Why did I ask?"

Just when Dani was about to reach Tabitha and give her the card, Edo flew between them and took the psychic from his hands.

"Noo!" Tabitha yelled and Dani fell on the ground.

"Ouch, that hurt!" Dani cried.

The apprentice used his powers and created a small rocky bridge for the other chosen duelists so that they could leave the lava as well. Then they all ran to Edo and helped him get up as Tabitha angrily watched them. The witch then spoke silently to her minions:

"Dani failed me again. That figures."

"But I was robbed, Tabitha-sama!" Dani tried to excuse himself.

"Let's go home!" Tabitha said and opened a portal.

After Tabitha and her minions left, the chosen duelists cherished their victory and went back home, as the lunch break would be over soon. On their way back, Edo was examining the card and he said:

"Guys, there's something weird about this psychic. It doesn't have an awakening ability."

"What? The psychic that I brought from Antarctica also didn't have an awakening ability!" Sora added.

"Why is that, Hakuoh-sama?" Tsugumi asked.

"I don't know yet, but I think that it would be better if I kept this psychic creature in my office, along with the one that Sora brought." Hakuoh said.

Later that day, at Tabitha's castle. The witch was sitting all alone in her throne room and she was also staring at her Zabi Rigel card.

"I failed at getting the other psychic creature. If I don't get my hands on the other two, I won't be able to awaken this thing."

"Then the time for you to get them has come!" a voice said and Tabitha looked into the darkness and saw two red eyes glowing.

"Yes, you are right. And once I have all three psychic creatures, it will be a matter of time until I will be able to awaken you as well!" Tabitha said and looked at another psychic creature card which was a rainbow card, had cost 10 and 9000 power.


	91. The 3 psychic creatures

It was a nice sunny day. Dani was walking in the city with colorful summer clothes on, sunglasses and his black hair in a ponytail. If you saw him, you'd barely recognize him. All this time he was walking through the city while looking around and talking to Tabitha through telepathy.

"Have you found it yet?"

"No, not yet, Tabitha-sama."

"Are you even looking? What have you been doing out there? I ordered you to search the city, Dani, and I mean it! I'm certain that that school is out there somewhere!"

"Of course, Tabitha-sama! What's the point anyway? If I find it, I'll beat every duelist with my uber awesome deck."

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle. Tobey and Hanna were sitting in the throne room along with the witch and waiting for Dani to report where the school was.

"What? Dani has been out all morning and he still hasn't found their school?" Tobey asked.

"He'll find it, or else!" Tabitha said and then looked at her Zabi Rigel card. "Once I get back Gallows Cebu Kaiser and Hydra Gilsaurus, nothing will stop me!"

"Tabitha-sama, Dani just text messaged me the locations of the school!" Hanna said and showed Tabitha her cell phone.

"Yes, now I've got you, chosen duelists!" Tabitha thought.

Meanwhile, at the school, it was another break from classes. Subaru and Marcelo were sitting alone in a corner and chatting until Tsugumi, Edo and Sora came to them.

"Hey, Suby, we were planning to go shopping later." Edo said.

"And... what does this have to do with me?" Subaru asked.

"Well, if you'd like to come..." Sora tried to speak, but Edo intrerrupted her.

"What are you saying, Sora? Of course he wants to come! We really want to go shopping with you! Right, Tsugumi?"

"Uh... yes!" Tsugumi said and sweated.

"Well, I don't know if I can..." Subaru spoke, but Edo intrerrupted him.

"We want to get to know you better."

"Hm... if Tsugumi comes, I think that I'll come as well." Subaru said and the three cheered. "But will it be ok if I bring a friend as well?"

"Marcelo can come as well!" Edo said.

"WHAT?" Marcelo shouted. "But I dislike shopping and..."

"No, not Marcelo. I was thinking about someone else." Subaru continued.

"Ok, you can bring whoever you want! Afterall, shopping wouldn't be fun without you, Suby!" Edo said and turned to Tsugumi. "Isn't that right?"

"I guess so..." the blonde girl said and blushed.

"So it's settled! When the lunch break begins we'll go shopping!"

"But, Edo, what about Hakuoh's classes?"

"Don't worry, Suby, he said he'll forgive us this time."

"Very well then. I guess I'll see you guys in an hour." Subaru said and the other three walked away.

Edo, Sora and Tsugumi walked to the gates of the schoolyard, exactly where Dani was hiding and spying. When he heard the voices of the chosen duelists approaching, he quickly hid in a trash can.

"Alright! We'll take Suby for some shopping!" Edo said.

"But, Edo-san, what if he brings Hanna as well?" Tsugumi asked.

"Don't you worry a tiny bit, Tsugumi. I know how to handle the likes of her!"

"Hearing this from Edo's mouth, I already feel sorry for poor Hanna." Sora said.

But little did the chosen duelists know that what they said was heard by Dani, and indirectly, by Tabitha. At the castle, Tabitha was getting a little troubled by what she heard. The witch immediately got up from her throne and spoke loudly, evenif that gave Dani a telepathic message with some headaches:

"What? Shopping with the chosen duelists? This can't be happening! Dani, come back here at once!"

"But, Tabitha-sama, I'm stuck in a trash can!" Dani said and took off a banana from his forehead.

"Fine, I'll teleport you then." Tabitha said and clapped her hands.

In the next moment, Dani disappeared from the trash can and reappeared in Tabitha's throne room. Tobey and Hanna quickly covered their noses when they saw how he smelled.

"You did a fine job, Dani."

"Thank you, Tabitha-sama."

"Now I need you and Tobey to go and rest. Tonight we will infiltrate in the school."

"Yes, Tabitha-sama!" Dani and Tobey said and quickly left the room.

"As for you, Hanna, I need you to go back to your beach home and get ready for some shopping. And make sure that the chosen duelists don't make Subaru remember of who he was!"

"Yes, Tabitha-sama! I will not fail you!" Hanna said and walked away from the throne chamber.

Hanna walked all the way back to her home, but she didn't notice that an hour had passed. When she entered the house, she met up with Subaru, who had changed his clothes to something more comfortable - a pair of black shorts and a short sleeved Dimmu Borgir T shirt.

"Hey, where have you been all this time?" Subaru asked.

"I...'ve been taking a walk at the beach." Hanna answered.

"Oh okay. You might wanna take off that red kimono of yours for something more fitting for summer."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Because we're going out for some shopping."

"Eh?"

When lunch time came, Edo, Sora and Tsugumi left the school and went to the city mall. There they waited for Subaru to come and stood near a mechanical fountain.

"Where could he be? He promised he'd be here by lunch time." Edo said.

"Don't forget that he wanted to bring his friend, dummy." Sora replied.

"Oh look, here they come!" Tsugumi said. "Huh? Is that Hanna?"

"What?" the other two almost shouted.

They all saw Subaru approaching them while holding Hanna's right hand with his left hand. But the blueh aired girl didn't look the same way as in their battles for psychic creatures. Instead of wearing her usual red kimono, Hanna had a white skirt and short sleeved red t shirt.

"Hey, guys, we're here!" Subaru said.

"Oh, so this is the friend you wanted to bring." Sora replied.

"Yeah, her name is..."

"Hanna! What a pleasure to see you again!" Edo said and rushed to her with the bell. "I'll always love to ring this thing. Don't you just feel the urge to act like a maid?"

"I... don't know what you're talking about, hehe." Hanna said and pushed Edo so strongly that he hit the mall's wall. "Oops, my bad!" Hanna exclaimed and then thought. "That's for what you did to me in that underwater city, you freak!"

"Edo!" Sora shouted and ran to him, then helped him up. "Are you alright?"

"Hehe, this girl's got some strength!" Edo said.

"W-what did you do that for, Hanna?"

"Oh, don't worry, Subaru, it was an accident, hehe."

"So, everyone, shall we go?" Tsugumi suggested.

After everything calmed down, they all entered the mall. Hanna was amazed by the technology and the shops around her. Ever since she was a little girl she always wanted to admire the beauties of the city, but she never had the chance since she had to work for Tabitha. Now this was her chance. The blue haired girl looked around with excitement and an opened mouth and this attracted the strange stares of some people around her.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Shall I show you?" Edo said and grabbed her hand.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

Edo ran and pulled Hanna with him to the shops as Sora followed them while shouting:

"Edo, you're a boy! You don't know what us girls buy! Come back!"

"Well, I guess it's just the two of us." Tsugumi said.

"Yeah. So, in what shop should we enter?" Subaru asked.

"I think that we should find a bench and wait for them."

"Fine by me."

Edo and Sora took Hanna into an accesories shop and looked for something nice for her to wear. They stopped by a floating robot which was selling bracelets and looked at what it had to offer.

"Do you like this one, Hanna?" Edo said and showed Hanna a red bracelet.

"I would like a green one." Sora added.

"I like the blue one the best!" Hanna said and took it from the robot.

"Hey, that's mine!" Edo exclaimed.

"Edo, you're not a girl." Sora commented.

"I'm gonna show it to Subaru!" Hanna said and ran from the shop with the bracelet.

"So, you'll pay for the bracelet?" the roobt asked.

"Hehehe..." Edo and Sora laughed a bit and sweated.

Outside of the shop, Subaru and Tsugumi were sitting on a bench which was near the mall's elevator and another artificial fountain.

"Really?" Subaru said.

"Yeah, and then I summoned Justius, Lord of Spirits and..." Tsugumi tried to continue her story, but got intrerrupted by Hanna.

"Subaru, look what I got!" Hanna said and rushed to them. "It's a blue bracelet, I think it suits my hair."

"It does, Hanna! Are you having fun?"

"Sure I am! By the way, don't you want to come and see if you'd like a bracelet as well?"

"Huh?"

Hanna pulled Subaru by his hand and took him to the shop, leaving Tsugumi all alone on the bench. The blonde girl stared at them with a sad look, but then she decided that she would not give up. The girl got up from the bench and followed the two to the shop. There she saw that because of Hanna leaving the shop with the bracelet, Edo and Sora were forced to pay for it. Tsugumi sweated and then joined them after they gave their money to the machine.

"That Hanna is surely getting us in alot of trouble." Sora said.

"You tell me? She took Subaru away from me while I was trying to talk to him." Tsugumi replied.

"That's it! No more mister nice guy!" Edo said and got flames in his eyes.

After having a look at all the bracelets, Subaru decided that none were worth his time, so he left the shop along with a disappointed Hanna. The three chosen duelists followed them and when they met up outside, they decided that they would go and have a drink and a pizza at the restaurant. And so they did, but during their stay at the restaurant, Edo 'accidentally' pushed his glass of juice on Hanna.

"Oops, my bad!" Edo said.

"Oh great, I'm a mess now!" Hanna said.

"Don't worry, I'll help you clean yourself!" Sora said and took Hanna with her at the bathroom.

"And I'll... go watch some stuff!" Edo said and walked from the table as well.

"Oh well, that leaves us two again." Tsugumi said.

"Heh, we won't be able to talk anything with these guys around us." Subaru replied. "I have a suggestion, Tsugumi. How about we meet tonight at the school's hotspring baths and have our little chat there?"

"WHAT?"

"Ssh... we're in a public place."

"Still... at a hotspring...?"

"I take it as a yes."

After a few minutes, Edo, Sora and Hanna returned and they all resumed their walk in the shop. They spent their time looking at clothes and the latest gadgets and playing games. Hours had passed and the time for the shop to close had come, so they all went back to their homes. However, after a few streets they had to go on separate ways, for the beach was in one place and the UFO was parked somewhere else.

"See you later, guys, I've had alot of fun today!" Hanna said.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Tsugumi replied.

"Well then, bye bye!" Subaru said and then secretly winked to Tsugumi.

After Subaru and Hanna were far away from them, Edo and Sora sighed in relief.

"God, was that girl so energic!" Sora said.

"I preferred her as a nice maid!" Edo added.

"I didn't manage to talk much with Subaru, but at least he asked me out." Tsugumi said.

"REALLY?" the other two yelled.

"Hehe, kinda..."

"That's great news, Tsugumi!" Sora said.

"Maybe this way you might make Suby remember!" Edo added.

"I sure hope so!" Tsugumi replied.

Meanwhile, at the Duel Masters summer school, everyone had gone home, except for Hakuoh and the apprentice. They were always the last ones standing in the building so that they would be sure of the building's security over the night. While the old apprentice was activating the security systems, Hakuoh was standing in front of two pedestals and staring at the two cards which were floating a few centimeters above them. Those cards were Gallows Cebu Kaiser and Hydra Gilsaurus.

"Is something the matter, Hakuoh-sama?" the apprentice asked.

"Nothing important. I'm just worried that Tabitha might be in the possession of the third psychic creature and that she might come for the other two." Hakuoh said.

"There's no need to worry, Hakuoh-sama. Our defence system will take care of her."

"I guess you're right. It's a good thing that we have an anti-teleportation system. This way she won't be able to open portals inside the school."

"Agreed. And the only way someone could enter the school at night will be via pass cards, which only the teachers and students have."

And so, night fell upon the city. The school was perfectly locked and seemed abandoned for the time being. But by the time when most of the city was sleeping, a strange figure was seen jumping the schoolyard's fence. The figure quietly moved in the dark and managed to sneak to the entrance of the school. Once it was there, the figure put a pass card in a really small rectangular hole into the metallic door and opened the entrance to the building. Then the strange person sneaked in and quickly closed the door. Afterwards the strange figure turned on the lights, revealing that she was none other than Tsugumi. The girl looked around and sighed when she saw that there was no school guardian or security camera around.

"Phew, that was a close one." Tsugumi said, but then she saw a shadow in the corridor approaching her. "Who's there?"

"Tsugumi, I'm glad you came!" a voice spoke to her and then she saw Subaru coming to her with the same clothes with which they went shopping and a towel on his left shoulder.

"Oh, Subaru, it's just you. You scared me for a moment."

"Don't worry, there's nobody in here but us. Now how about you join me at the hotspring baths?"

"What? You mean... that we'll bate... together?"

"It's a surprise! You'll see."

Subaru took Tsugumi to the gym room and therethey walked through all the irons and machines until they found a door on which it said 'School hotspring baths'. They opened it and entered, seeing that before the big hotspring room there were two other rooms. The one in which they were was the undressing room and had lockers in which those who bathed could keep their clothes. A metallic wall was separating it from the shower room, in which everyone who wanted to have a bath had to go. After the shower room came the hotspring room, which was separated from the shower one by another metallic wall. Subaru quickly took his clothes off, put his towel on and rushed into the shower while Tsugumi waited.

"Hey, you seemed kind of depressed today at the mall. Is something wrong?" Subaru asked while the shower water was falling on him.

"Subaru, you are amazing." Tsugumi replied.

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Back then, when you were facing Billy and everyone was laughing at you and cheering that bully up, I've kept my faith in you and you've actually won! And you didn't let yourself sucked into the glory of their cheers, but you went to that poor beggar and tried to thank him for helping you. I just... don't know if I'll ever reach that level of honor and humility."

"Nah, it was nothing, really. I did what I had to do."

"But whenever I try to believe in myself, I fail and lose the duel." Tsugumi said and then spoke in her mind. "And also lose the psychic creature."

"Then do what a true darkness duelist would do - never give up!" Subaru replied and the girl got a surprised look on her face. "Back there, I didn't know if I would win or lose the duel with Billy. But, I knew that you and that beggar were there, believing in me and cheering me up, and that gave me the power to keep on going, regardless of how hard it was. My advice is... keep on trying! Regardless of how tough your opponent might be, you'll always have the upper hand if you'll believe in your creatures, the ones close to you and yourself!"

In that moment, Tsugumi got tears in her eyes. Every trace of fear and doubt that she had when she was dueling had suddenly vanished. The girl was so happy that she wanted to thank the boy, so she got up from the chair on which she was sitting and walked inside the shower room while saying:

"Thank you so much, Suba..."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Subaru asked and Tsugumi suddenly looked at the lower side of his body and saw the thing between his legs.

"YOU FREAKING PERV!" Tsugumi yelled, slapped Subaru and ran away from the shower room.

"But... I should be saying that!"

Tsugumi walked back to the undressing room and stood on the chair while blushing hardily. After a few minutes passed, she heard that the shower water had stopped.

"It's your turn to shower, Tsugumi. I'm going in the bath!" Subaru said and left the shower room.

"I'm coming!" Tsugumi said and started undressing.

After Tsugumi took her shower, she put her towel on and entered the hotspring room. The room was filled with steam and had a pool which was split in two sections by a metallic wall. The left section was for the boys and the right section for the girls.

"So that's what he meant by taking a bath together." Tsugumi thought and took off her towel. "With the boys and girls sections being separated."

Tsugumi entered the water and was surprised by how enjoyable its temperature was. The girl stretched her arms and legs and slowly dived into the water, having only her head out.

"Ah, this water feels so good!" the blonde girl exclaimed.

"Tsugumi!"

"What is it, Subaru?"

"Isn't having a wide pool like this all to ourselves the best thing ever?"

"I... think so?"

"With no obnoxious bastards trying to jump, scuba dive, make waves or disturb us, like they usually do if you're having a bath in the daytime."

"I guess you're right. Subaru, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you so much against the whole chosen duelist thing?"

"Because this is not the reason I joined this school!" Subaru said and turned to the window through which he could see the clear nightsky. "I came here to make sure I become the great duelist I once was and maybe to somehow remember what happened to me. Besides, I don't believe in any of that fairy tale crap that Hakuoh is telling us. There's no such thing as summoning creatures to the real world. Personally, I don't think that joining this team could help me in my emotional and spiritual search. So, please don't try to force me into this. You're a smart girl and a kind hearted one as well, I saw that from the first moment I noticed you, so please don't ruin my impression about you."

"Subaru..." Tsugumi murmured as tears fell from her eyes into the hot water. "Believe it or not, I'd never force you into something you don't like!"

"Eh?"

"But why don't you at least give it a try? It's not as simple as you may think."

"I've already given it a try."

"Huh?"

"I've seen how 'good' your friends are by just watching how they behave at school and at the mall. Rad is an egoistic douchebag, Sora is a creepy sexually obsessed bitch and Edo is a clumsy good for nothing loser."

"But what about me?"

"W-what?"

"You talked about Rad, Sora and Edo, but you didn't say anything about me. What do you think of me?"

"You... You're just different... from the other 3 I mean. You may be a little clumsy and hyperactive sometimes, but if someone gets to know you better, you're actually a fine girl, I daresay so..."

"You really mean it?" Tsugumi asked while blushing.

"Yeah..." Subaru said and blushed a little as well.

"Then you should definitely try to know the others as well! They're great people, once you manage to set your differences aside!"

"Forgive me, but I have another view on that. Let's just say that I can't get along with many people. I'm not a team worker, you know."

"Just like Kokujo..."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Um... I just compared you to Kokujo and..."

"The great Kokujo Kyoshiro, also known as the Black Death?" Subaru said and got up from the water. "The one guy which had defeated thousands of duelists and even that evil Zakira! Do you know him?"

"I do! In fact, he's friends with us chosen duelists." Tsugumi replied.

"But how come I've never seen him with you guys?"

"Let's just say... that he's been on a lonely journey for over a year. But he did promise that he'd return!"

"Is he coming back anytime soon?"

"I... don't know..."

"Too bad..." Subaru spoke, but then he heard something from outside. "Tsugumi, don't say another word!"

"Huh? But why?" Tsugumi whispered.

"I think that someone or something is trying to get in the school."

Outside, Tabitha and her minions appeared in front of the school yard. They all jumped past the fence and walked to the school's entrance. The witch took out a pass card from her pocket and used it to open the door. Then they all sneaked in the building and closed the door back, as if nothing happened.

"So this is how the Duel Masters school looks like." Tabitha said.

"Hehe, they could use a better security system, don'cha think?"

"There's no time for your mindless jokes, Dani! Get to work!"

"Grr... Yes, Tabitha-sama..."

"Let's spread out and look for the 2 psychic creatures! More likely they're hidden in some safe from Hakuoh's office. But that doesn't matter, as long as you find them. Now go!" Tabitha said and everyone went in four different directions.

Meanwhile, Subaru and Tsugumi got out of the hotspring bath all dressed up and entered the gym. There they could see through the window a figure running in te corridor.

"Huh? Who's that?" Subaru asked.

"That's Tobey, one of Tabitha's minions!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"What?"

"But how did they get in here? Oh no, they must be after those two psychic creatures!"

"Excuse me if I don't follow you, Tsugumi."

"No worries, Subaru. Anyway, here's what I need you to do - follow him and duel him! When you defeat him, ask him why is he here. Also, if you meet a short boy with long black hair and metal claws or an old lady with long and curly blonde hair, you may do the same."

"...If you say so. I'm only doing this because I don't like traspassers in my school!"

Meanwhile, Tobey walked and occasionally looked at the classrooms, but he didn't find any psychic creatures. After a few minutes, he ended in front of a dead end wall.

"Oh shoot, this just ain't my lucky day! ...or night." Tobey said.

"You're right about that!" Subaru spoke and the boy turned to him.

"Huh? What are YOU doing here?"

"I'd ask you the same thing. But I have something even better to ask."

"Like?"

"How about a duel?" Subaru said and took out his deck, and immediately, two dueling tables came out from the floor. "If I win, you'll tell me why you and your friends are here!"

"Heh, sounds interesting." Tobey replied and took out his deck as well.

"SHIELDS UP!" both shouted and the duel began.

"Heh, I guess that I'll start this party by casting Future Blueprint!" Tobey said and revealed the top 6 cards from his deck, which were Hyperspatial Faerie Hole, Space Crawler, Terror Pit, Dreaming Moon Knife, Bloody Squito and Hyperspatial Energy Hole. "Space Crawler goes to my hand and the rest to the bottom of my deck!"

"What a pathetic move. My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma!" Subaru said.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana! Much more efficient than depending on a cost reducer, I daresay."

"We'll see about that! I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet! Show me your hand!"

Tobey revealed the cards from his hand, which were Space Crawler, Hyperspatial Energy Hole, Bronze Chain Sickle and Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade. Subaru discarded Genius Janit and Tobey took the rest of the cards to his hand and started his turn.

"My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole! I'll draw a card and then summon Luna Allegre, Temporal Tower!"

"Huh? What's that?" Subaru asked.

"That, my friend, is your doom!" Tobey replied and grinned.

"We'll see about that! I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Beast Folk!"

"What the..."

Tobey revealed the last two cards from his hand, which were Space Crawler and Bronze Chain Sickle. Since Bronze Chain Sickle was a Beast Folk, Tobey discarded it and lost a shield which was Franz the 1st, Ice Fang.

"Amazing! He didn't guess the creature's race, but he knew it from Jenny's effect! Heh, finally I meet an opponent which duels with logics! This will be an interesting match!" Tobey thought.

"Hey, pal, it's your turn!" Subaru said.

"Alright then, sir, I summon Space Crawler! Since I have 3 different civilisations in my mana zone, I'll reveal the top 3 cards from my deck and take one to my hand!"

The 3 cards which Tobey revealed were Secret Clocktower, Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Bloody Squito. Tobey took Bloody Squito and put the other two to the bottom of his deck.

"Now I summon Bloody Squito and end my turn!"

"Very well then. I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!" Subaru said and revealed the top 3 cards from his deck, which were Aqua Surfer, Hades Death Gate and Death March, Reaper of Death. "Tsh, not a good hand. Aqua Surfer goes to the graveyard and the other two to my hand! Ike, Gal Volf, double break his shields!"

"Argh!" Tobey shouted as he took cover from Gal Volf's sword attack. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Gal Volf!"

"Tsh, I end!"

"Hehehe, then it's my turn! AWAKEN!"

"Huh? But how?"

"If I have a 2 cost creature - Bloody Squito, a 3 cost creature - Bronze-Arm Tribe and a 4 cost creature - Space Crawler, Luna Allegre will awaken! ARISE, LUNA ALLEGRIA, THE FORTRESS AWAKENED!"

"And what does that do?"

"This creature, my friend, will allow me to draw a card everytime you summon a creature or cast a spell!"

"...That's all?"

"Yep."

"Pathetic!"

"You won't be laughing after I defeat you! Ike, Luna Allegria, triple break his shields!"

Subaru took cover as Tobey's creature broke 3 of his shields with its icy weapons. As the shield shards united into cards, Subaru took them all to his hand and showed one of them to Tobey while saying:

"Payback time! I cast Terror Pit, destroy Luna Allegria!"

"Heh, Release!"

"What?"

"When Luna Allegria leaves the battle zone, I will flip it back to Luna Allegre and it will stay that way!"

"If you say so... That's why I got another Terror Pit!" Subaru said and many black hands grabbed Tobey's creature and made it blow up.

"WHAT? How dare you?" Tobey spoke, frustrated.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy Jenny!"

"Tsh, I destroy Bloody Squito and Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"Then grave evo, I evolve Jenny into Death March, Reaper of Death! Ike, Death March, break his shield!"

"This isn't over yet! I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole and take Bloody Squito back! Then I summon Rumble, Temporal Sage and Bloody Squito!"

"Oo, wanna play with big toys? I hope you won't cry when you get hurt! I cast Hades Death Gate!"

"Huh? What's that?"

"Hades Death Gate will destroy one of your untapped creatures and then summon from my graveyard a creature which costs less than the one I destroyed! So say bye bye to Rumble!" Subaru said and watched how many black tentacles with mouths appeared out of nowhere and devoured Tobey's Rumble. "Then I shall summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade from my graveyard! I choose the race Beast Folk!"

"This can't be happening!" Tobey said as he discarded Dreaming Moon Knife and lost a shield which was Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade.

"Oh yes, it is happening! Ike, Olzekia, break his final shields!"

"Block it, Bloody Squito!"

"Death March, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Olzekia!"

"Heh, I end my turn! What are you gonna do now, Tobey? You have no cards in hand and only one blocker and one shield!"

"I'll never give up! Not to the likes of you! I cast Secret Clocktower! Then I summon another Space Crawler! Nothing will get past this defence!"

"I beg to differ!" Subaru said and grinned to Tobey as his hand suddenly got surrounded by a bright purple aura.

"Huh? What's going on?" Tobey asked and made a step back as Subaru drew his next card.

"It's over! I evolve Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade into DORBALLOM, LORD OF DEMONS!"

The wolf demon got surrounded by a purple aura and transformed into a huge white skinned goat demon with large red wings, six golden tentacles which ended with Ballom heads, six arms and which was lying in a green pot. The goat demon looked down at the frightened Tobey as the boy was making more steps back and trembling.

"Dorballom will destroy all our non-dark creatures and mana!" Subaru said and watched how Tobey lost 6 mana cards and both his Space Crawlers. "It's over! Death March, break his final shield!"

Tobey watched hopelessly how his last shield got shattered to pieces and Dorballom was getting a laser ball ready for the final attack.

"Now, are you going to tell me the reason why you and your friends came here?"

"Heh, I'd never reveal anything to you!" Tobey spoke with an arrogant voice.

"You asked for it! Dorballom, finish him off, totomeda!" Subaru ordered and Dorballom fired the laser ball on Tobey, creating a hole in the wall.

Meanwhile, at Hanna, the girl reached the final floor and was still looking for the psychic creatures. Then, all of a sudden, she saw Tsugumi appear at the corridor's end, and she also noticed that the blonde girl was holding a card in her hand.

"Huh? The psychic creature! You hand that over to me right now!" Hanna said and ran to Tsugumi.

"Heh, sorry to disappoint you, Hanna, but this psychic creature is just my Five Star." Tsugumi replied.

"Grr..."

"What's the matter? Didn't you say you were having fun today at the mall?"

"I was, but now I'm not having fun!" Hanna said and took out her deck. "However, I'll enjoy crushing you once and for all!"

"Wow, how a nice girl turns into an enemy. Oh well, if you want a duel, then a duel you'll get!" Tsugumi replied and took out her deck as well.

Two dueling tables appeared from the floor and the two girls put their decks on them, set up their shields and drew their cards. Then they shouted 'Duel start!' and their match began.

"I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana!" Tsugumi said.

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and once again gain mana!"

"I summon Bolshack NEX, and with its effect I also summon Dark Lupia from my deck!"

"I charge mana and then attack with Bronze-Arm Tribe, break her shield!"

"Hah, 6 mana and you still didn't summon anything? I'd expect more from the chosen light duelist! Anyway, I summon Dragon Ultimate God Metsu! Ike, Bolshack NEX, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Pure Arial and tap Dark Lupia!"

"Is that all you got? Cocco Lupia, break her shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Gate and summon Milzam, Spirit of Miracles!"

"Uh oh..."

"Ultra Shield Plus, I put 5 more cards on one of my shields! There, I got more, dear Hanna."

"Well, not for long! I end!"

"My turn, I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law! Ike, Pure Arial, destroy her Dark Lupia! Bronze-Arm Tribe, suicide with Cocco Lupia! Milzam, destroy her Bolshack NEX!"

"That's it, you managed to get me angry, Tsugumi! I cast Terror Pit and destroy Milzam! Ike, Dragon Ultimate God Metsu, break her final shields!"

"Block it, Ultimus! And now that Ultimus got destroyed, I'll take Memories of the Planetary Dragon to my hand! My turn, I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all of my shields into shield triggers! Then I summon Gaga Shaula, Spirit of Understanding!"

"Think I'll fall for that shield trigger trick? Think again, Tsugumi! I summon Heavy, Dragon God and destroy Heavy!"

"I destroy Pure Arial!

"I draw a card... and end..."

"Too scared to attack, huh? Well then, Hanna, I fear that it's gave over for you!"

"What?" Hanna said and sweated as she saw that Tsugumi's hand glew with a bright yellow light when she drew her next card.

"My turn, Space Charge: Nature! I charge mana with Mana Nexus and Gaga Shaula shall make the next creature I summon cost 1 mana less!" Tsugumi said and then she placed a shiny card on her Gaga Shaula card. "I evolve Gaga Shaula into... ALPHADIOS, LORD OF SPIRITS!"

The corridor got filled with a powerful bright light and a giant golden angel with white wings and six hands in which it was weilding six swords appeared behind Tsugumi.

"It can't be!" Hanna said.

"But it is... Alphadios, Lord of Spirits!" Tsugumi said.

"Tsugumi, has Devil Diabolos Zeta awakened?" Alphadios suddenly asked the blonde girl.

"No, not yet, but I will make sure that will never happen once I take care of Tabitha. But until then, I have to take care of this girl!"

"You mean me?"

"Alphadios' effect will not allow us to summon non-light creatures or cast non-light spells, which means that your days are numbered! Ike, Alphadios, triple break her shields!"

Hanna took cover as the angel slashed her three shields with just a swing from one of its mighty swords. The cards from her shields were Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, Dragon Ultimate God Geki and God Lupia. The girl looked angrily at the table and regretted that she had lost the chance to link Geki and Metsu. So hard was the power of her anger that she shouted with all the power of her lungs to Tsugumi:

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, TSUGUMI SHIRAYAMA! DRAGON ULTIMATE GOD METSU, BREAK HER FINAL SHIELDS!"

Tsugumi stood still and watched how Hanna's dragon fired a beam from its mouth and broke her last two shields into pieces. The blonde girl was surrounded by many shield shards and after a few moments of silence, she opened her eyes, gave the blue haired girl a straight look and spoke to her as the shards began to unite:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Pure Arial! Heh, ironically, that's the only shield trigger which I got in all these 7 cards! Anyway, it's over, Hanna! Pure Arial, break her final shield!"

The girl was pushed back by Pure Arial's attack and she watched disappointed at the last card from her shields, which was Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg.

"I'm sorry for failing us, Lunarzberg." Hanna thought and then looked at Alphadios, as the angel was preparing a powerful laser ball with all its 6 hands.

"Alphadios, Lord of Spirits, totomeda!" Tsugumi ordered and Alphadios fired its laser ball upon Hanna, blowing her away.

Back at Subaru, the long haired boy had left Tobey and was looking for Tsugumi. Since he did not find her anywhere at the first floor, he looked for her to the second floor, but once he set foot on it, he saw Dani, which was looking for the psychic creatures. Subaru remembered Tsugumi's description about Tobey's friends and realized that Dani was one of them, so he took out his deck and said:

"Hey, squirt, looking for something?"

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Dani asked, shocked.

"How about a little duel? And if I win, you'll answer the question you asked me!" Subaru said and a dueling table appeared in front of him.

"Hahaha, this is gonna be fun!"

Dani took out his deck and another dueling table appeared in front of him as well. The two set up their shields, drew their cards and began their duel.

"I warn you, I'm a rushy guy. I summon Deadly Fighter Blade Claw!" Dani said.

"No worries, I can handle that. I summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow!" Subaru said.

"Trying to look all high and mighty? It won't work with me! I summon Rikabu's Screwdriver! Ike, Blade Claw, break his shield!"

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery! My top 3 cards are... Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Terror Pit and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom. Heh, I take them all to my hand! Ike, Melnia, break his shield!"

"Ok, time to bring out the heavy artilery! I summon Pyrofighter Magnus! Ike, Blade Claw, Screwdriver and Magnus, break 3 of his shields!"

Subaru took cover as Dani's creatures rushed through 3 of his shields and broke them to pieces. But the shards quickly united into cards and one of them glew with a blue light. Subaru showed that card to Dani and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Rikabu's Screwdriver back to his hand!"

"Tsh, Magnus also goes back!" Dani said and took both cards to his hand. "I end!"

"My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Jenny, the Suicide Doll! I destroy Jenny and discard a card from your hand!" Subaru said and Dani discarded Pyrofighter Magnus. "Ike, Aqua Surfer, destroy Blade Claw! Melnia, break another shield!"

"This isn't over yet, punk! I summon Qurian and draw a card, then I summon Aqua Guard!"

"Going all watery on me, eh? Well, pal, I regret to announce you that it won't work on me! I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and destroy Deathraios!"

"Tsh, I destroy Qurian!"

"Grave evolution, I evolve Jenny into Death March, Reaper of Death! Ike, Melnia, break his shield! Death March, break another shield!"

"Aha, got'cha! Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy his Death March, Melnia and Aqua Surfer!"

"What the..."

"Ya don't like it, huh? Well, that's just a taste of my awesome power! I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole and draw a card! Then I summon Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!" Dani said and a blue panther like creature appeared behind him and roared at Subaru. "Let's see how you'll face this beauty!"

"Heh, that will be a piece of cake! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Aqua Guard! Then I summon Olzekia, Temporal Sword General!" Subaru said and a black demon with bat wings, two sharp swords and a giant skull on its waist appeared behind him.

"Hah, that thing doesn't scare me a bit! Now watch this! I summon Deadly Fighter Blade Claw and... Loop Awaken! Deepsea Yanus shall turn into... Crimson Lord Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!"

The blue panther suddenly bursted out bright flames and got surrounded by them, turning into a red panther.

"When Crimson Lord Yanus is awakened, I may choose one of my fire creautres and give it speed attacker and power attacker +2000... I choose Blade Claw!" Dani said and then he put another card on his table. "I summon Aqua Guard and... Loop Awaken! Crimson Lord Yanus turns into Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!"

The red panther's flames faded away as a blue water aura surrounded it and turned it back into a blue panther.

"And now that Deepsea Yanus has awakened, I'll draw another card! It's over! Ike, Blade Claw, break his final shield!"

"Argh!" Subaru yelled as his final shield got broken.

"Deepsea Yanus, totome..."

"Not so fast! Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate!"

"Huh? What's that?" Dani asked, but then many black tentacles with mouths appeared out of nowhere and attacked Deepsea Yanus.

"Destroy Deepsea Yanus!" Subaru said and the creature blew up. "And then... I shall revive Jenny, the Suicide Doll! I destroy Jenny and discard a card from your hand!"

"Noo!" Dani yelled as he discarded Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon.

"And now it's my turn! I summon another Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and then evolve one of my Maxvals into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! Also, with his effect, I summon Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier and destroy Blade Claw! And now... I end!"

"Hah, foolish to the end! Let's see how you like this! I summon Rothus, the Traveler and destroy Rothus!"

"I destroy Maxval!"

"Then I summon Deadly Fighter Blaw Claw and Aqua Guard! Face it, boy, next turn you're done for!"

"That's what YOU think!" Subaru said and suddenly, Black Ganveet got surrounded by a birght purple aura and turned into a huge skeletal demon. "Awaken! Darkness Ganveet!"

"Huh? But how?" Dani asked and sweated.

"You just ended your turn with no more cards in your hand, fool! And now it's time to end this charade, I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy Maxval!"

"I destroy... Blade Claw and Aqua Guard!"

"Ike, Darkness Ganveet, destroy his last Aqua Guard and break his last shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Olzekia, Temporal Sword General back where it came from!"

"Nice try, but it won't save you now! Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons, totomeda!"

Zabi Implosion fired three lasers from the mouths from its arms and chest and blew Dani out of the school. Luckily for him, he safely landed in some bushes.

Meanwhile, Tabitha had managed to find Hakuoh's office, but the witch couldn't open the door. She tried all of her magic attacks, but none worked on that metallic door. Then, all of a sudden, the door opened and she heard a voice telling her:

"That noise you're making is really annoying."

"Huh? That voice..." Tabitha said and she saw that the one who came out of the office was none other than Tsugumi. "You!"

"We take traspassing very seriously around here, so I advise you to leave right now." Tsugumi said.

"Try and make me, if you dare."

"It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it."

"You got some nerve, Shirayama girl. Why don't you hand over those 2 psychics and run away? Afterall, I'm in a good mood tonight."

"Oh, you mean these?" Tsugumi asked and showed Gallows Cebu Kaiser and Hydra Gilsaurus. "Sorry, but you won't get them that easily. I have a suggestion though, how about a duel? If I win, you'll give me the psychic creature which you stole from the underwater city. If you win, I'll give you these two guys."

"Deal!" Tabitha said and took out her deck.

Two dueling tables appeared before them and they both put their decks on them, set up their shields, drew 5 cards and began their duel.

"I summon Lucky Tulk, the Oracle!" Tsugumi said.

"I summon Melgainer, Electro-Spectre!" Tabitha said.

"I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana!"

"I summon Moora, Emperor of the Gods! Ike, Melgainer, break her shield and give me one more card in my hand!"

"I summon Tulk SP!"

"Tsh, I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards! Ike, Melgainer, break her shield and let me draw another card! Moora, brea..."

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Mana Nexus! I put Super Spark to my shields!"

"What the... I didn't know you were so rushy, Tsugumi Shirayama."

"Heh, all in a day's work! And now my turn, I tap Tulk SP and 4 of my mana and then summon Five Star, Temporal Luck!" Tsugumi said and a golden armored angel with three red spikes on its metallic head appeared behind Tsugumi.

"Hah, that creature doesn't scare me a bit! Fortify! Original Heart, the New Moon Pulses!" Tabitha said and one of her shields got the picture of that card on it. "Original Heart's effect will let me summon a God creature with 'Emperor of the Gods' in its name everytime my creatures attack, and to make it even cooler, I may draw a card whenever I summon a God!"

"What? How could such a powerful card exist?"

"It exists, Tsugumi Shirayama, and it will whipe you out! Ike, Melgainer, break her shield! I draw a card and summon Adge, Emperor of the Gods! Godlink! Adge Moora! Also, Original Heart lets me draw a card! Ike, Adge Moora, double brea..."

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate! Arise, Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and Lucky Tulk, the Oracle!"

"Hah, those things won't stop me! Ike, Adge Moora, double break her shields! I now summon Mani, Emperor of the Gods! Original Heart lets me draw a card and I godlink - Adge Moora Mani, and draw another card!"

"Block the attack, Ultimus! With Ultimus' effect I take Mana Nexus to my hand!"

"Heh, I end for now!"

"Then it's my turn! Awaken, Lightning Five Star!" Tsugumi said and Five Star got surrounded by a bright yellow aura and turned into Lightning Five Star. "Lightning Five Star makes all my other creatures win all their battles!"

"Oh no, this can't be!" Tabitha said and stared with fear at the mighty angel.

"I summon Five Star, Spirit of Luck! Ike, Lucky Tulk, destroy Adge Moora Mani!"

"Tsh, I destroy Mani, but Adge Moora stays!"

"My other Lucky Tulk, destroy Adge Mani!"

"I destroy Mani, but Adge stays!"

"Ike Five Star, take down Adge! Tulk SP, destroy Melgainer!"

"She took out my God creature as if it was nothing..."

"That's the power of light, Tabitha!"

"This so called 'power' is starting to sicken me! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Lucky Tulk! Then I summon Suva, Temporal Menace!"

"That won't do you any good, Tabitha! Now watch this! I evolve Five Star into Justius, Lord of Spirits! Now all of your creatures with 5000 power or less can't attack!"

"Oh no..."

"Time to finish you off, witch! Ike Justius, double break her shields and take down that Original Heart Fortress!"

"Argh, you'll pay for this! Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Lightning Five Star back to her hand!"

"What? Oh no!"

"Oh yes, now you're not so powerful, huh? Well too bad, cause you're about to experience some great pain, Shirayama girl! I cast Inferno Sign and summon Adge, Emperor of the Gods from my gravyeard! Now I have a creature which Justius will not prevent from attacking!"

"Whatever you say. However, they won't help you too much, Tabitha!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that even if you might destroy my creatures, you won't be able to get past these shields with ease! I cast Mana Nexus and put Tulk SP into my shields! Justius, Lord of Spirits, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Justius!"

"Oh no!"

"Hahaha, those two Tulks of yours ain't worth nothing without their Five Star, girly! This just means that I've won!"

"Huh? How come?"

"Watch and learn! I cast Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole! Choose and destroy one of your creatures!"

"I destroy... Tulk SP!"

"Then I shall summon Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler!" Tabitha said and everything around them got surrounded by darkness as a black demon with a long snake like tail, two long sharp swords and two huge black guns on its shoulders appeared behind her.

"That is... the creature of which the apprentice spoke..." Tsugumi said and stared with amazement at the frightening demon.

"Well, Tsugumi Shirayama, are you ready to give up the two psychics?"

"Never! I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain one more mana!"

"Hah, foolish to the end! Fine then, if that's the way you want it... Awaken!"

Suddenly, the whole school building started to shake and it got filled with five bright lights of different colors - red, yellow, green, blue and purple. Subaru heard that there were noises coming from the last floor, so he quickly climbed the stairs to see what was going on.

Meanwhile, at Tsugumi's and Tabitha's duel, Diabolos Zeta got surrounded by an aura which had all the five colors which were shining in the school and grew in size. When the aura disappeared, Tsugumi saw a giant creature in blue armor, weilding two sharp purple swords and with an armor made of gold on its back which had two dragons and six blue wings attached to it.

"W-w-what is that?" Tsugumi asked while trembling.

"That, my dear, is your doom! Meet Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Tabitha spoke with a triumphant tone in her voice.

"Devil... Diabolos Zeta..."

"Heh, it's over now! Devil Diabolos Zeta, break her final shields and destroy her Lucky Tulk and Bronze Arm Tribe!"

Devil Diabolos Zeta slashed Tsugumi's two insignificant creatures with its swords and then the dragons from its armor fired two powerful purple laser beams and broke her final shields. The girl was shocked by what she was seeing. She barely had the power to take those two cards in her hand, even if they were shield triggers.

"So that's the evil we have to face... I didn't know it was so powerful!" Tsugumi thought, but then she remembered what was in her shields and said. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures! Then, shield trigger, I summon Tulk SP!"

"Heh, is that all you got?" Tabitha arrogantly asked.

"Grr... Tulk SP, break her final shield, now!"

"As if I'd let you... Ninja Strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom!"

"Huh?"

"Destroy her Tulk SP! And now... it's over!"

When Subaru had finally reached the last floor, he heard an evil female voice shout 'Devil Diabolos Zeta, totomeda!', and then an explosion followed. The boy ran to the place from where he heard all of this and was greeted by the most horrifying image ever - Tsugumi lying on the floor, hurt and the evil witch standing with her back turned to him and with two cards in her hand.

"You! What have you done to Tsugumi?" Subaru shouted, but Tabitha ignored him, opened a portal and disappeared. "Oh no... Tsugumi, are you alright?"

Subaru ran to the girl and took her pulse. Luckily, she was still alive, but she had been hardly damaged by the creature. The boy quickly packed the cards from her deck, took her in his arms and left the school with her. Meanwhile, Tabitha teleported to the places where her defeated minions were lying and took them back with her at the castle. Later that night, after they all recovered, they were all present in the throne room, kneeling in front of their master. Tabitha was sitting on her throne and admiring the 3 psychic creature cards, which were floating in the air in front of her.

"Hahahahahaha, at last! Hydra Gilsaurus, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel and Gallows Cebu Kaiser, you are all mine!" Tabitha laughed and then looked at the world outside through her window. "And soon, very soon, the world as we all know it shall be mine!"

"Indeed, your powers are growing as each day passes." a voice spoke from the darkness.

"Of course they are. But I couldn't have gotten the psychic creatures tonight without the help of your pass card."

"Oh, the pleasure was all mine, Tabitha-sama!" the person from the darkness spoke and walked into the light of the room, revealing that he was Marcelo.


	92. Revolt

A month had passed since Tabitha and her minions had gotten possession of the three psychic creatures Hydra Gilsaurus, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel and Gallows Cebu Kaiser. Ever since then the school had gotten an even better security system and Hakuoh was trying to find out how did Tabitha manage to enter the school. Meanwhile, more psychic creatures had shown up, but for some reason, Tabitha didn't come to get them anymore. Whenever the chosen duelists would go after some new psychic creature, a portal would open and Dani, Tobey and Hanna would appear and fight them for the new psychic creature. Also, whenever they would win or lose, another portal would be opened and the three would escape. This had started to worry Hakuoh and the apprentice, as they were more than sure that Tabitha was plotting something extremely dangerous. It was a sign that the real face of their war would soon be revealed.

It was a silent summer night. But it was too quiet. The whole city had gone to sleep, almost as if all life had been eliminated. It was no ordinary silence. It was the calm after the storm.

Outside the city and far away on the beach, Tabitha's castle seemed to have been the only thing which showed some life signs. Inside it, Dani, Tobey and Hanna were returning from another mission. They were all exhausted and angry. When they opened the doors to Tabitha's throne chamber, they were surprised to see Marcelo bowing to the enthroned witch.

"Huh? Marcelo? What are you doing here?" Hanna asked.

"I've decided to spend the night here." Marcelo calmly replied.

"And what about Subaru? Who's gonna stay with him?"

"Don't worry, Hanna. I've told Subaru that we're going on a sea trip with my motor boat."

"But... you don't have a motor boat."

"As long as he doesn't know, it's alright."

"Enough blabbering!" Tabitha said. "Dani, Tobey, Hanna, how was your mission?"

"It was bad... But I was still the best part of the missio..." Dani barely spoke and then fainted.

"Dani, are you alright?" Tobey said and ran to him.

"What happened to him, Tobey?"

"Well, Tabitha-sama, it appears he... fell asleep..."

"And how did the mission go?"

"Well, Tabitha-sama..." Tobey spoke while sweating. "It was a hard battle, the chosen duelists had pulled out their greatest creatures and..."

"And?" Tabitha asked while raising her right eyebrow.

"We lost the psychic creature."

"WHAT?"

"It was a fire psychic creature. A 5 mana and 3000 power guy named Boost, Crimson Lord."

"If you know this card's details, how the heck did you lose it, you incompetent morons?"

"It was Hanna!" Tobey said and pointed to the blue haired girl. "She got her hands on the psychic, but she dropped it before we could make our escape!"

"Huh? Don't blame it all on me, Tobey!" Hanna replied with a frustrated tone in her voice. "You should've turned on the bus' motor before Rad could hit the vehicle with his rocket and make me drop the card out the window! Also, why the heck did you keep the windows open? Is it too hot for you at midnight?"

"Silence! I'm sick and tired of your petty excuses! You've all disappointed me for too many times! Get out of my sight at once!" Tabitha said and got up from her throne. "Except for you, Hanna. I have some stuff to discuss with you."

"O-okay, Tabitha-sama."

Tobey and Marcelo grabbed Dani and walked out of the throne room. Afterwards, the doors got closed by themselves. Hanna approached Tabitha and the witch took out the three psychic creatures which she had won the other month.

"Huh? What's with these psychics, Tabitha-sama?"

"These, my dear Hanna, possess an incredible power once they are all into the battle zone. And I have spent this last month on building the perfect deck for them."

"I see. So, is that it?"

"Oh, not at all, Hanna." Tabitha said and put the psychic creatures into her deck. "You have failed me for too many times!"

"But it's not my fault! Tobey..."

"This isn't the first time when a mission had been ruined because of you. In this month you have proven that your skills are getting worser by each mission you go into. And because of this you are forcing me to take more severe measures!"

"What? Tabitha-sama, let me explain..." Hanna said and made a few steps back as Tabitha's deck began to glow.

When Tobey and Marcelo returned to the throne chamber, they heard the sounds of shields breaking and creatures attacking. They then realized what was going on and tried to enter, but the doors were locked. Marcelo sat against a wall with his hands crossed as Tobey kept trying to open the doors.

"Oh, gimme a break! Don't tell me she's gonna exterminate her own minion!" Marcelo said and Tobey turned his face to him. "I mean, she can't blame Hanna for the failures of the whole team!"

"You're right, but now there's nothing we can do. She's locked herself in there!" Tobey replied.

"Then why don't you try to rush inside?"

"You serious?"

"If you don't hurry, Hanna will be history."

Meanwhile, inside the room, Tabitha seemed to have the upper hand.

"And now it's time to show you my true power! Psychic Link!" Tabitha said and a powerful pink light appeared behind her and made Hanna cover her eyes.

"What's that?" Hanna asked.

"Your doom! Hahahahahaha! Go, my beauty, break her last shields and send Dragon Ultimate God Geki back to her hand and Master Lupia, Temporal Wing to the hyperspatial zone!"

Hanna took cover as the creature from the pink light broke all of her shields. The girl could barely see what cards she got, but then she managed to recognize a Terror Pit, an Inferno Sign and a Dragon Ultimate God Metsu.

"Shield trigger activate!" Hanna said. "I cast..."

"It doesn't matter what you cast, Hanna, for my creature doesn't allow you to summon creatures or cast spells without cost!" Tabitha spoke with a triumphant voice.

"Oh no."

"You were way too easy. Hanna, you're a disgrace to our team, and I think that it's high time I took care of you once and for all!"

That was when Tobey managed to run into the doors and open them. The boy stopped near the space between the two dueling tables and said:

"Tabitha-sama, I can't let you do this!"

"Heh, there's no need to. It is done - a punishment worthy of the crime." Tabitha calmly said and packed up her cards.

The witch walked away as the tired and hurt Hanna fell on her knees. Tobey rushed to her and asked:

"Are you alright, Hanna?"

The girl looked up and saw Tobey's worried face. Then she got up, wiped off the dirt from her red kimono and walked to the exit of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got business to take care of."

"Hey, Hanna, wait up!"

"I have to do this on my own, Tobey."

Once Hanna had disappeared from their sight, Marcelo walked to Tobey, still with his hands crossed, and said:

"Heh, talk about a team player. Not that you guys were ever a team. But what I don't get is why are you guys still loyal to someone as deranged as Tabitha."

"Why? Because she's the one which brought us here, and she's also the one which shall grant us power!" Tobey said.

"Yeah, right." Marcelo thought.

Later that night, Marcelo walked out of the castle and was watching the sky while reflecting on the things that happened a few hours ago.

"Tabitha keeps mistreating her own minions. A leader like her can't go on like this for too long. Heh, I got a feeling that this whole war will be over before she even knows it."

After a few more steps, Marcelo accidentally stumbled upon an angry Hanna who was hitting the sand with her fists and shouting as loud as she could:

"NOBODY HUMILIATES ME! NOBODY!"

"I wouldn't bet on that." Marcelo said and the blue haired girl turned to him.

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong, I know how you feel."

"How would you know?"

"Open your eyes, Hanna. You think a rational leader would send her minions into battle, and when she loses, she takes out her frustrations on her own servants? Heh, yeah right. If you ask me, I think Tabitha's gone over the deep end."

"That's what I think, too!" Hanna said and Marcelo turned his face to the stars and put an evil smile on his face.

"Maybe I'm just talking out loud here, but I got the feeling that there's someone more capable to lead us to victory." Marcelo said and turned his sight to the blue haired girl. "Yeah, I think you know what I mean. I think you do. And I think you know who I'm talking about, as well, even though you don't want to admit it."

"I'm not sure I follow you." Hanna replied with a confused look on her face.

"I've probably said too much already." Marcelo said and then turned his back. "Hanna, Tabitha is afraid of you." he continued and made the girl's eyes grow and her jaw drop.

"Are you serious?"

Marcelo didn't answer Hanna's question. He calmly walked back into the castle and let the girl stand alone in the night's breeze. Meanwhile, inside the castle, Tabitha was calmly sleeping in her room when she heard some door knocks. The witch got up and opened the door, only to find Marcelo. The man was shocked to see the old witch in a pink night dress.

"How dare you wake me up at this time of the night, Marcelo?"

"I promise it won't repeat, Tabitha-sama."

"And if it does, you shall share the same fate as that pathetic worm, Hanna."

"Speaking of which, why did you only humiliate her and not eliminate her? She could pose a serious problem. I mean, I've just heard her planning to cause a rebellion against you!" Marcelo spoke with a fake scared voice, trying to pretend that he was worried.

"A rebellion? That's it, Hanna has forced me to make an example of her!" Tabitha said and walked into her wardrobe to get dressed.

"I agree, Tabitha-sama, but as long as you possess those three psychic creatures, I don't think that she would be foolish enough to duel you again. I mean, even Hanna isn't that stupid. Whoever possesses those psychic creatures controls the duel's fate, no doubt about it."

"SILENCE!" Tabitha yelled and got out of the wardrobe all dressed up in her red and yellow dress. "I certainly hope you're not implying that I, Tabitha, am nothing without those psychic creatures! Why, I would defeat Hanna even with a Base Set deck!"

"I'm sorry if you misunderstood me!" Marcelo said and bowed. "There's no doubt that Hanna is inferior to you, I never thought otherwise! Never in a million years!"

"And I could crush you too if you don't watch your tongue!"

"I mean no disrespect, Tabitha-sama!"

Meanwhile, in the castle's living room, Hanna was sitting on the sofa and watching some anime. But the girl wasn't paying that much attention to the TV since she was reflecting upon Marcelo's words.

"So there you are, Hanna!" Tobey said while entering the room. "Where have you been?"

"I've been out to do some little thinking." Hanna spoke with a bored voice.

"God, what is wrong with everyone? Ever since we lost that psychic creature, everything's gotten upside down! Tabitha-sama is acting like a tyrant... well, over her own limits of tyranny, Marcelo is babbling without making any sense, you're acting all emo and Dani seems to be the only sane one around here!"

"Whatever you say."

"There's no question that Tabitha-sama is frustrated over our recent losses, but when she hurt you, she crossed the line!" Tobey said, but then Hanna looked at him with an angry stare.

"I have absolutely no intention of disobeying Tabitha-sama!" Hanna said.

"Yeah, I never once questioned your loyalty! But, the thing is..."

Before Tobey could finish his sentence, Marcelo entered the room with his hands crossed and a calm expression on his face.

"There you are, Hanna. I have orders from Tabitha-sama."

"Huh?"

"She said she wants you to guard the castle's entrance whenever the rest go on a mission."

"Are you serious?"

"I've never been more! She specifically chose you because you're the one she can depend on." Marcelo said with an arrogant voice.

"Yeah, right!" Hanna said and got up from the sofa.

"Hey, I'm just doing what I'm told and passing Tabitha-sama's orders, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Hanna said and started walking away.

"Take it easy, will you?" Tobey tried to calm her down.

"That doesn't make any sense." Hanna thought and then the image of Tabitha laughing arrogantly at her appeared in her eyes. That was when she spoke with an angry tone in her voice. "Tabitha ordered ME to guard the castle? I'M GONNA DESTROY THIS CASTLE!"

"No, Hanna, don't do it!" Tobey shouted and ran to her.

The white haired boy tried to stop the blue haired girl, but she was stronger than him. Hanna pushed Tobey aside and then turned to Marcelo while saying:

"I've had enough of being treated like an idiot! Where is Tabitha?"

"Heh, she's waiting for you in the throne chamber." Marcelo calmly replied.

"I'm gonna settle this once and for all!"

Hanna ran in the direction of the throne chamber as Tobey stared at her with a worried look on his face.

"Hanna, you can't do this!" Tobey mumbled.

"Hehe, this is going to be interesting." Marcelo thought.

Tobey got up and ran to Dani's room. The boy opened the door and spoke loudly while turning on the lights:

"Get your lazy good-for-nothing butt up, Dani!"

The boy didn't receive any response from his team mate, except for some snores.

"Come on! Hanna's about to challenge Tabitha to a duel!" Tobey said and then Dani suddenly opened his eyes and got up from his bed.

"Oh, that sounds exciting! We don't wanna miss this one!" Dani replied and ran to the room's exit.

"You idiot, we have to stop her now! Or else we should just forget about morale around here!"

"You kidding? Since when did we have morale around here?"

Meanwhile, Hanna had reached the doors of the throne chamber. The blue haired girl looked at her deck for a moment and then she opened the doors and entered. Tabitha had been waiting for her on the throne. Once the witch saw her enter, she got up and said:

"I'm surprised you have the courage to face me again, Hanna."

"Why you..."

"Hehehe, let's make this more interesting." Tabitha said and showed Hanna her three psychic creatures. "I'll give these to you if you manage to defeat me."

"Then prepare to die!" Hanna said and showed her glowing deck.

Meanwhile, Marcelo was watching everything from the door. He saw how the dueling tables were coming out of the floor and how the two duelists were rising up their shields and drawing their cards.

"Heh, good luck, Hanna!" Marcelo thought.

"I summon God Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Bloody Cymbal!" Tabitha said.

"I summon Cocco Lupia! God Lupia, break her shield!"

"Block it, Bloody Cymbal! Now I summon Qurian and draw a card!"

"I summon Heavy, Dragon God! I destroy Heavy, draw a card and destroy your Qurian! Cocco Lupia, break her shield!"

Tabitha watched how Hanna's red fire bird flew through one of her shields and broke it. But the witch calmly smiled to her as the shield shards united into a darkness card which shined powerfully.

"Shield trigger, I summon Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure!"

"Huh? What's that?" Hanna asked.

"I destroy Zabi Demona and summon Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel!" Tabitha said and a bone creature with long arms and legs, sharp teeth and even longer green tentacles appeared behind her.

Meanwhile, Dani and Tobey were running towards the throne chamber.

"Oh great, we're late! They've already started!" Dani said.

When they reached the door to the throne chamber, they saw the creature behind Tabitha and were amazed.

"Hahaha, meet Zabi Rigel! And he shall be the one which shall cause your impending doom, Hanna!" Tabitha said and drew her next card. "I summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang! Ike, Zabi Rigel, destroy her Cocco Lupia!"

"Grr... I charge mana... and end." Hanna said.

"Oh boy, Hanna's gonna get owned!" Dani said.

"I told her she wasn't ready yet." Marcelo replied. "But did you think she listened to me? I don't think so."

"I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and summon Gallows Cebu Kaiser!" Tabitha said and a blue sea creature with spiky tentacles and sharp mouths appeared behind her and roared. "Ike, Franz the 1st and Zabi Rigel, break her shields!"

The creatures' attacks were so powerful that they pushed Hanna and made her fall on her back as the shields got broken and their shards floated in the air above her.

"Grr... at least fight like a true duelist, because what you are doing is pathetic!" Tabitha said. "This time, it's a fight to the finish, and I won't accept any of your lame excuses. Do you understand me, you worthless grunt? I hope you realize what is at stake here. The three psychic creatures and this team's leadership go to the winner. Why, you could rule the whole world if you were victorious. There is no greater prize, and this is your one chance to attain it, so don't blow it, dolt. But just remember this, Hanna, I won't show you mercy. You will be an example to the others, to prevent any further insubordination."

Those words made Hanna even more determined to fight back. The blue haired girl used all her body's strength and got up. Then the shields shards united into two cards which she took to her hand. One of them glew powerfully and she showed it to Tabitha while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign! I shall revive Heavy, Dragon God! I destroy Heavy and draw a card!"

"Heh, now that's more like it! I destroy Franz the 1st!" Tabitha said.

"She did it! She pulled out a comeback!" Dani said.

"My turn, I summon Bolshack NEX!" Hanna said and a red dragon wearing a grey armor appeared behind her and roared. "With its effect I shall summon Cocco Lupia from my deck!"

"I summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang... and end!" Tabitha said after looking at Bolshack NEX's power and Hanna's graveyard.

"Then it's time to finish you off once and for all! I summon Necrodragon Giland and evolve it into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg!"

A giant black dragon with 8 heads above its normal one appeared behind Hanna and roared. Tabitha made a few steps back while staring with fear at Hanna's creatures.

"Ike, Bolshack NEX, double break her shields! Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, break her final shields!" Hanna ordered and both her dragons fired a red and a purple beam from their mouths and destroyed all of Tabitha's shields.

"Woohoo, go for it, Hanna!" Dani cheered.

"Heh, she might actually win this!" Marcelo thought.

"Any last words, Tabitha?" Hanna asked.

"Heh, why didn't you finish me off yet? Are you actually showing mercy to your enemy, Hanna?" Tabitha spoke with her same calm and arrogant voice as her shield shards united into 4 cards which she took in her hand.

"Grr, I'll show you 'mercy'! Cocco Lupia, finish her off, totomeda!"

"Not so fast, Hanna! Ninja strike 4, I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade! Send Cocco Lupia back to her hand!"

Everyone, except for Tabitha, watched with amazement how Tabitha's water ninja appeared out of nowhere, stood in front of the witch, blocked the bird's attack, made it disappear and disappeared as sudden as it came.

"This... can't be!" Hanna said.

"Oh, but it most certainly is, my dear Hanna. And now it's payback time! I summon Bloody Cymbal and Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard! With Cebu Algol's effect I shall summon another Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel!" Tabitha said and grinned.

"This isn't over yet! I cast Dark Soul Creation! I shall destroy Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg and draw 3 cards!"

"Is she nuts? Why would she kill her own powerful creature?" Dani asked.

"It's because Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg allows Hanna to summon two darkness creatures from her hand when he's destroyed. I've experimented that on my own skin, and believe me, it wasn't good at all." Tobey replied.

"Sadly, I didn't draw any darkness creatures to summon." Hanna said and then tapped the only card left in her battle zone. "Anyway, Bolshack NEX, finish her off, totomeda!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Cymbal!" Tabitha said. "That's it, Hanna, you're starting to get on my nerves! I evolve Cebu Algol into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! With his effect I shall summon Hydra Gilsaurus! Ike, Zabi Implosion, suicide with her Bolshack NEX!"

"I summon Dark Lupia and Necrodragon Giland!"

"Is that all you got, Hanna?"

"Yes, for now."

"Then it's over! Psychic Link!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes! I shall link up Hydra Gilsaurus and Gallows Cebu Kaiser with Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel! And when they're all united, they shall form GALLOWS DEVIL DRAGON, DEAD SEA DRAGON!"

A powerful pink light filled the room and everyone, except for Tabitha, covered their eyes. When they felt that the light was starting to fade away, they uncovered their eyes and were shocked to see a huge pink dragon with spiky armor and tentacles, long hands, legs and neck, and an ugly head with really sharp teeth.

"Hahahahahaha, meet Gallows Devil Dragon, Dead Sea Dragon!" Tabitha said.

"Where did this thing come from?" Tobey asked.

"This 'thing' was created by the uniting of Tabitha-sama's psychic creatures." Marcelo replied.

"So that's why Tabitha-sama was so eager to get them!" Dani added.

"And now it's time to show you what I really am made of, Hanna! Ike, Gallows Devil Dragon, send her Necrodragon Giland and Dark Lupia back to her hand and break her final shields!" Tabitha ordered and the mighty dragon roared so loudly that it broke all of Hanna's shields and made her creatures vanish into thin air.

The blue haired girl was thrown away once again and she landed on her back near to the wall. Dani and Tobey were shocked of what was going on, but Marcelo was very satisfied.

"Heh, that should do it." Marcelo thought.

The shield shards united into three cards and flew to Hanna. The girl barely got her head up and saw that the cards were Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, Spear Lupia and Metal, Dragon God. But Hanna knew that Gallows Devil Dragon would not allow her to cast spells or summon creatures without cost, so her shield trigger wouldn't count. The cards landed on her as she spoke to her opponent:

"You win, Tabitha. Now... just get it over with."

"You're giving up? I expected more of you. At least beg me to spare your worthless life, or is your foolish pride getting in the way of even that, Hanna? Well, is it? Your problem is you have a conscience. You don't have the stomach to finish a duel because you play by the rules. Well then, you'll never come out on top, Hanna. I understand your weaknesses and that's why I'm the victor and you lay there like a whimpering dog." Tabitha said and then packed up her cards and made the creatures disappear. The witch began to walk away from the dueling table, but then she stopped and spoke once again to Hanna. "I'm always open to a challenge. And one day you... might defeat me."

As Tabitha left the throne chamber, Dani and Tobey rushed inside and helped Hanna up. Marcelo stood there and watched how the witch was walking away while speaking in his mind:

"Ha, you had the upper hand, Tabitha, and then you walked away before it was over. A true leader would never leave a fight half-fought. I see your weakness, and one day, it will come back to haunt you. And it will be your ruin."

The next day, Tabitha's team, except for Marcelo, was out after another psychic creature. They had found it by a lake, but once again had to face the chosen duelists. But this time it seemed that the duel between Tabitha and Hanna had managed to strengthen the team and establish the witch as their leader even more. Dani, Tobey and Hanna were dueling once again at their biggest potential, and this time they actually managed to defeat the chosen duelists. As for Tabitha, the witch was facing Rad for the psychic creature.

"Psychic Link! Arise, Gallows Devil Dragon!" Tabitha said and Rad made a few steps back as Tabitha's dragon appeared behind her.

"Oh no, what is that?" Rad asked while sweating.

"That, my friend, is your doom! Break his final shields, Gallows Devil Dragon!"

"Oh no!"

"You should've surrendered the psychic when you had the chance! Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman, totomeda!"

The creature blasted Rad away as Tabitha flew into the air and grabbed the psychic creature card which was flying into the air. It was another fire card which went by the name Dragonic Pippi. Cheering their victory, Tabitha opened a portal and she and her minions went home. But this time something was changed, and that something was Hanna.


	93. Sacrifice

The day after Tabitha and her minions had gotten their hands on the new psychic creature, everything seemed back to normal at the castle. Tabitha was very pleased with her new prize, so everyone didn't have to worry about her getting angry anymore. Dani was slacking off in front of the TV, Tobey was doing some research on the Internet and Hanna was sitting all alone and contemplating on her defeat at Tabitha's hands and the witch's words.

_"I understand your weaknesses and that's why I'm the victor and you lay there like a whimpering dog. I'm always open to a challenge. And one day you... might defeat me."_

"Oh, that day will come sooner than you think, Tabitha! You just wait and see!" Hanna thought.

Meanwhile, as Tabitha was enjoying the sight her new psychic creature, she heard the throne chamber door open and saw Marcelo enter the room with a tall person which was covered by a giant black robe and a hood.

"What's the meaning of this, Marcelo?"

"Tabitha-sama, I come with great news!"

"This better be good, or else."

The person which was with Marcelo took off his robe and revealed that he was really tall, almost bald, if it were not for the few small parts of hair on his head, and was wearing a sailor suit which consisted of dark blue pants and a white shirt with blue strips.

"I don't believe it!" Tabitha said and stared at the tall boy. "It's Eddy!"

"Hehe, it surely is! And he has brought some gifts as well!" Marcelo said and Eddy showed four psychic creature cards, of which two belonged to the darkness civilisation and two to the nature civilisation.

"Well, well, what's this?" Tabitha said and looked at the cards. "Japan, Temporal Enforcer, Dias Zeta, the Temporal Suppresor, Koshirou, Temporal Young Demon and Romanoff Zeta, Temporal Demonic Eye. All I have to say is... great job, Eddy!"

"Eddy happy that Tabitha-sama happy. Eddy work hard for Tabitha-sama to get puny psychic creatures." Eddy said and bowed to the witch as she took the cards from his hands.

"He has gone through the darkest caves of the Carpathians, the highest points of the Himalayas, the deepest points of the Pacific and..."

"Quit your useless babbling, Marcelo. You're not impressing anyone."

"Yes, Tabitha-sama..."

"And now that Eddy has brought these psychic creatures, it is time to empower our team and go on our next mission!" Tabitha said and got up from her throne while offering the psychic creature cards to both her minions. "Eddy, your efforts shall be rewarded by me letting you keep Koshirou and Kapanica! Also, Marcelo, for your loyal service as a spy into Hakuoh's school, I hereby reward you with Dias Zeta and Romanoff Zeta!"

"You are most gracious!" Marcelo said and took the cards.

"And now, my dear gentlemen, it is time to go after another psychic creature!"

"May I ask what kind of psychic creature we're looking for?"

"It's a different one, Marcelo. And if Dragonic Pippi's text is correct, this psychic creature goes by the name Gaial Kaiser."

Later that day, the four chosen duelists had flown all the way to the Brazillian jungle. They were informed by Hakuoh that a new psychic creature had been located somewhere in that place. They decided to split up, leaving Rad to fly above the forest all alone while Edo, Sora and Tsugumi were looking for the psychic creature on the ground.

"I dunno about you girls, but I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I really don't care how you feel, Edo, understand? Just keep your eyes open for the psychic creature!"

"But, Sora, weren't you supposed to be the one leading the search?" Tsugumi asked.

"I can only sence the energy which the card emanates, but that doesn't make me know its exact position. I have my restrictions as well."

"So how long do we have to look for it? This humidity isn't good for my hair."

"Patience, Tsugumi! A good duelist is always patient." Rad spoke to the blonde girl through a walkie talkie.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Hey, guys, I think I found it!" Sora said and pointed to a giant tree. "It's right on the top branch!"

"Ok then! I'm going to get it!" Rad said and flew to that tree.

But just as Rad was about to reach it, a portal opened and a laser stroke his rocket. The spaceship fell to the ground and Rad did his best to ensure a safe landing. When he was sure that everything was alright, Rad opened a door and left the rocket. Then he used his walkie talkie to find his friends, but just as he reached them, another portal opened.

"Oh great, looks like we got company." Edo said.

"Here I come, chosen duelists! You're all mine!" a familiar voice shouted from the portal and then they saw Hanna jump out of it. "So come out from your hiding places, you cowards, and face the most powerful duelist in the universe!"

"Boy, she sure doesn't have a self-image problem, does she?" Rad said.

"Look who's calling the kettle black." Sora added.

"What is she thinking? There's no way she can take us all on." Edo said.

"Well, I think it's time we brought her down!" Tsugumi replied and walked to Hanna.

"Well, well, someone's finally got the guts to face me! It looks like this will be your final showdown, Tsugumi." Hanna said and took out her deck.

"I don't think so, Hanna."

Suddenly, a lightning stroke in the sky and it started raining powerfully into the forest. Luckily for the duelists, most of the raindrops were stopped by the thick trees. As the two dueling tables appeared in front of Tsugumi and Hanna, four more figures came out of the portal. Tsugumi recognized Tabitha, Dani and Tobey, but she was confused when she saw a tall and almost bald boy with them.

"Huh? Who's that?" Tsugumi asked.

"Hahaha, meet my new minion, Eddy!" Tabitha said and the tall Eddy made a few steps forward.

"Eddy's our old pal. When Tabitha-sama recruited me and Tobey, Eddy was also recruited." Dani said.

"But... how come we've never seen him before?" Tsugumi asked.

"That is because he's been out on a secret mission to locate some psychic creatures. And now that he found them, it's high time he showed you his true powers!" Tabitha said and Eddy approached the two dueling tables.

"Hey, stand down, big guy!" Hanna said and pushed Eddy aside. "The blonde girl's mine!"

"But you can face us!" Rad said and got out from the bushy hideout alongside Sora and Edo.

"Ah, if it isn't the chosen brats." Tabitha said and smiled evily. "Eddy, Dani, you can take care of them!"

"Rad, you be prepared to go to the rocket in case something bad happens. I and Edo will take of these clowns!" Sora said and Rad nodded.

"What? Me and you... against Dani and... THAT GIANT THING?" Edo said and then his jaw dropped.

"Come on, be a man!" Sora said and pushed Edo towards their enemies.

Four more dueling tables appeared from the ground and the duelists join them. It was Dani VS Edo, Hanna VS Tsugumi and Eddy VS Sora. They all deployed their shields, drew their cards, and then began the duel. Tabitha and Tobey sat aside and watched the duel as Rad was sitting near the trees, ready to make an escape to the rocket if it was the case.

"I summon Aqua Guard!" Edo said. "Hah, who's the rushy one now?"

"Me! I summon Rikabu's Screwdriver!" Dani said.

"Uh oh... Me and my big mouth. Oh well, I summon Aqua Evoluter!"

"I summon Pyrofighter Magnus! I tap Rikabu's Screwdriver and destroy Aqua Guard! Ike, Magnus, break his shield! Then Magnus goes back into my hand!"

"Wanna play tough? Then so be it! I summon Aqua Hulcus and draw a card! Aqua Evoluter, suicide with Rikabu's Screwdriver!"

"Heh, I summon Qurian and draw a card as well!"

"What? You dwarfed copy cat!"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING DWARF?" Dani yelled.

"You, little guy. Now here's how the big guys play!" Edo said. "I summon Aqua Jester Loupe! With his Chain effect, I'll reveal my top card... and summon Aqua Sonicwave! Send Qurian back to his hand!"

"What the... How dare you?"

"Also, Aqua Jester Loupe lets me draw a card! Ike, Aqua Hulcus, break his shield!"

"Not so fast there, Edo boy! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Aqua Jester Loupe and Aqua Sonicwave!"

"Noo!"

"Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and destroy your Aqua Hulcus! Then I summon Crimson Lord Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!"

A red panther-like creature, surrounded by bright flames, appeared behind Dani and roared at Edo.

"Hehe, nice kitty kitty. Wanna taste some energy from uncle Edo? I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole!"

"...You make the dumbest jokes ever." Dani said and Edo sweated.

"Oh well, I draw a card and summon G Hogan, Temporal Star!" Edo said and a giant blue robot appeared behind him, facing Dani's fire panther.

"Heh, time to bring out the heavy artilery! I summon Qurian, draw a card and awaken Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!"

The panther got surrounded by a water aura and its flames faded away as its body turned blue.

"Deepsea Yanus lets me draw another card! Then I summon Deadly Fighter Blade Claw and awaken... Crimson Lord Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!" Dani said and the panther got surrounded by a red aura and the fires reappeared on it. "Now Crimson Lord Yanus shall give my Blade Claw +2000 power and speed attacker!"

"Boy, my head hurts!" Edo said.

"Ike, Deadly Fighter Blade Claw, break his shield! Crimson Lord Yanus, break his shield!"

"Not so fast, Dani! Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Qurian back to his hand! Now it's my turn, I evolve Aqua Surfer into Crystal Super Paladin!"

"W-w-what the heck?" Dani spoke with amazement as he saw the fully updated version of Crystal Paladin walk behind Edo. "You gotta be kidding me!"

"Not at all, Dani! Ike, Crystal Super Paladin, destroy Deadly Fighter Blade Claw! G Hogan, destroy Crimson Lord Yanus!" Edo ordered and Crystal Super Paladin sliced Deadly Fighter Blade Claw with its blue crystal sword and G Hogan smashed Crimson Lord Yanus with its powerful robotic fists. "How do ya like that?"

"Grr, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Dani yelled. "I SUMMON GENJI DOUBLE CROSS, BLASTDRAGON! IKE, GENJI DOUBLE CROSS, BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELDS!"

Edo took cover as Genji Double Cross jumped to him and slashed his last two shields with its cross-like samurai swords.

"Think again, Dani!" Edo said and smiled to his opponent as he showed the card from his shields. "Shield trigger activate, I summon Cuty Heart! Send Genji Double Cross back where he came from! Then, Hand Evolution, I evolve K Atlantis, Ocean Peak of Taiga into Crystal Axe! It's over, squirt! Ike, Crystal Axe, double break his shields! G Hogan, break his final shields!"

Dani took cover as Edo's creatures broke his shields with a red crystal axe and robotic fists. But as the shield shards surrounded him, they all immediately united into cards and Dani quickly showed two of them to Edo while saying:

"Not so fast! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Cuty Heart! Then I summon Aqua Surfer and send Crystal Super Paladin back to your hand!"

"Oh no, this can't be!" Edo exclaimed as he watched his creatures being destroyed.

"Hahaha, you shouldn't have underestimated the best duelist to exist! Now you shall pay! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! IKE, GENJI DOUBLE CROSS, DESTROY AQUA GUARD AND FINISH HIM OFF, TOTOMEDA!" Dani yelled and the dragon slashed Edo's Aqua Guard with one of its swords and the fired a powerful fire ball from its mouth and threw Edo away.

Since the duel was over, Dani packed his cards, put his deck into his pockets, rubbed his hands and walked back to Tabitha and Tobey. Meanwhile, Hanna and Tsugumi were already in the middle of a fierce duel.

"It will soon be over, Tsugumi Shirayama! I summon Metal, Dragon God! I destroy one of your mana cards and then link Metal with Heavy, Dragon God! Arise, Heavy Metal, Dragon God!"

"Wow, you surely love this kind of music, Hanna!"

"The only music I love is your scream when I defeat you! Heavy Metal, triple break her shields!" Hanna ordered and her dragons fired a powerful beam which broke three of Tsugumi's shields.

"We'll see about that!" Tsugumi replied as she took the cards from her shields to her hand. "Shield trigger, I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all of my shields into shield triggers! Then, shield trigger, I summon Five Star, Spirit of Luck and Milzam, Spirit of Miracles! With Milzam's effect I'll put 5 cards on my last shield!"

"Heh, you're just stalling for time, Tsugumi, and it won't work! I end for now. And by the way, all of your creatures must now attack Heavy Metal!"

"If that's it, then none of my creatures stand a chance against that thing since it's 12000 powered. But I can still do something! I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and Lucky Tulk, the Oracle! With Five Star's effect I will add 4 more cards to my last shield! Ike, Milzam, Five Star, attack Heavy Metal!"

The two angels flew to Hanna's united dragons and fired light beams on them, but the dragons avoided all of them and then fired back a red and a black fire beam and killed both of them. Tsugumi watched with anger how her beautiful angels were destroyed due to Hanna's creature and swore that their deaths wouldn't be in vain. Meanwhile, Hanna drew her next card and put a frightening smile on her face. The blue haired girl showed the card to Tsugumi, which started to shine with a bright red light.

"It's over, girl! I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Ultimus and Lucky Tulk!"

"Noo!" Tsugumi yelled and watched how her creatures were crushed by the metallic scrapper.

"Ike, Heavy Metal, break her final shield!" Hanna yelled and her creature flew through Tsugumi's final shield and broke it into many shards. "Heh, now let's see if any of those 10 cards from your shield will be helpful."

"They will!" Tsugumi said with a fierce voice and then she took all the cards to her hand. "Shield trigger activate, I summon Pure Arial and Lucky Tulk! Also, shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Gate and summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and Milzam, Spirit of Miracles! Then I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana!"

"Heh, your comeback won't last for long."

"We'll see about that, Hanna! I summon Gaga Shaula, Spirit of Understanding and then tap Tulk SP and summon Five Star, Temporal Luck!" Tsugumi said and then thought. "Now if I could only hold on till next turn to either awaken Five Star or summon Alphadios, it would be game over for Hanna!"

"Well, anything else?" Hanna asked.

"I end."

"Oh no, you won't end!"

"Huh? How come?"

"You already forgot? Heavy Metal forces all of your creatures to attack it!"

Tsugumi got a shocked stare on her face and stood frozen like a statue as her Milzam, Ultimus and Pure Arial attacked Heavy Metal and met their demise. Hanna laughed evily as a lightning struck in the sky.

"Now that your blockers have been wiped out by Heavy Metal's ability, it's time to finish this! Say good bye, Tsugumi! Heavy Metal, Dragon God, totomeda!"

Heavy Metal fired two more fire beams from both their mouths and blasted Tsugumi away in the forest as well. Hanna kept laughing while enjoying her victory, and that seemed to annoy Tabitha, who was sitting with her hands crossed and waiting for the duels to finish. The last ones to duel were Eddy and Sora. They both had nine mana and all their shields, Eddy having no creatures and Sora having Kankuro, Peerless Brute in the battle zone.

"Um... you have no creatures. Are you sure you're a powerful minion of Tabitha's?" Sora asked, but got no response. "Very well then, I guess it's time to get this party started! Kankuro, quadruple break his shields!"

The giant dragon dressed in samurai armor swinged its sword and then slashed four of Eddy's shields. The tall boy stood there and let the shield shards pass by him, just like a mountain facing a storm. Then all the shield shards united into four cards which he took in his big hand, and then he spoke:

"Eddy got shield trigger! Eddy cast Natural Snare! Eddy send meanie Kankuro to mana zone!"

"Um... what?" Sora asked as her Kankuro got surrounded by a green aura and disappeared. "Now that's weird... Why are you talking in third person?"

"Eddy's turn! Eddy use Mana Reburst 9 and summon Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing! Eddy get 9 more mana!"

"I-Impossible! ...He actually got 18 mana in just one turn!" Sora spoke, shocked.

"Eddy summon Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation and Dreaming Moon Knife!"

"Sora don't care what Eddy summon! Sora defeat Eddy! Sora summon... Oh wait, WHY THE HELL AM I TALKING LIKE HIM? Am I going nuts?"

"Haha, you surely are!" Tabitha laughed.

"Grr, I summon Torcon and evolve him into Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader! Ike, Quatro Fang, break his final shield!" Sora ordered and her creature slashed Eddy's final shield, but that still didn't move the tall boy a bit.

"Eddy's turn! Eddy summon Mykee's Pliers! Eddy's nature creatures are speed attacker! Eddy cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and Eddy summon Japan, Temporal Enforcer! Eddy tap Dimension Horn! Eddy destroy Dimension Horn and Eddy summon 2 Koshirou, Temporal Young Demon! Eddy attack Quatro Fang with with Baban Ban Ban!"

"Oh no!" Sora exclaimed and watched how the two creatures fought each other until death. "This is so not good!"

"Hahaha, what's the matter, Sora? I thought that Eddy wouldn't be a challenge to you." Tabitha said while laughing.

"Oh, he's not! I'll finish him off before he even knows it! I summon Terradragon Drapi!"

"Very well then. Eddy, please show Sora your true power."

"Yes, Tabitha-sama! Eddy awaken Koshiou and Japan! Koshirou awaken Danjoul, the Awakened War Demon! Japan awaken Japanica, Agression Awakened!"

"Oh my God, they're huge!" Sora said and trembled at the sight of Eddy's giant creatures.

"Eddy summon Wind Axe, Warrior Savage! Cute Mykee's Pliers make Eddy's creatures speed attackers! Eddy attack with Danjoul and Eddy summon Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation from Eddy mana zone! Eddy double break with Danjoul!"

"Argh!" Sora yelled as Eddy's creature broke two of her shields.

"Eddy attack with Japanica and triple break your shields!"

"This can't be!" Sora thought as she took cover from the creature's attack, which broke all of her shields. "Shield trigger, I cast Mana Nexus and put another Mana Nexus to my shields!"

"Eddy attack with other Danjoul and Eddy summon Bronze-Arm Tribe from mana zone! Eddy break last shield with Danjoul!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare to my shields!" Sora said and sweated.

"Eddy attack with Dreaming Moon Knife and Eddy break final shield!"

"Hahaha, face it, Sora, you don't stand a chance to Eddy's army!" Tabitha said.

"Eddy finish you off! Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation, totomeda!"

The horned creature ran to Sora and hit her so hard that it threw her into the deep forest. That meant that the last one left to face Tabitha and her minions was Rad.

"What are you gonna do? Will you run away and help your friends or will you stay here and try to stop us from getting the psychic creature?" Tabitha said.

"I'd NEVER let you get your hands on that psychic creature!" Rad replied and took out his deck.

"Then you'll have to go through me first!" Hanna said and showed her deck as well. "Tabitha-sama, let me handle him!"

"Fine, as you wish."

Hanna and Rad walked to two dueling tables and got prepared for their match. They both raised up their shields, drew five cards and shouted 'duel start!'.

"Go ahead and make your first move, Rad! Unless, of course, you're afraid of my cards!" Hanna said.

"You don't get it, do you?" Rad replied.

"Uh, get what?"

"Alright, you defeat me, then what happens? Have you thought it through, Hanna?"

"Then we win and get the psychic creature! What's your point?"

"No..."

"I get it now, Rad, you're just stalling me for more time! Well, to answer your question, when I win, it's the end of you and your pathetic friends! And Tabitha-sama will rule the world! We have always been better than you chosen duelists, and now it ends here, with your defeat!"

"Can't you see that it's not as simple as you think it is?"

"Enough chit-chats! I summon Cocco Lupia!" Hanna said.

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to do it the hard way. I summon Shobu Aini!" Rad said.

"I summon Spear Lupia!"

"Going on Fire Birds, eh? Well, Hanna, let me show you how to use Fire Birds! I evolve Shobu Aini into Galaxy Cross Aini, Sky Lord Dragonmech! Ike, Galaxy Cross Aini, double break her shields!"

Hanna took cover as the creature broke two of her shields. She got no shield triggers, so she waited for Rad to finish his turn.

"Then, with Galaxy Cross Aini's effect I'll put the top card of my deck into the graveyard, and if that's a spell with Hpyerspatial in its name, I may cast it for free!" Rad said and put his top card to the graveyard, which was Hyperspatial Storm Hole. "Yes! I cast Hyperspatial Storm Hole, destroy your Cocco Lupia and summon Storm Kaiser Double Cross, Temporal Kamikaze!"

"What the... that thing is huge!" Hanna exclaimed. "But it doesn't matter, I'll still win this! I summon Heavy, Dragon God, destroy Spear Lupia and draw a card!"

"I destroy Galaxy Cross Aini!"

"Then, with Spear Lupia's effect, I take Bolshack NEX from my deck to my hand!"

"My turn, I'll reveal the top card of my deck, which is... Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Perfect, I awaken Storm Kaiser Double Cross! Meet Final Storm Double Cross Nex, the Awakened Miracle!"

"Hah, is that the best you can do, Rad? This is gonna be easier than I thought!"

"Think again, Hanna! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Ike, Final Storm Double Cross Nex, break her final shields!"

Hanna took cover as Rad's creature fired such a powerful beam that it destroyed some trees, luckily, not the one in which the psychic creature was located, and broke all of Hanna's remaining shields.

"So, do you give up now, Hanna? It seems that your little plan has been spoiled."

"Don't worry, Rad, my plan will still work! Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Genji Double Cross!"

"Still, from the looks of it, you're about to lose, Hanna! You have no shields and only Heavy, Dragon God, whereas I have all of my shields and a 23000 powered quadruple breaker which can allow me to get an extra turn if I reveal that the top card of my deck is a Dragon when it attacks!"

"Even if I might lose, my team will take care of you!" Hanna spoke to Rad and then shouted. "Eddy, Dani, I could use a little help over here!"

But Hanna didn't get any response. All she could hear was Rad's breath and the rain's noise.

"Come on already! Would you guys please hurry up? I'm on the verge of winning this entire war all by myself!"

Hanna still didn't get any response. After a few moments of silence, she heard some footsteps. Rad turned his back and they saw that three persons had arrived from the woods.

"You finally made it, Dani." Hanna commented.

"Sorry for the intreruption, Hanna, but we were in the neighbourhood and thought we'd drop by." Tsugumi said and appeared along with Sora and Edo.

"But where's... my guys?" Hanna spoke with a dumb voice.

"You're not gonna believe this, Hanna, but you're the only non-chosen duelist around here! I think that your buddies decided to pack up and go home!" Edo added.

"Oh well, I suppose it's you against us." Sora stated.

"I don't believe a word of this! You're just messing with my head! ...Aren't you?" Hanna spoke, panicked.

"So why would we do that? If anyone was messing with your head, I'd have to guess that's that bone head boss of yours, Tabitha." Rad said.

"I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes now, Hanna. Hahaha!" Tsugumi laughed.

"You're lying! You're trying to intimmidate me, but it won't work! NEVER!" Hanna yelled and ran from her dueling table.

The blue haired girl ran between some trees, but didn't get far from the chosen duelists. All this time she was screaming out the names of her team mates:

"EDDY! DANI! TABITHA-SAMA! TOBEY! ANYBODYYY!"

Hanna stopped from running and looked around herself. All that she could see was rain and dark trees with an occasional lightning in the sky to light her way.

"WHY HAVE YOU ALL ABANDONED MEEE?" Hanna yelled.

Meanwhile, at the chosen duelists, Sora jumped on a branch and climbed the giant tree. Rad, Edo and Tsugumi were anxiously waiting for her to bring the psychic creature, but when Sora jumped from the tree and landed safely on the ground, they could see that she had a worried look on her face.

"What's the matter, Sora?" Edo asked.

"Guys, the psychic creature is no more!" Sora said.

"WHAT?" Rad, Edo and Tsugumi yelled.

"Tabitha must've took it while Rad was dueling Hanna!" Sora continued.

"So I guess we weren't kidding when we said they ditched Hanna." Tsugumi said.

"So what do we do now?" Edo asked.

"I say we go back to the school and tell Hakuoh-sama about this." Rad said and then turned to the direction where Hanna ran. "And let's take Hanna with us too! I bet that since they've left her, she won't be able to find her way out of the forest all by herself."

Back at Hanna, the girl was lying on the muddy ground and hitting it as hard as she could with her fists while tears were falling from her eyes. Then, all of a sudden, she yelled as loud as she could:

"WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME, TABITHA-SAMA? WHY? WHY? WHYYY?"


	94. Renewal

The chosen duelists were on their way back home, but this time with Hanna in the rocket as well. During the journey she was sitting in a corner all silent and that made the chosen duelists worried. While Rad was paying attention to piloting the rocket, Sora, Edo and Tsugumi were looking back at Hanna almost as if she was some kind of alien.

"Guys, do you think she's gonna bite?" Edo whispered.

"I don't know, but you can never be sure." Sora whispered back.

"Oh come on, don't be silly! She's a human being, just like us!" Tsugumi said and walked to Hanna.

"No, Tsugumi, don't!" both Edo and Sora shouted.

"Guys, I'm a grown up girl, I can take care of myself." the blonde girl said while turning back to them. "Now stop acting crazy, it doesn't suit you."

As Edo and Sora calmed down, but still kept their stares at the blue haired girl, Tsugumi walked to Hanna and leaned to her. The blue haired girl was staring at the sky as the sun was drying off the rainwater from her red kimono.

"You know, standing there all day wouldn't do much for your health." Tsugumi joked.

"What do you care? Just leave me alone." Hanna sourly replied.

"Why are you so harsh on me? I know that we've been enemies in the past, but this doesn't have to be like this. I mean..."

"Save it, blondie! We still are enemies, no matter what! And I'm telling you, one day you will regret saving me!"

"We'd never regret doing this, even if you'd be the one to personally destroy us one day."

"Huh? Why's so?"

"Because we know we didn't leave a poor soul to die all alone in that jungle, that's why."

For a moment Hanna stared at Tsugumi with a look of fascination in her eyes. The girl felt as if a new door was suddenly opening in front of her. But then she turned her head away from Tsugumi and said:

"Hah, this so called 'morale' of which you're speaking doesn't impress me a bit! So I suggest you stop deceiving yourself, Tsugumi. We're enemies, and the next time we meet on the battlefield, it will be your doom."

"Can't you put aside our differences at least beyond the battlefield's borders? Honestly, I'm not trying to trick you or something! I just want to have a normal talk with you." Tsugumi said.

"Heh, and why would I trust you?" Hanna arrogantly replied.

"Would you trust Tabitha, who just abandoned you?"

That simple phrase was enough to make Hanna's voice disappear. The blue haired girl turned her back on Tsugumi and kept staring at the window, making the blonde girl understand that the conversation was over. After a few hours, Rad's rocket had finally reached the city. There they let Hanna at the beach and went on their way to the school.

Meanwhile, at the castle, Tabitha was laughing hardily while admiring the new psychic creature she had found. The witch was sitting on her throne and holding the fire card in her hands.

"Hahaha! Ah, Gaial Kaiser! It won't be long until I'll get back that Boost, Crimson Lord from the chosen duelists. And when I'll link them both to Dragonic Pippi, there will be no one to stop me!" Tabitha said and then turned to Marcelo. "I owe it all to you, Marcelo. Had it not been for your brilliant plan, I probably wouldn't have got the psychic now! You have earned the right to be my new second in command!"

"Oh, thank you, Tabitha-sama!" Marcelo said and bowed.

"No fair, we did all the work!" Dani complained.

"Yeah, how dare he take credit for himself?" Tobey added.

Suddenly, the throne chamber's doors opened and they all heard some slow, but loud footsteps approaching. They all turned to the door and saw an angry Hanna with messy hair and kimono. The girl approached Tabitha's throne without saying a word, bringing a sence of fear into Dani and Tobey.

"Well, Hanna, you're still alive. I suppose congratulations are enough of a reward." Tabitha said and grinned evily. "I'm sorry for leaving you all of a sudden, but Marcelo called me and said that I should grab the psychic and leave while you were holding everyone's attention. I honestly hope you don't mind."

"Yes, what a relief it is to see you. We were awfully worried, Hanna." Marcelo faked being worried.

Hanna turned to the black haired man and stared at him with an angry look on her face. When nobody was expecting, she raised her right fist and punched him in the cheek. So powerful was her hit that Marcelo was thrown against the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?" Marcelo spoke, worried.

"You've betrayed me!" Hanna said and started strangling Marcelo. "Why did you tell Tabitha-sama to abandon me? You did that on purpose!"

"It was a change of plans, I had to do it! Honestly, you would've done it yourself!" Marcelo tried to defend himself, but then Hanna covered his mouth with one of her hands while still strangling him with the other.

"I won't listen to your lies anymore!" Hanna said and kept strangling him.

"Marcelo beat up. Hanna make Marcelo big boo boo." Eddy said.

"I don't really care." Dani commented.

"Yeah, and he deserves it too!" Tobey added.

"Hanna, that is quite enough!" Tabitha said and the blue haired girl let go of the hurt Marcelo. "I always knew you'd find your way back here. You're a good duelist. Now stop all this nonsense and go clean yourself up!"

Hanna looked at Tabitha for a moment with her same angry stare, but then the girl bowed down for a second and then walked away from the throne chamber. After a few minutes, she was sitting in the bathtub and was finally able to relax. The thin stream from the bathroom and the warm water and air were creating a relaxing atmosphere, almost similar to that of a spa. Suddenly, Master Lupia appeared in front of the blue haired girl in the form of a hologram. Hanna was surprised by what she was seeing, but managed to calm down as the bird chirped to her.

"There's no need to worry about me. These injuries are nothing, I will be good as new in no time." Hanna said and the bird chirped with a smile on its face. "You must've been damaged as well after all these duels. Why don't you enter the water?"

A knock at the door intrerrupted their discussion. Then Tobey's voice was heard from the other side of the door.

"Hanna, I'm here to take Master Lupia, Temporal Wing."

"What?" Hanna said while getting out of the bathtub. "I've worked hard to earn this psychic creature! Tabitha-sama agreed to let me have it and..."

"These are Tabitha-sama's orders. She said it is a punishment for what you did to Marcelo. If you have any complaints, you can talk to her yourself." Tobey said.

Tobey didn't receive any response from Hanna for a few minutes. Then the door opened and he saw Hanna all dressed up in her red kimono and with her deck in her right hand.

"Alright then. I'll take Master Lupia to Tabitha-sama directly." Hanna said.

"No you can't! She ordered me to bring it to her!" Tobey replied and tried to block Hanna's way.

Hanna stared at Tobey with a cold look on her face as her deck started to glow. Tobey realized what would happen and decided to let her go.

Meanwhile, at the throne chamber, Tabitha and Marcelo were discussing about the events from that day.

"Hahaha, I can't blame Hanna for being upset. She's been through alot lately, hasn't she?"

"Yes, of course, but she brought it on herself, Tabitha-sama."

"That's true, Marcelo. Though she sure gave you a beating. You should take better care of yourself."

"Oh, she's nothing I can't handle. And it was a small price to pay for bringing Gaial Kaiser into your hands! Afterall, it is the duty of a loyal second in command!"

"I'm glad you feel that way, but I believe I might have underestimated Hanna. Afterall, she did manage to defeat Tsugumi and she also managed to get Master Lupia all by herself. So perhaps she will prove to be more valuable to us than I originally thought."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have suggested you leave with the psychic creature and let Hanna all alone to face the chosen duelists. It was the one mistake I made when carrying out your plan, hehe." Marcelo said. "Well, at least we know who we'll send in first the next time we run into the chosen duelists. Yes, I agree, Tabitha-sama, we should keep Hanna around a little longer!"

"Poor Hanna doesn't have a clue of what she's gotten herself into, does she?" Tabitha replied and drank from her glass of wine.

"I have so much to learn from you, Tabitha-sama! I admire your ability to be so cold, even if it means sacrificing one of your own minions!"

"Well, how else am I supposed to keep the others in line? Let alone conquer the whole world? Hahahahahaha!"

But little did Tabitha and Marcelo know that someone was spying on them while they were discussing. When they heard a loud footstep, they both turned to the doors.

"Who goes there?" Tabitha asked.

Suddenly, the doors opened and before they could see who was there, they heard a shout of anger:

"WHY YOU!"

It was Hanna, and she looked more threatening than ever. The girl took out her deck, which was glowing brighter than ever, and ran to the two persons which were conspiring against her.

"What are you doing?" Tabitha asked.

"It's a rebellion! Hanna is starting a rebellion! Run before it's too late!" Marcelo said.

"You'll pay for this, both of you!" Hanna yelled.

"If you want to get to our beloved master, you'll have to go through me first!" Marcelo replied and stood in front of Tabitha while showing his deck.

Two dueling tables came out from the floor and both duelists put their decks on them, deployed their five shields and drew five cards in their hands. The ten green and blue shields appeared above them and thus the duel began.

"I cast Bloody Cross and put the top 2 cards from both our decks to the graveyard!" Marcelo said and he got Invincible Abyss and End of the World, Dark Divine Dragon into his graveyard, whereas Hanna got Dragon Ultimate God Metsu and Necrodragon Giland.

"I summon God Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Troll, Grafitti Doll!"

"You're not trolling me anymore, Marcelo! I summon Cocco Lupia!"

"Oh, we'll just have to see about that, Hanna! Ike, Troll, break her shield! Soul Recall 1, I put End of the World to the bottom of my deck and discard a card from your hand!"

Hanna discarded Dark Lupia and took the card from her broken shield to her hand. But then she showed the card from her shield as being a shield trigger and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign! I summon Dragon Ultimate God Metsu!"

"What the?" Marcelo spoke with fear.

"How do you like this? And since I have 4 mana and God Lupia and Cocco Lupia into my battle zone, I guess this enables me to summon... Dragon Ultimate God Geki!" Hanna said and both the Dragon Ultimate Gods united and formed one gigantic darkness and fire creature. "Godlink, Geki Metsu!"

"This can't be happening!"

"Oh, but it is happening, Marcelo, and it will be your doom! Ike, Geki Metsu, destroy Troll, send Hannibal Zeta and Clause Zeta from his mana zone to his graveyard and quadruple break his shields!"

"Noo!" Marcelo yelled as he lost his creature, two of his mana and watched Hanna's creature fire an attack and destroy four of his shields. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Primal Scream and put the top 4 cards of my deck into my graveyard!"

The cards which landed into Marcelo's graveyard were Necrodragon Skull Gravitz, Hyperspatial Vice Hole, Super Hopeless Vortex and Galatia Dragoon. Marcelo took the last card into his hand.

"Ike, Cocco Lupia, break his final shield!" Hanna continued and the fire bird flew through Marcelo's last shield.

"This isn't over yet! Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy God Lupia!" Marcelo said and then he showed another card from his hand. "My turn, I summon Galatia Dragoon!"

"Is that all you got? Hah, what a pathetic second in command Tabitha chose to have!"

"Don't you dare talk like that about Tabitha-sama's choices, you good for nothing traitor!"

"If you say so... But it's over, Marcelo! Cocco Lupia, totomeda!"

"Block the attack, Galatia Dragoon!" Marcelo said and then stared with fear at Hanna's giant dragon. "Uh oh..."

"DRAGON ULTIMATE GOD GEKI METSU, FINISH HIM OFF, TOTOMEDA!"

Tabitha ran away from behind Marcelo as the dragon fired from both its mouths a purple and red beam which blew Marcelo off and threw him into the wall, making a big hole in it. While Tabitha was confused by the smoke created from Geki Metsu's attack, Hanna quickly packed up her cards, went to the table where Tabitha kept the two new psychic creatures, snatched both cards and ran away. She climbed down the stairs, and when she reached the first floor, she ran to the entrance door of the castle while speaking to herself:

"You haven't seen the last of me, Tabitha! I'll get you, even if I have to join the chosen duelists!"

"You wouldn't dare!" a voice spoke and Tabitha suddenly appeared in front of the doors which were Hanna's exit from the castle. "Hanna, I've been suspicious of you ever since that night. I know you would like nothing better than to defeat me and take control. But I won't let that happen! Now hand over Gaial Kaiser and Dragonic Pippi! You're not a leader, you couldn't handle the responsibility! Look what's happened to you, you don't even know when you're taken over by your own emotions!"

"What do you mean taken over by my emotions? You can think whatever you want, Tabitha, I don't care anymore!"

"Really? You don't care? Then good riddance!"

Tabitha fired a laser towards Hanna's direction and the next thing the witch could see was a powerful explosion. When everything cleared up, Eddy appeared running to the witch. But just as the big guy reached her, they saw that the explosion created a giant hole in the wall, and through that hole Hanna managed to escape.

"Tabitha-sama alright? Eddy worried."

"Don't worry about me." Tabitha said and then looked at how Hanna was running away. "Get her! And bring back those psychic creatures!"

Eddy got out of the castle and chased Hanna all the way to the city. But even in the big city she couldn't get away from him. Because he was tall, he could see where she was hiding, regardless of how crowded was that place, so her only option was to keep running.

Meanwhile, at the school, as the four chosen duelists were sitting with Hakuoh and the apprentice in the hidden room and talking about their latest mission, they heard an intruder alarm turn on. Hakuoh quickly opened a computer and saw Hanna and Eddy entering the school's backyard.

"That's strange."

"What is it, Hakuoh-sama?" the apprentice asked.

"Look better at the monitor." Hakuoh replied.

"It's a chase! And Hanna's being the chased one!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"It doesn't look like a decoy strategy to me." Rad said.

"Ok then. Rad, Sora, Edo, Tsugumi, you go out there and see what's going on with those two! And make sure that they aren't seen by the other students!"

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama!" the four chosen duelists said and ran out of the hidden room.

Outside, as Hanna was about to reach the back entrance of the building, she suddenly tripped on a rock and had a hard landing on her belly. When the girl looked up, she saw with fear how the tall boy reached her and stared at her with predator eyes.

"Eddy take meanie Hanna back to Tabitha-sama. Hanna steal precious psychic creatures. Tabitha-sama angry. Hanna pay."

"Boy, you really need to get some grammar lessons, you bozo." Hanna spoke with disgust.

"Eddy angry! Eddy not bozo! Hanna feel big pain!"

As Eddy leaned to grab Hanna and take her back, the doors of the school opened and the four chosen duelists made their appearence. Looking at him with a mighty pose, Rad spoke to Eddy:

"Release her at once, or suffer the power of justice!"

"...You really have to work on your hero speeches." Sora said while sweating.

"Thanks alot for the encouragement." Rad replied, sarcastically.

"Eddy angry! Tomato hair boy in pijamas gonna get it!" Eddy said while letting go of Hanna and approaching Rad.

"Did he actually call your racer suit pijamas?" Tsugumi said.

"That's it! Now he's got me angry!" Rad said and took out his glowing deck.

Eddy took out his glowing deck as well and two dueling tables came out of the ground. As they were about to begin the duel, Hanna looked at the two psychic creatures she stole from Tabitha.

"I've got to help him." Hanna said and then threw Gaial Kaiser and Dragonic Pippi to the red hiared boy while yelling. "Rad, take these cards!"

When Rad turned and saw the two cards approaching him, his Boost, Crimson Lord card which he had gotten from a battle with Tabitha's minions came out of his deck and flew towards the other two cards. The three cards shined so powerfully that everyone else besides Rad had to cover their eyes. A giant red metallic dragon appeared in front of Rad and seemed to be smiling to him. Then the dragon took all the cards from his deck and made a red aura surround them all. After a few moments, the aura had disappeared and Rad had received a new deck. The dragon disappeared as well and everything went back to normal.

"Huh? What happened?" Sora asked.

"Did I eat too much beans last night?" Edo added.

"Guys, you won't believe it! Those three psychic creatures are now in my deck... which was rebuilt by a dragon and..."

"Rad got Tabitha-sama's psychic creatures! Eddy take psychic creatures back!"

"We'll see about that!" Rad said and deployed his shields. "Let's get this party started!"

"Eddy beat you bad!" Eddy replied and deployed his shields as well.

"I summon Genji Aini!" Rad said.

"Eddy summon Dreaming Moon Knife! Eddy put Wind Axe, the Warrior Savage to mana zone."

"I summon Cheering Pippi! Then I tap Genji Aini, destroy Genji Aini and summon Cocco Lupia!"

"Woohoo! Go for it, Rad!" Edo cheered.

"Amazing, he's got two fire birds which reduce costs in just one turn!" Sora added.

"You no fun! Eddy summon Bronze-Arm Tribe! Eddy break shield with Dreaming Moon Knife!"

"Thanks for the card, pal! Now it's time for the real fun - I summon Gaial Zero!" Rad said and a red dragon with features of a stegosaur appeared behind him and roared.

"Eddy not scared of ugly dragon! Eddy evolve Dreaming Moon Knife into Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader! Eddy get two more mana! Eddy attack with Quatro Fang and get one mana! Eddy double break with Quatro Fang!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe! Ok, Eddy, it's time to show you the awesomeness of my new deck!"

"Rad speak weird. Eddy not understand."

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and summon Gaial Kaiser!" Rad said and a metallic red dragon which was weilding two fire swords appeared behind him right next to Gaial Zero. "Ike, Gaial Zero, double break his shields! And when Gaial Zero attacks your shields, you'll have to flip them and show me what cards they are. Then I will summon psychic creatures that cost less than the cards from your shields!"

The two cards from the shields which Gaial Kaiser was attacking were Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation and Rainbow Stone.

"Perfect! Ike, Gaial Zero, double break his shields! And then I summon Boost, Crimson Lord and Dragonic Pippi!" Rad said and a tiger with a fire horn which was dressed up in a golden armor, and a fire bird with metallic parts on its wings and a mouse mask on its face appeared behind him as Gaial Zero fired a red beam and broke two of Eddy's shields.

"This not over! Eddy cast Rainbow Stone! Eddy put Mykee's Pliers to mana zone! Eddy summon Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation! Eddy destroy Gaial Zero with Quatro Fang!"

"Well then, Rad think Eddy is done for! Psychic Link!" Rad said and the three psychic creatures united and formed the giant red metallic dragon which Rad had seen before the duel began. The dragon was enormous and had very sharp claws and a bird like mouth. "Arise, Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord!"

"It's... huge!" Edo exclaimed.

"No shit, Sherlock." Sora ironically replied.

"Those psychic creatures... could form that thing! It's amazing! And to think that Tabitha could've had control upon this beast... We would've been doomed if that happened." Hanna thought.

"Now it's time to finish this! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" Rad said and the dragon dressed in samurai armor and with cross like swords appeared behind him. "Ike, Gaial King Dragon, show him what you've got!"

The giant dragon leaned its head towards Eddy's shields and with just a blast from its fiery mouth all of Eddy's shields and creatures were gone. Eddy quickly took the cards from his shields to his hand and showed one of them to Rad while saying:

"Eddy got shield trigger! Eddy cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Eddy destroy Cocco Lupia and Cheering Pippi!"

"It doesn't matter, punk, cause it's over! Genji Double Cross, totomeda!" Rad ordered and the dragon hit Eddy with one of its swords and threw him and his cards far far away, until he landed on the beach.

After the duel was over, Rad looked back at his friends and saw Tsugumi and Sora help Hanna up. Rad then took a look at Gaial Kaiser, Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord. Then he turned his sight to the blue haired girl and said:

"Thank you, Hanna."

The chosen duelists took Hanna with them to Hakuoh's classroom and she explained what happened to her. But after she finished narrating her tale, the bell announced the end of the break, so Hakuoh told his friends to hide in the secret room. Afterwards he greeted his students, told them that he had to leave for a few minutes and they had to study individually. Then he left the classroom and entered the secret room through a hidden door in the wall. That was when they could continue their discussion regarding the blue haired girl in red kimono.

"You mean Tabitha tried to abandon you and actually destroy you?" Hakuoh asked.

"It's true." Hanna responded.

"Yeah right, we can't actually believe this girl! She's a minion of Tabitha's, remember? Come on!" Sora said.

"Quiet, Sora." Rad replied to the green haired girl.

"No, Rad! Have you forgotten that Tabitha uses every dirty trick she can to defeat us?"

"So have you figured out what to do with her?" Edo asked.

"She risked her life to get away from Tabitha. It wouldn't be fair to send her back there. We have no choice, we'll have to protect her then." Rad said and looked at Hakuoh.

"I object! I still don't trust this girl! Let's not forget that Hanna betrayed Tabitha and her minions! She's no better than Tabitha, and it's a matter of time until she pulls one of her dirty tricks on us!" Sora said.

"Alright then." Hanna said while turning her back and walking to the door.

"Where are you going, my child?" the apprentice asked.

"If none of you are going to trust me then it's no point in hanging around here! I guess I'll just have to go and fight Tabitha on my own." Hanna replied.

"You don't have to leave! I think I can trust you, Hanna." Tsugumi said.

"Yeah, me too! After all, why would you give me those psychic creatures which Tabitha had tried so hard to get?" Rad added.

"What do you think we should do, Hakuoh-sama?" the apprentice asked.

For a moment it was silence in the room. Everyone was waiting for the answer which would decide the fate of the blue haired girl from that moment on. Then Hakuoh opened his mouth and said:

"Alright, everyone, from now on we consider Hanna part of our team!"

"Aw, you can't be serious!" Sora complained.

"I won't let any of you down, I promise!" Hanna said and turned to the others. "And I think I have something to offer to you guys. I know information about Tabitha's castle and some of her deepest secrets."

"Alright, guys, you go home and rest for the rest of the day." Hakuoh said to the chosen duelists. "Meanwhile, I will talk with Hanna about Tabitha. I want you guys to be in your best shape, for tonight we are going to attack Tabitha's castle!"

The four chosen duelists stared at Hakuoh with both surprised and excited faces. They all cheered so loudly that the rest of the class almost heard them. That was it, the dices were thrown and the game board was ready. That night the final showdown would begin.


	95. In the mouth of evil

The moon was shining with might over the empty beach. The sea's breeze was chilling. Everything was silent, but it wasn't an ordinary silence. It was the tensioned silence before the storm. And that storm was on the verge of being unleashed.

At Tabitha's castle, Tobey was cleaning the mess caused by Tabitha's laser attack when Hanna ran away, while everyone else was sleeping.

"Curse that Hanna. No matter what she does, she always messes it up. And who has to clean it up? Me, that's who, and I'm tired of it! And would you think that anyone would help me tidy this mess up?" Tobey said and got up from the floor to stretch his bones. "Oh, I can only hope that this time Tabitha-sama will make that idiot Hanna pay for her stupidity."

The boy then felt someone sitting behind his back and quickly turned around. To his shock, he saw Hanna. The shock was so great that he dropped the destroyed wall brick he was holding and it landed on his right foot. Tobey jumped and yelled in pain as Hanna laughed and said:

"Hahaha, I thought I heard you whine in here, Tobey. Do you have something you want to say to me? Let's hear it, and if it's something you have to complain about me then maybe we can settle our differences. Unless of course you don't have the guts to face me!"

"Grr." Tobey murmured while staring at his ex-teammate.

"I hope you don't mind. I brought along my new friends." Hanna said while giving Tobey an evil smile.

Suddenly, Rad jumped through the hole in the wall and landed at Hanna's left. Tobey made a step back and said:

"You... can't be serious!"

Edo, Sora and Tsugumi soon followed and they all sat near Hanna. The blue haired girl laughed even more and spoke with satisfaction to the scared boy:

"Hahahahahaha, I hope I'm not scaring you, Tobey."

"How did you all get here? Hanna must've told you the location of our castle!" Tobey remarked.

"You know what? You're not as dumb as you look." Hanna said and took out her deck. "Oh, and one more thing, Tobey. I've decided to take care of you fast before I take down Tabitha!"

Tobey turned around and ran away to the stairs while screaming:

"Enemy invasion! Enemy invasion!"

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Tsugumi said and ran in front of Tobey, blocking his way and making him turn around and run away.

"Tabitha-sama, we're under attack!" Tobey kept yelling.

"It's time to finish you off, Tobey." Hanna said and two dueling tables appeared, one in front of her and one in front of which Tobey stopped running.

"Fine, I'll make you pay, you traitor!" Tobey replied and took out his deck as well.

The two duelists deployed their shields and drew their cards. With both shouting 'Duel start!', the confrontation began.

"I summon God Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Dreaming Moon Knife and put Terror Pit to my mana zone!" Tobey said.

"I summon Spear Lupia! God Lupia, break his shield!"

"I summon Franz the 1st, Ice Fang! Dreaming Moon Knife, suicide with her God Lupia!"

"I cast Dark Soul Creation! I destroy Spear Lupia, draw 3 cards and take Heavy, Dragon God from my deck to my hand!"

"Planning on summoning dragons, eh? It won't work with me! I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole and draw a card! Then I summon Gaga Packun, Io Enforcer!"

"Huh? What's that?"

"This psychic creature, my dear Hanna, makes your spells cost 1 more less!"

"That's all?"

"What do you mean 'That's all'? There's much more to it when I awaken it and..."

"Bla bla bla, finish your turn already!"

"Hmph, ignorant fool! Franz the 1st, break her shield!"

"I think it's time to get serious! I summon Cocco Lupia and Necrodragon Giland!"

"Those dragons scare me the tinyest bit! I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and gain one more mana! Then I summon Geo the Man, Earth Titan!"

"And what does that thing do?"

"This 'thing', if you dare call it that way, allows me to return a card form my mana zone to my hand."

"Seriously, Tobey, since when did your psychic creatures were so lame?"

"I'll show you lame, you traitor! Franz the 1st, break another shield!"

Hanna took the card from her shield to her hand and smiled. Her hand glew with a purple light as she charged mana and placed the card she got from her shields onto her Necrodragon Giland card while saying:

"Evolution! Necrodragon Giland, become Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg!"

"Hah, your pathetic dragon may have as many heads as it wants and can be even blacker than the night! It still won't scare me!" Tobey replied.

"Then I guess that this will scare you more! Cocco Lupia, break his shield! Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, double break his shields!"

Tobey took cover as Hanna's creatures broke three of his shields. For a moment he stood silent with his head bowed down and his sight frozen to the floor. His thoughts were at Tabitha and how he swore an oath to her a few months ago. She had promised him power, and he knew he had to work hard in order to get that power. No more would people laugh at him for having intelligence, but lacking strength. He knew that if he wanted to prove the power of knowledge, that was the perfect time.

"Shield trigger!" Tobey suddenly spoke. "I cast Secret Clocktower! I'll look at my top 3 cards, put one into my hand, one on the top of my deck and one at the bottom of my deck. And now it's my turn! Psychic Link!"

"Huh? Those two psychic creatures can link?"

"Right you are, Hanna! Observe the beauty of my new psychic creature, Tearing Packunga, the Greedy!"

"What... is that thing?" Hanna spoke with amazement.

"This creature is a 10500 powered double breaker who untaps and becomes a blocker every time you attack. Let's see you handle this! I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole, take Dreaming Moon Knife back to my hand and summon Rumble, Temporal Sage! Hahaha, observe the power of my knowledge! Tearing Packunga, double break her shields!"

"Not so fast, Tobey! Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Rumble, Temporal Sage!"

"Nevermind. Franz the 1st, break her final shield! There, you have no more shields left! I guess that means..."

"I really don't have time for your useless speeches, Tobey! Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Tearing Packunga!"

"Noo! ...I send one of its halves back... and the other half flips back to Geo the Man." Tobey said and stared disappointed at the flipped nature psychic creature. "Curse you, Hanna! You ruined my plan!"

"And I shall ruin more than that! I summon Heavy, Dragon God and destroy Heavy!"

"I destroy... Franz the 1st."

"Ike, Cocco Lupia, break his final shield!" Hanna said and the fire bird flew through Tobey's last shield. "Farewell, my friend. Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, totomeda!"

The black dragon gathered laser power in all of its nine heads and then fired the laser beams from all of them. Lunarzberg's attack was so powerful that it threw Tobey away and made him land near the stairs.

With his last powers, Tobey crawled under the stairs and opened a small hideout from the floor. In that hideout was a red button and he pressed it. Thus the alarm was turned on and it resounded in the whole castle. Knowing that he did everything he could to stop the enemy, Tobey collapsed on the floor.

The alarm waked up everybody in the castle and they all ran to meet up in Tabitha's throne chamber. There they were all gathered around Tabitha's throne, dressed in their pijamas since they didn't have time to change into their normal clothes.

"Oh great, what going on down there?" Tabitha asked.

"I'm not sure, but the alarm must've been set off for a reason." Marcelo replied.

"Eddy think chosen duelists find castle."

"Yeah right, like they're intelligent enough to get past Tabitha-sama's security." Dani commented.

"Eddy, Dani, you go downstairs and see what's going on!" Tabitha ordered and the two ran out of the throne chamber.

Meanwhile, the chosen duelists and Hanna were running up the stairs towards the floor where Tabitha's throne chamber could be found. With Hanna as their guide, it was a peace of cake until they'd find their mortal enemy, and then the real battle would begin. But on their way, they met up with Dani and Eddy.

"Ok, maybe I was wrong about the chosen duelists not being able to get past Tabitha-sama's security." Dani said.

"Dani always wrong. Eddy laugh."

"So what do we do now, Rad?" Tsugumi asked.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of these retards." Rad replied and was about to take out his deck.

"No, you gotta keep yourself for Tabitha!" Sora said and climbed a few more stairs to their enemies.

"She's right! You guys go and get rid of that witch once and for all!" Edo added and followed Sora.

"Alright, but how are we supposed to past them?" Tsugumi asked.

All of a sudden, Sora jumped a few stairs behind them, grabbed Tsugumi's and Hanna's hands, and threw them above the others, making them land on the next floor. After a few moments, Rad followed the two girls.

"Ouch, now that's so not a pleasant landing." Tsugumi said and rubbed her butt to ease the pain.

"We don't have time to lose!" Hanna said and got up.

"Hanna, where is Tabitha hiding?" Rad asked.

"Most probably in her throne room. Follow me, I'll take you there!"

The three ran through a long corridor which was filled with many rooms. After a while both Rad and Tsugumi were wondering how would Hanna or anybody else not get lost in that place. But from the looks of it, Hanna seemed to know the place like her own pockets. The blue haired girl stopped in front of a giant pair of black doors and said:

"This is it. We've finally arrived."

"Alright then. Let's finish this!" Rad said and opened the doors while shouting. "Tabitha!"

But as the doors got wide open, the three were greeted by the image of Tabitha sitting on her throne and Marcelo sitting by her left side. It was he, the man who had saved their friend, Subaru, and who had been his best friend ever since. He, Marcelo, the man with whom Tarja wanted to start a new life. Marcelo, their very own classmate. He was working by Tabitha's side. Both Rad and Tsugumi couldn't believe of what they were seeing. While Rad was shocked, Tsugumi was seeing things so clearly now. The world which fell apart around her suddenly started to come back and complete itself like a puzzle. With courage in her heart, Tsugumi made the first step into the throne chamber and said:

"So you were behind this all along, weren't you, Tabitha?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tabitha sarcastically replied while giving the blonde girl an evil smile.

"Don't act dumb with me! You are the one responsible for everything: Subaru's surfing accident and memory loss, Marcelo saving him and becoming his new friend, everything!" Tsugumi said while tears were falling from her eyes. "You sent Marcelo to take care of Subaru so that he could keep him away from us as much as possible! Also, you used Hanna so that he would forget about me even more!"

"Hahaha, bravo, Tsugumi Shirayama. You managed to decipher my plan to keep you two apart exactly! But I want to inform you that even if you two would've made love once again, it would have no effect on me. And that's because this thing works only once. The only reason why I did what I did was because you two had been standing in my way for far too long and I wanted to make sure that the job of breaking you up is done once and for all."

"You monster! How dare you hurt Tsugumi's feelings like that?" Hanna said and entered the room as well.

"Oh, Tsugumi's case will sound like a walk in the park, Hanna, after I get through with you!" Tabitha said and created a laser ball in her right hand. "It's payback time, traitor!"

"Tabitha-sama, don't! You'll blow the whole room apart!" Marcelo said.

Tabitha ignored her new right hand man and casted the laser ball anyway. A huge explosion filled the room and its noise reached the stairs where Edo and Sora were facing Dani and Eddy.

"What's going on?" Dani asked.

"It sounded like an explosion." Edo said.

"Rad and the others might be in danger! We gotta finish these losers fast and go help them!" Sora said and turned to Eddy. "Ike, Terradragon Drapi, triple break his shields!"

"Eddy got shield trigger Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper. Eddy destroy puny Bronze Chain Sickle and Princess Cub, Free Spirit."

"Ouch, it doesn't look too good for you, Sora. No worries, I'll finish Dani first and then take care of Eddy if you can't!" Edo said and turned to Dani.

"...Did you just insult me, Edo?"

"Yes! Ike, Crystal Axe, double break his shields!"

"Hah, think again, wise guy! Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send K Atlantis, Ocean Peak of Taiga back to his hand!" Dani said and then laughed at the sweating Edo.

Back at Tabitha's throne chamber, after the explosion smoke disappeared, Rad, Tsugumi and Hanna got up and saw that Tabitha was gone and the whole room was in a total mess. Marcelo was standing in front of the throne and giving them a grin filled with arrogance and a sence of superiority.

"Where's Tabitha?" Rad demanded.

"Hahaha, my apologies, but Tabitha-sama has more urgent matters to attend to. Now how could I help you?" Marcelo said.

"Guys, I'll take care of this clown. You go and find Tabitha before she does something bad!" Rad said to the girls as he took out his deck.

Tsugumi and Hanna responded to the boy with a nod and left the room. Then two dueling tables came out of the floor and Rad's and Marcelo's duel began.

"I summon Cheering Pippi!" Rad said. "Ike, Cocco Lupia, break his shield!"

"Hah, your rush won't stop me!" Marcelo replied as he drew his next card and began his turn. "I summon Necrodragon Skull Gravitz!"

"Oh, we'll just have to see about that. I evolve Cheering Pippi into Galaxy Cross Aini, Sky Lord Dragonmech! Ike, Galaxy Cross Aini, double break his shields!"

"Block it, Necrodragon Skull Gravitz!"

The top card of Rad's deck went into his graveyard. The card was Hyperspatial Gaial Hole.

"Heh, with Galaxy Cross Aini's effect I cast Hyperspatial Gaial Hole and summon Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord! Ike, Cocco Lupia, break his shield!"

"Haha, shield trigger activate, I cast Primal Scream!" Marcelo said and got Galatia Dragoon, Bloody Cross, Terror Pit and Escobalt Zeta, King Dogfighter of Anihilation into his graveyard. "I take Galatia Dragoon back to my hand and now it's my turn! I charge mana and summon Escobalt Zeta, Death Count!"

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and summon Gaial Kaiser! Ike, Galaxy Cross Aini, double break his shields!" Rad said and his fire bird broke two of Marcelo's shields.

"Haha, shield trigger activate, I cast Grudge Gathering! Destroy Cocco Lupia! And now I cast Hyperspatial Vice Hole and summon Romanoff Zeta, Temporal Demonic Eye! Ike, Clause Zeta, break his shield! Soul Recall 2, I send Necrodragon Skull Gravitz and Escobalt Zeta to the bottom of my deck and destroy Galaxy Cross Aini! Hahaha, how do you like that, you red haired fool? And next turn I shall show you of what my creatures are really made of!"

"Actually, you won't have any next turn, Marcelo."

"Huh? What are you babbling about?"

"You'll see."

Meanwhile, at the end of the corridor, Tabitha reached a secret room. The witch looked around and saw that nobody was near. Knowing that the coast was clear, Tabitha opened the room's door and turned on the lights. In that room she had sitting on pedestals four psychic creature cards. Those cards were Shoot Fighter Pippi, Zero Kaiser, Olzekia, Temporal Sword General and Storm Double Cross, Temporal Storm. Those four cards were the only psychic creatures which her lackeys had captured and weren't used by any of them so far. She was keeping those cards there until the right time for their use would come. But since the chosen duelists had invaded her castle, she had to make sure that they wouldn't get their hands on those psychic creatures.

As the witch entered the room, she was disturbed by an annoying and familiar shout which said:

"Hold it right there, Tabitha!"

The witch turned back and saw Tsugumi and Hanna. She then realized that the blue haired girl was the one which guided the chosen light duelist to that secret room because only her second in commands knew her deepest secrets.

"You... How dare you?" Tabitha spoke with outrage.

"You don't scare me anymore, Tabimoron!"

"H-Hanna... I always knew you'd be a traitor!"

"Now I can fight evil!" Hanna said and took out her glowing deck.

"You moron! You don't even know what pure evil is!" Tabitha replied as she remembered all the atrocities she had seen in hell.

"Tsugumi, you go get the psychics while I finish this!"

"You got it, Hanna!"

The blonde girl ran to the big pedestals as two dueling tables came out of the floor. Hanna and Tabitha put their decks on the tables and deployed their shields. With their 'Duel start!' shout, the match began.

"I summon Spear Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Qurian and draw a card!" Tabitha said.

"I cast Dark Soul Creation, destroy Spear Lupia, draw 3 cards and take Bolshack NEX to my hand!"

"I summon Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure and destroy it! Then I summon Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel! Ike, Qurian, break her shield!"

Hanna took cover as Qurian attacked and broke one of her shields. But because of Zabi Rigel's presence, the attack was so powerful that it created a hole in the wall. All of a sudden, both Hanna and Tabitha started floating alongside their dueling tables and creatures, and they all went out. The duel had moved from the secret castle room to ten feet above the beach. But even so, Hanna didn't seem scared the least. The blue haired girl drew her next card, charged mana and showed two cards while saying:

"I summon Cocco Lupia and Necrodragon Giland!"

"Hah, trying to rush me, Hanna? Well, it won't work that much! I summon Franz the 1st, the Ice Fang! Ike, Qurian, break her shield!" Tabitha said and the creature attacked Hanna and broke another shield of hers. "Then Zabi Rigel, break another shield!"

"Not so fast, Tabitha! Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Franz the 1st and Qurian!" Hanna said and both of Tabitha's creatures were crushed by the red metallic scrapper. "How did ya like that?"

"You'll pay for this!"

"No, it is you the one that shall pay, Tabitha! And I'll make sure of that - I summon Bolshack NEX and with its effect I also summon another Cocco Lupia from my deck! And since I still have 2 unused mana and 2 Cocco Lupias, I shall summon Heavy, Dragon God and destroy one Cocco Lupia!"

"I destroy Zabi Rigel..."

"How do you like this, Tabitha-'sama'?"

"Oh, I just 'love' it, Hanna. I summon Bloody Cymbal and Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade! With Genius Janit's effect I send a Cocco Lupia back to your hand!"

"This is it. It's the beginning of your end, Tabitha! I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole, destroy Bloody Cymbal and summon Master Lupia, Temporal Wing!"

A shiny red and yellow fire bird with blue eyes and with wings and tail similar to flames appeared next to Hanna and chirped happily at the sight of its master.

Meanwhile, inside the castle, it seemed that the chosen duelists were having the upper hand in their duels with their enemies.

"It's over! Terradragon Drapi..."

"And Crystal Axe..."

"Totomeda!" both Sora and Edo ordered.

Dani and Eddy were blasted up to the next floor and they both landed on it all hurt. The two chosen duelists ran upstairs and searched for their friends. When they heard a loud roar, they realized that that was where they would find them. Edo and Sora ran until they reached Tabitha's throne chamber, and there they saw Rad and Marcelo duel. Things seemed pretty bad for Marcelo as well, for Rad had a giant red armored dragon which they had seen before when they rescued Hanna from Eddy.

"No, this can't be!" Marcelo said and made a few steps back while staring at the powerful creature.

"Ike, Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord, destroy all of his creatures and break his final shields!" Rad ordered and the dragon roared once again and fired such a powerful red beam that Edo and Sora could barely see how Romanoff Zeta and Clause Zeta disappeared forever in the void of destruction as Marcelo's last shields followed them. When the attack finished, Rad tapped the other card he had on his dueling table while saying:

"Finish him off, Genji Double Cross!"

The dragon dressed in samurai armor swinged one of its cross-like swords and jumped to Marcelo. When the creature was in front of him, it hit him with the sword and blasted him through the wall, into the other room. As Edo and Sora were cheering Rad's victory, Tsugumi rushed to them and said:

"Guys, there's no time to waste, Hanna's dueling Tabitha!"

"What? Is she nuts? We gotta help her!" Rad replied.

Back at Hanna's and Tabitha's duel, even if Hanna had an army of creatures, Tabitha didn't want to give up yet. The witch had one more ace up her sleeve, and she decided to use it before it was too late.

"I evolve Genius Janit into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! With its effect I summon Hydra Gilsaurus! Ike, Zabi Implosion, break her final shields!" Tabitha ordered and the demon fired lasers from all its mouths and destroyed Hanna's last two shields. "Hahaha, it will soon be over, Hanna!"

"Think again, Tabitha, your reign of evil ends here!" Hanna said while putting a slick smile on her face.

"What?"

"Awaken! Master Lupia, become Psychic Nex, the Awakened Blue Flame!"

The mighty fire bird got surrounded by a red aura and grew in size alot. When the aura disappeared, its fire was now blue and the bird was wearing a golden armor.

"Impossible, I can't lose to the likes of you!" Tabitha said while staring at Psychic Nex.

"The likes of me are those who usurp tyrants like you! I summon Metal, Dragon God! Godlink - Heavy Metal, Dragon God! Ike, Heavy Metal, quadruple break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bolshack NEX!"

"Necrodragon Giland, break her final shield!" Hanna ordered, and after the attack, Tabitha started trembling with fear for the first time after many months. "Say good bye, my 'dear master'! PSYCHIC NEX, THE AWAKENED BLUE FLAME, TOTOMEDA!"

The blue fire bird howled, flew above Tabitha and then fired an enormous laser which blew the witch and her dueling table and cards all the way to the sandy ground, and it even created a hole in it. When the chosen duelists got out of the castle, they saw how Hanna's creatures were vanishing and how her dueling table was calmly landing on the ground. After the girl packed up the cards from her deck, the dueling table vanished in the sand.

"Hanna, where's Tabitha?" Tsugumi asked.

"Right there!" Hanna replied and pointed at the hole where the defeated witch was lying.

"Yay! You did it! You actually did it!" Tsugumi cheered and then hye fived with Hanna. "Way to go, girl!"

"Th-thank you." Hanna said and blushed.

"Tsugumi, did you get the psychic creatures?"

"Yes, Rad." the blonde girl said and showed the four psychic creatures which the chosen duelists had lost in the last month. "I haven't recovered them all, so I guess that the rest must be in their decks."

"Good job! Now let's go home!" Rad said.

Hanna then turned her head to the hole in the sand and saw that Tabitha woke up and was trying to rise up from it.

"You guys should go, I'll catch up with you later." Hanna said.

"No, Hanna, it's time for us all to go back." Rad replied.

"I'm not going anywhere!" the blue haired girl said and walked to the pit where the angry witch was staring at her like a defeated predator who was still thinking of killing its prey.

"I just gave you a direct order, Hanna! Listen, I don't have time for insubordonations. Either you come with us now and prove you really are our friend, or you stay behind and show us your true colors. Now what's it gonna be, Hanna? It's your choice." Rad said and Hanna turned to him and growled angrily. "Willl you choose to return to Tabitha's ranks or will you continue to battle with us?"

Hanna looked at Tabitha one more time and the powerless witch was returning her the angry stare. How much Hanna wished to beat her former master up and to finally put an end to her life! Everything that Tabitha once was to her was now gone. She was no more the caring adoptive mother that raised her up into the powerful duelist she was. Now the witch was nothing more than a greedy hag which had used her in order to get what she wanted. And she was about to pay the ultimate price for it... if only Rad would let Hanna do it.

"Time is running out for your decision, Hanna. Choose - will it be your heart or your oath? Friend or enemy?" Rad said.

The moon was shining with might over the beach. The sea's breeze was still chilling. It was the silence after the storm, but that silence would not last long. For a new day would come, and with it a new round of psychic creature hunting.

As the chosen duelists were heading back to the UFO, Hanna suddenly stopped from walking and stared at the sky. The image of the arrogant Tabitha who was laughing at her was still persisting in her mind.

"Grr... I didn't make the right decision!" Hanna growled.

"Don't worry, Hanna. If what you said is true, then the weakened Tabitha will lose her powers in one hour, and that's when she'll die." Rad said.

"You don't get it, Hanna said she'll lose her powers and die after an hour of not being in her castle. Since she used most of her powers to recreate her castle, it would take her a long time to recuperate, and her castle is the only place where she could be stable. That's why she never spent more than an hour in the psychic hunts." Tsugumi spoke to Rad. "If she manages to crawl back into the castle, it will be as if nothing ever happened to her."

"Still, I don't want any of my friends to stain their hands with that monster's dark blood." Rad replied.

"Sometimes I wonder why did I even choose to team up with you." Hanna said and walked on her own to the UFO, at a big distance from the chosen duelists.

"Take your time, Hanna. You will get used to our way of thinking." Rad thought.


	96. Dreadful match! Subaru VS Hakuoh!

A week had passed since Tabitha had suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of the chosen duelists and her former minion, Hanna. Since that fateful night, the witch and her minions had ceased from giving any signs of life. While everything seemed to be back to normal, the chosen duelists knew that it wasn't the end of Tabitha, for if she were to die, then their old friend Subaru would've gotten his memories back. And because of that, they still were keeping their guard up for an eventual attack. At certain times the other chosen duelists were finding themselves questioning Rad's decision of not letting Hanna to kill the witch. The price of Hanna's innocence would've meant nothing when compared to the end of the war. And still, Rad didn't want the blue haired girl to stain her hands with her former master's blood. All in all, the past couldn't have been turned back and they didn't have time to cry over spilled milk. For how much they were hoping for Tabitha to have died that night on the beach, deep down inside they were sure that she had survived and that she was waiting for them in the shadows, like a spider waiting for his prey to fall into his net.

It was a cloudy morning. The sea's waves were much stronger than the other days and nobody dared to even make a step into the water. Due to that, the beach was empty. It seemed as if everyone had deserted the place which was once full of life. However, regardless of the weather, a boy was running against the mighty wind towards the city. He was dressed in a blue jean jacket under which he was wearing a black T shirt. The boy was none other than Subaru. As he was running, he was also looking at the watch from his left hand from time to time. It was 7:50 AM.

"Oh great, I'm gonna be late again!" Subaru thought.

As he reached the city, he ran on the main road towards the mall where it would split into two different roads. There he would take the right path and head towards the school, which was five streets away. It was a pretty long path, but if he was fast enough, he would at least reach the school when it was 8:00 AM. But because he had to have some kind of tough luck, when he reached the mall and went on the right road, he tripped and fell over a trash can. The feeling of the cold iron against his body was the least appealing, especially when he was going to be late.

"Ah, God, why didn't Hanna wake me up early?" Subaru spoke to himself. "And I didn't even eat one of her delicious pancakes."

The boy got up once again and continued running as fast as his feet would allow him. Luckily for him, his bag where he kept his cards, books and MP3 player was intact. After crossing the first three streets, he took another look at the clock whose glass had cracked and saw that it was 7:57 AM. But then the sudden thought of Marcelo struck him. He realized that he had not seen his friend for more than two weeks. Also, Hanna had ceased mentioning him, almost as if he had never existed. He remembered that Marcelo and Hanna had left one night on a boat trip from which only Hanna returned. Many suspicions rose in his mind and he knew that he would have many questions to ask Hanna when he would return home. But Subaru woke up from his thoughts as he saw that he was a few feet away from the school and the schoolyard's gates were about to close.

"Wait! Don't!" Subaru yelled.

The black haired boy rushed as much as he could and went through the gates just a few seconds before they'd completely that he had successfully made it, he ran into the school and climbed the stairs until he reached the final floor, and ultimately, Hakuoh's classroom. Breathing hard after all that runing and filled with sweat and dirt, Subaru opened the door and was greeted by the shocked stares of Hakuoh and the rest of the class.

"Good... morning... Hakuoh-sa... sama... forgive me for... for being late..." Subaru said while taking deep breaths.

"It's the third time this week, mister Subaru! And no, this time I'm not forgiving you at all!" Hakuoh spoke with a harsh voice. "And from the looks of your recent grades, your interest in my course doesn't seem too high. If you keep going like this, I'm afraid that you'll be at the very bottom of not only the class, but also the school."

"Now wait a minute here! Since when did my grades and me being late decide wether or not I'm a good duelist?"

"Well, if you do not learn anything, then won't evolve as a duelist. And probably that's why you're the laughing stock of the whole school."

"Grr, I'm the laughing stock of the school because of you! You were the one who put me in this situation because I didn't want to join those 'chosen' duelists into a fairy tale quest!" Subaru said while clenching his fists.

"No, you were put into this place because of your stubborn arrogance. You, my dear Subaru, are nothing more than a spoiled brat who thinks that he's the best just because he has won a couple of duels with his 'powerful' creatures." Hakuoh calmly replied as the whole class, with the exception of Tsugumi, laughed.

"Is that so? Then I guess that facing this spoiled brat doesn't scare you, now does it?" Subaru said and took out his deck.

"Still got the guts to face me? Don't you remember how I've humiliated you the last time, dear Subaru?" Hakuoh said while showing his deck as well. "If that's the way you want it, then so be it. I'll teach you a lesson of how a true duelist fights!"

The two walked to the class' dueling table as the students gathered around them. They were all anxious to see their teacher in action once again. And most of them were also eager to see Subaru being humiliated for a second time by Hakuoh.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy Jenny!" Subaru said and Hakuoh discarded Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. "Heh, got'cha!"

"Me losing a simple creature doesn't mean you won the duel, Subaru." Hakuoh replied and drew his next card. "I charge mana and end!"

"We'll just have to see about that. I summon Dismelnia, the Aqua Shadow!"

"Huh? What's that?" Spunky asked.

"That little beauty is an update of the well-known Melnia, the Aqua Shadow. It has the same effects, but with an additional blocker effect and with 3 mana cost." Wally commented.

"Don't think that if you manage to rush me, you'll have the upper hand in the duel. My shields are waiting to be broken by your pathetic creatures." Hakuoh said. "I charge mana and end!"

"I suggest you stop talking as if you're superior to me, Hakuoh, for I will soon prove the opposite! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru said and revealed the top 3 cards of his deck, which were Terror Pit, Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet. "Cebu Aquman Jr has the same effect as Aquan Jr's Delivery, which means that all these cards now go to my hand! Ike, Dismelnia, break his shield!"

"I think that it's time to get this game started. I summon Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and return Bloody Shadow to my hand!"

"Hah, I thought you would do better, Hakuoh, but you're starting to disappoint me! I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet!"

Hakuoh showed to Subaru the cards from his hand, which were Milzam, Spirit of Miracles, Hyperspatial Guard Hole, Heaven's Gate, Hyperspatial Mother Hole and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Subaru chose to discard Milzam and then tapped a card while saying:

"Ike, Dismelnia, break another shield!"

"Very well then, I guess it's my turn. I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!" Hakuoh said. "Ike, Gregorias, suicide with Dismelnia!"

"Heh, it's time to show you the real power of my deck!" Subaru said and showed a darkness spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole!"

The card shined powerfully as the dueling table started cracking. In a matter of seconds it broke in two. Then a red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword appeared behind Subaru and roared. Hakuoh made a step back as Subaru spoke to him:

"I summon Volg Thunder! With his effect I will put the top cards of your deck into your graveyard until you got 2 creatures into your graveyard this way!"

Hakuoh watched with shock how the cards from the top of his deck were easily falling into his graveyard one by one. The first one was Hyperspatial Dravita Hole, the second was Super Spark, the third was Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit, the fourth was Terror Pit, the fifth was Hyperspatial Shiny Hole, and finally, the sixth was Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia. Hakuoh had lost some important cards from his deck, and all due to a simple demon command psychic creature. For the first time in his life he was actually being scared of Subaru.

"Oh, but wait, it isn't over yet! With Raiden Hole's effect I'll destroy Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet and also summon Thunder Tiger!" Subaru said and a black armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes appeared behind him and roared towards his opponent. "Heh, I end for now!"

"You will need more than a lizard and a cat to defeat me! I cast Hyperspatial Mother Hole, summon Syrius, Firmament Elemental from my hand and also Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit from my hyperspatial zone!"

"Then it's over!" Subaru said as the two psychic creature cards from his table shined with a bright purple light and the two creatures united into one giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword. "Psychic Link! I summon Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!"

"W-w-what's that creepy thing?" Spunky asked while trembling.

"Amazing! This thing might actually prove to be a challenge for Hakuoh-sama! ...If only Syrius wouldn't be there to block it." Wally said.

"And now I summon Thunder Tiger, Wolf Blade and destroy Syrius, Firmament Elemental!" Subaru said and Hakuoh's angel command blew up. "Ike, Volg Tiger, attack and discard a card from his hand!"

Hakuoh discarded Hyperspatial Guard Hole and then the blonde boy saw that Subaru's Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet reappeared behind him, making him discard his last card, Heaven's Gate, as well.

"Huh? But how come?" Hakuoh asked.

"When you discard a card due to Volg Tiger's effect, I will summon a creature with cost less than the discarded card from my graveyard for free!" Subaru said and gave his teacher a mean grin. "Ike, Volg Tiger, double break his shields!"

"Not so fast there! Shield trigger, I cast Super Spark, tap all his creatures!"

"Heh, tough luck."

"Then, shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Volg Tiger!"

"What the... I send one psychic cell back to the hyperspatial zone and flip the other one back to Volg Thunder. Don't worry, Hakuoh, my beast will be back!"

"On the contrary, Subaru, it will stay there for good! I summon Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and with his effect I take back my other Gregorias to my hand and summon him as well! Ike, Ashliger, destroy Cebu Aquman Jr! Cheval, break his shield!"

"Amazing, Hakuoh-sama has made his comeback!" Spunky exclaimed.

"Indeed he has. His blockers are truly hard to defeat, but what concerns me is the fact that Subaru might have some ace hidden in his sleeves and that he might use it sooner than we expect." Wally replied.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma! And then, surprise, Hakuoh-'sama'. I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! With his effect I'll destroy Jenny and you must destroy one of your creatures as well!" Subaru said.

"I destroy one Gregorias!" Hakuoh said.

"Ike, Thunder Tiger, break his final shield!"

"Block the attack, Gregorias!" .

"Volg Thunder, break his final shield!"

"You really should know when to give up, Subaru! Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Volg Thunder! Well, have you considered surrendering? This is my final offer!"

"Hah, as if I'm that stupid to give up."

"Well, you really are stupid, for you don't know what will hit you! I summon Milzam, Spirit of Miracles and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight! Ike, Ashliger and Cheval, break his shields!"

"That's it, there's no possible way Subaru can win now! Hakuoh-sama has pulled out one of his most powerful blockers!" Spunky said.

"I'm afraid you're terribly mistaken, my friend. Look!" Wally said while staring at the glowing purple hand of Subaru. "Oh no, it's the card I feared he would use!"

Subaru suddenly took a card from his hand and placed it on his Thunder Tiger, Wolf Blade card with the grace of a darkness duelist. The card shined powerfully and filled the room with a bright purple light as a red winged and yellow skinned goat demon which was wielding a long and sharp purple sword appeared behind Subaru and roared.

"What in the name of heavens is that thing?" Hakuoh asked as he saw a dark cloud come from the demon and devour both his and Subaru's creatures.

"This, my teacher, is your doom! Meet Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons! When Ballom Hunter is summoned, he destroys all creatures, except Hunters. In other words, you're finished!" Subaru spoke with a triumpant voice. "Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons, totomeda!"

The demon rised its sword and aimed it at the scared Hakuoh. In the next moment, Hakuoh was flying in the air with blood coming out of his body. He landed on a bench all hurt and the teachers rushed to him. Subaru calmly packed his cards and walked towards the door.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, you teacher killer?" Billy shouted after Subaru.

"He asked for it and received it. Now that he's finally been taught a lesson, I believe that I've passed this course with A+, so I bid you all farewell." Subaru replied while not even turning back to the others.

The black haired boy left the classroom without even thinking twice. He ignored both the revolted shouts and encouraging cheers which were resounding from it. It was over, he had managed to pass the Duel Masters summer school course, he had become a better duelist, but had he managed to find out more about himself? Had he managed to find out what he had forgotten? The answer was no. Those questios were still unresolved, and it seemed that no matter how much he would duel, he would never find the answers he was seeking. But as he reached the stairs, he heard a girl voice call his name. Subaru turned and saw Tsugumi running to him.

"Oh, it's you!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Subaru, where are you going?" Tsugumi asked.

"I... really don't know. But I'm not standing around here anymore, that's for sure."

"Well then, how about you come over at my place?"

"Your place? Hehe, well, Tsugumi, I'd like to, but Hanna is all alone at our beach house and..."

"Hanna? Well, you can bring her with you. I really don't mind."

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle, the building had finally been repaired from all its damages. Outside the castle, on the beach, Tabitha was sitting in the middle of an army of stone statues which were created by herself. Even though it was really cold and the rain was about to begin in any minute, the witch didn't seem to be affected. She was standing still, almost as if she was a statue as well. But then she opened her fierce eyes and moved her hands above her head. Then she created a purple laser ball with the size of a basket ball and casted it upon a row of statues, blowing them up to smithereens. The witch yelled loudly as she kept throwing laser balls at the other statues as well. When there were only ten statues left, she created a sword made of darkness energy and attacked each statue, decapitating or cutting off various body parts as fast as she could. As the final statue was eradicated, the witch made the sword disappear and fell on her knees while taking deep breaths, being unaware that Dani, Tobey and Eddy were seeing her from the castle.

"Hahaha, hohoho, Tabitha-sama looks a little 'testy' today, huh?" Dani laughed.

"Do you blame her? The chosen duelists got away with our psychic creatures after the last battle, remember?" Tobey replied.

Then they heard some footsteps behind them and turned around to see Marcelo. The man spoke to them with a frustrated voice:

"Any of you ladies are going to do any work today or are you going to stand around and chat with one another?"

"What are you smoking there, Marcelo?" Tobey replied.

"It's your fault that we lost those psychic creatures, so why don't you do something useful and start some dueling training?" Marcelo continued.

"Just when we had something really good to gossip about." Dani said and then left the room along with Tobey and Eddy.

"Useless fools." Marcelo thought and then turned his sight to the angry Tabitha. "This whole 'war' is lasting much longer than I've expected. Now Tabitha will most certainly want to go back and hunt for even more psychic creatures. If that's so, then we'll never be able to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta to this world! I have to somehow convince her that we are ready for attack, and maybe then she'll finally come to her senses and go after those orbs from that cursed school! And then there's also that traitorous Hanna. Hm... actually, she could prove to be much more useful than I've thought. Marcelo, you're a genius!"

A few hours had passed since that incident. It was 3 PM and the sky was still cloudy with no rain to cry upon the land. The city was finally showing signs that it was populated when people started going to the shops and offices. But still, the streets weren't overcrowded since the weather was cold, a little too cold for summer.

At Kokujo's UFO, Subaru and Hanna were both sitting in front of its main door and waiting. The long haired boy had rung the door bell twice and they still didn't receive any response. When they thought that nobody was home, the door suddenly opened by itself, almost as if a ghost was greeting them into a haunted house. Hanna was a bit scared, but she still followed Subaru into the UFO. When Subaru found a switch and turned on the lights, an 'explosion' filled the corridor along with colored paper and glitter. Then they saw Tarja, Rad, Edo, Sora and Tsugumi shouting 'Surprise!'.

"Eh? What's the meaning of this?" Hanna asked.

But right after she finished her sentence, Edo quickly grabbed Subaru's right hand and started throwing him in the air with the help of Rad, Sora and Tarja.

"Suby is my best friend

Woopee, woopee!

He's the cutest, smartest, best

Duelist, duelist!" Edo sang while throwing Subaru up in the air.

"Um, Edo?" Subaru tried to speak.

"I'm throwing him a secret

Party, party!

And he'll get back his

Memories, memo..."

"EDO!" Subaru yelled and then they all stopped throwing him in the air, making the long haired boy have a hard landing on the metallic floor.

"Yes, Suby?" Edo asked with an innocent look on his face.

"Tsugumi said we should throw a party to celebrate Subaru's victory!" Tarja said and then whispered to Hanna's ear "And your victory against Tabitha."

"This party is all for you two!" Rad added.

"And we even got cake!" Edo said while starting to slice a chocolate cake with raspberries and whip cream.

"V-very nice of you guys. Especially... the way you greeted us." Subaru said while rubbing his hurt butt.

"Also, we've brought you two some special gifts." Tsugumi said and opened two small boxes.

The blonde girl walked first to Subaru and put a bracelet with the mark of the darkness civilisation on his left hand. Then she gave him a sly smile to which he replied with a shy blush. Then Tsugumi walked to Hanna and took out a necklace with a dragon head. The blonde girl put the necklace on the blue haired girl's neck as Hanna was sweating nervously, not knowing what to do in that situation.

"What's this?" Hanna asked.

"It's an expensive necklace." Tsugumi replied.

"Yeah, we all put our spare money together to buy both gifts." Sora added.

"And we even have the empty pockets to prove it!" Rad said.

"So when are we going to eat the cake?" Edo asked while drooling.

Subaru and Hanna exchanged stares of confusion while sweating together and wondering what to do. Tsugumi got a bit worried and made a step towards them while asking:

"What's the matter? Don't you guys like these presents?"

"Oh no no, we love them!" Subaru replied.

"Yeah, they're very... pretty." Hanna added.

"It's just that... I didn't expect to get anything from you guys." Subaru continued.

"And, actually... I've never had a present in my entire life." Hanna spoke with a rather sad voice.

"You can't be serious! What about your birthday? You never got anything?" Tarja asked.

"Um... no..." Hanna shyly replied and then turned to Subaru. "So what does one do in a situation like this?"

"Well, you say 'thank you'." Subaru said.

All of a sudden, tears started falling from Hanna's eyes as she thanked everybody for the presents and suddenly hugged Tsugumi.

"Thank you..." Hanna murmured.

Words could not describe the happiness which the blue haired girl was feeling. For the first time in her life she actually felt that somebody out there truly cared for her. And even if that somebody was Tsugumi, the girl whom she hated for 'stealing' Subaru, she had managed to put aside her hard feelings for her at last.

"Oh, it's nothing. That's what friends do." Tsugumi happily replied.

"Friends? So you consider me... your friend?" Hanna asked while letting go of the blonde girl. "After all I did to you and Subaru, you still consider me your friend?"

"Oh, don't worry, I've forgotten about that a long time ago."

"Now come on, this isn't the time to get all red." Sora suddenly broke their emotional moment.

"Yeah, it's time to get shaken!" Edo added while showing a pintail and a drawing of Deathliger, Lion of Chaos. "I've got Suby's favorite game - pin tail on the Deathliger! Who wants to be first?"

"Eh? Since when was that my favorite game?" Subaru asked.

"Come on, don't be such a girl, pin tail that Deathliger!" Rad said and covered Subaru's eyes with a scarf.

And so they all partied and had fun. Subaru didn't manage to pin tail the Deathliger, but he did manage to pin tail Rad and Edo, much to their dismay. Afterwards they played truth or dare and the girls dared the boys some really nasty stuff: from declaring themselves idiots to eating bugs, and utlimately to stripping naked. Then they had a drinking contest which was easily won by Rad and Sora. The first to fail it were Subaru, Tsugumi and Hanna, since they weren't used to alcohool. They also played virtual games which were ultimately won by the video game expert, Edo. Afterwards they had a small dancing party where they tried to show off many dancing moves, but in the end Tarja was the best dancer of them all, since she had studied music and could feel every song in order to conjuct her moves with its rythm. And ultimately, after the dance, they all ended up dueling each other, except for Tarja. They all showed their best cards and combos, making every single match enjoyable.

But as they were enjoying the time spent together, they didn't notice that time had passed fast and it was night. By 10 AM the party was over. Subaru was lying on the couch, Rad was lying on the floor, Sora was lying on the table and Edo was sleeping into a hole in the wall where he crashed in. Tarja was quietly cleaning up the mess they made from the party as Tsugumi and Hanna were sitting in front of the window and staring at the sky. The clouds had finally left their city, and without a single drop of rain on the ground. Now the full moon was free to shine upon their UFO and the town's buildings.

"Well, Hanna, how was the party?"

"It was... great, Tsugumi. I never thought that you guys were so... fun to hang out with."

"Hehe, we're one crazy team, but when it comes to make others have a good time, we do our best. And I think that Subaru also had a great time."

"He sure did. Speaking of which... Tsugumi, I know this will be hard for me, but..."

"Yes, what is it, Hanna?"

"I've been thinking alot about our past, and what you've did today left me speechless. You set aside our differences and treated me like a friend of yours. So in return... I... will give up on my crush for Subaru."

"What?" Tsugumi asked with a surprised look on her face.

"And I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to bring you two back together!" Hanna continued. "From now on, Tsugumi, we are a team! And I'll do whatever it takes to bring Subaru back to this team!"

"I'm so glad to hear that, Hanna! I'm happy that you now have another purpose in life besides bringing down Tabitha!" Tsugumi said and then spoke in her mind. "And maybe you'll soon be able to heal your scars and give up on your revenge."


	97. Decision

It was a nice summer morning. Opposed to the other day, this time the beach was full of people which were enjoying the nice summer time. The children were bathing in the water, the teens were surfing on the big waves, the girls were relaxing on the beach, everything seemed perfect. But little they knew that a few kilometers away from them, at Tabitha's castle, there was a new storm rising.

"Oh, Marcelo, exactly how do you propose we enter that school and get those orbs? Do you really think that with the psychics we have left and our team's dueling 'skills' we will be able to get past Hakuoh and those chosen duelists?"

"I have developed just the plan for that task, Tabitha-sama. Leave everything to me!"

Marcelo laughed evily as the witch stared at him, unimpressed, while taking a drink from her glass of wine.

Meanwhile, at the school, everyone was getting ready for their next classes. At Hakuoh's classroom, Edo and Tsugumi were chatting with Hanna while Rad and Sora were trying to convince the others that she was a new student.

"So why was she here again?" Edo asked.

"Hakuoh-sama insisted that we bring her with us, even if she's not a student, since she's now part of our team and she also has the right to know our plans." Tsugumi explained.

"Ooh, so she's not our maid anymore?"

Edo's response made both Hanna and Tsugumi sweat and get angry at the same time. When he didn't expect it, the two girls punched him in the face at the same time and threw him away. The brown haired boy ended up making a hole in the wall and with half of his body inside the other classroom. When Edo opened his eyes, he saw something shiny on the floor.

"Oh, look, I found a penny!" Edo exclaimed and grabbed the small coin.

Later that morning, when the bells rang and everyone were in their classes, ready for the courses to begin, it seemed that Hakuoh was the only one who didn't come to his class. Everyone had waited for more than half an hour and was worried. But then, the door opened and Hakuoh made his appearence alongside the apprentice.

"Good morning, class!" Hakuoh said.

"Good morning, teacher!" the students replied and got up from their seats.

"This week I will be busy, so there will be no classes. But I require the following to assist me in my work: Rad, Sora, Edo, Tsugumi and Hanna. The rest... will have the whole week off and no homework, except for dueling and having fun!"

The class' response was a huge cheer as they all ran out of the classroom, except for the chosen duelists and Hanna. When they were sure that nobody was left, the chosen duelists walked to Hakuoh as the apprentice opened the door to their secret room.

"Why did you give them the whole week off, Hakuoh-sama? Is there something wrong going on?" Rad asked.

"Actually, we might be in danger." Hakuoh replied and the chosen duelists and Hanna got shocked.

"The energies of the five civilisation orbs are becoming more and more uncontrollable. We've tried our best, but they can't be held under control anymore." the apprentice added and showed them the tube where the light civilisation orb was fueling the computers from the secret room. "As you can see, the more the yellow light shines, the more energy it releases."

"So what does that mean?" Tsugumi asked.

"It means that Devil Diabolos Zeta is getting closer and closer to our world. Tabitha must be knowing this as well. Now she most likely will try to capture the orbs, so you must protect them at all costs!" Hakuoh spoke with a serious voice.

"Tabitha is after those orbs? Great, I'll finally have a chance to defeat her once and for all! And this time Rad and the rest won't stop me!" Hanna thought.

"But how will we protect them when we don't even know where they are?" Sora asked.

"Don't worry, my child, we will show you the places where we've hidden the other four orbs." the apprentice said.

After an hour of making the tour of the school, the chosen duelists and Hanna saw that the orbs were all cleverly hidden by Hakuoh and the apprentice. The fire orb was hidden in a safe from Hakuoh's office, the water orb was hidden in the school's aquarium, in a treasure chest, the nature orb was hidden in a flower pot and the darkness orb was hidden in the basement, in a random wooden crate. Those were the ideal places for most of the orbs, since nobody would suspect them to be hidden there. Now that the chosen duelists knew where the orbs were hidden, they were finally able to fulfill their mission and guard them from Tabitha and her minions.

The bell announced the beginning of the break and the chosen duelists and Hanna went outside to eat something. But as they were about to leave the schoolyard, Hanna senced something strange and told them that she would come later. The blue haired girl then turned back and searched the schoolyard. She had a bad feeling, as if someone was spying on her. When she was all alone between the trees and bushes, she spoke loudly:

"Show yourself, whoever you are!"

"Surprise!" a voice replied and Marcelo suddenly poped out from one of the bushes, scaring Hanna a bit.

"Marcelo, what are you doing here?" Hanna said while making a step back.

"Thanks for coming, Hanna. I was a little worried you might forget where you come from. So, how is it like being a traitor?"

"You sniveling coward, you're no better than me when it comes to loyalty!"

"Please forgive my rudeness, I don't know what came over me. You know, I too have become rather disheartened by Tabitha."

"I've had enough of your games!"

"I agree with you that Tabitha has failed to prove herself as a leader. Join me and together we can bring Tabitha down."

"No deal, Marcelo!" Hanna spoke straight to the point and turned around, ready to leave.

"You're a fool if you think you can defeat her with the help of those pathetic chosen duelists!" Marcelo said and made Hanna change her mind about leaving.

Meanwhile, Edo was looking for Hanna into the schoolyard. He was sent by the other chosen duelists to bring her, for they didn't know what kind of pizza she liked. After a few minutes of searching, Edo stumbled upon Hanna and Marcelo. The brown haired boy hid behind a tree and listened to their conversation.

"Well then, here's a simple question: have you considered returning to your comrades?" Marcelo asked.

"What? Back to those lunatics?" Hanna replied with disgust in her voice.

"Yes, and may I suggest that your chances of overthrowing Tabitha are greater from within."

"No way! Only a fool with a deathwish would return to stand before Tabitha. And trust me, Marcelo, I for one am not a fool!"

"Here's a simple sollution: bring Tabitha some 'trophy' from the chosen duelists and I'm sure all will be forgiven."

"Trophy you say?"

"Something like, I don't know, a pass card and information about where the five civilisation orbs are hidden, perhaps? It's just a thought."

"No!" Hanna spoke straightly once again as Marcelo turned around and started walking away.

"There's no need to hurry, Hanna, take your time. And when you decide, you can tell me your decision... back at Tabitha's castle." Marcelo said and disappeared between the trees.

Hanna stared at the ground and clenched her fists for a moment and then walked towards the school building. Edo stared at her with a surprised look on his face and murmured:

"Man, what was that all about? I gotta tell the others."

Meanwhile, Marcelo walked out of the schoolyard with ease since everyone remembered him as their school mate and he didn't seem the least suspect. When he got out, he got face to face with Tabitha which was sitting with her arms crossed.

"How did it go?" Tabitha asked.

"Everything was perfect, the seed has been planted!" Marcelo spoke, triumphantly.

"Your dramatic skills are pretty impressing, but do you think you convinced her that by joining forces with you she can overthrow me?"

"I do, Tabitha-sama! I can only imagine how shocked she will be if she finds out that everything is just a clever plan to bring her back to your side."

And so, the bell rang and announced the ending of the break. All students got back into their classrooms and the corridors were empty. Hanna was walking thourgh the corridor of the first floor while staring at her Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg and Master Lupia, Temporal Wing cards. Then, all of a sudden, she saw an old man dressed in robes approaching her. It was the apprentice.

"What's wrong, my child? Is something bothering you?" the apprentice asked.

"Uh, nothing's wrong. I better be going now." Hanna replied and walked towards the stairs as the old man stared at her.

"Poor child, she is haunted by her own demons and she can't defeat them." the apprentice thought.

As she was approaching the stairs, Hanna saw an empty room filled with dueling tables. She changed her way and entered it. Then she stopped in front of a table and put her deck on it. As the blue haired girl was staring at her own deck, she reflected upon Marcelo's offer.

"Why now? Why am I doubting myself?" Hanna said as she remembered the party which the chosen duelists had thrown for her the other day. "That strange feeling I had when I was with them..."

In the next moment, Hanna hit the table and made her cards spread on it. Then the girl screamed and fell on her knees with tears falling from her eyes.

Later that day, after all the students left the school, Rad, Sora, Tsugumi, Hakuoh and the apprentice were in the secret control room. After they had secured all the entrances, they were all thinking of what extra security system they should add to protect the five orbs. But then, all of a sudden, Edo rushed into the room, saying:

"Guys, I saw Marcelo in the schoolyard earlier this day!"

"What are we waiting for? Come on, let's go get him!" Tsugumi said.

"Hey, hang on a second, Tsugumi, Hanna made him go away. Hanna's my hero!" Edo said and blushed.

"You are one twisted guy, Edo..." Tsugumi replied and sweated.

"What's wrong with me having a hero, huh?"

"Haha, like Hanna is a hero." Rad laughed, but then she looked at her left as she saw Hanna enter the room. "Oh, Hanna, we were just... talking about you."

"I hope it was all good." Hanna said.

"Don't play dumb with us! Edo told us you drove out Marcelo. Way to cover our backs, Hanna..." Sora spoke with a harsh voice to the girl wearing a red kimono.

"Oh, that... Yeah, right."

"By the way, Hanna, didn't Marcelo ask you to bring one of our pass cards back to Tabitha's castle? What's up with that?" Edo asked.

"Don't tell me you're about to double cross us!" Rad exclaimed.

"Did you hand over a pass card to him, Hanna?" Sora questioned the blue haired girl.

"Uh, no. D-d-don't be ridiculous!" Hanna replied and turned her back to the others while sweating.

"But you do admit you saw him in the schoolyard, right?" Rad commented.

"I just knew this would happen!" Sora added.

"Hold your horses, guys!" Tsugumi interfered and everyone turned their sights to her. "Let's not jump to any conclusions! Hanna is on our side, remember? And don't forget, she's innocent unless she's proven guilty!" the girl said as she walked to the accused one. "Ok, Hanna, help me out and explain what's going on! Because if you don't, you'll be going under arrest for betrayal. And right now you look pretty guilty."

"Guilty, huh? I don't think it matters what I say because you've already convicted me. But thanks for trying, Tsugumi."

"That is not true!"

"Please let's face facts, I'm much different than you." Hanna said and then turned to the others. "I was raised by Tabitha and I don't apologize for that. I've tried my best to understand how you and the others think, but I must admit it was a failed experiment."

"No one said you didn't, we just want to know the truth!" Tsugumi replied.

"But you can't handle the truth!" Hanna said and Tsugumi stepped back while sweating.

"I say that's enough. Hanna, I think it's high time you explained yourself." Hakuoh said.

Suddenly, the alarm resounded and on a computer screen the image of Dani, Tobey and Eddy entering the schoolyard appeared.

"Huh? But how did they get past our security system?" Rad asked.

"That doesn't matter! Guys, you go and take care of them!" Hakuoh replied and the chosen duelists and Hanna rushed outside.

Outside, Dani, Tobey and Eddy were about to climb the school's stairs when the doors opened and they saw the chosen duelists and Hanna.

"Hahaha, ready or not, here we come!" Dani said and took out his deck.

"I hope you brought a parachute, because you're going down!" Rad replied and took out his deck as well.

And so the duels began. It was Rad VS Dani, Edo VS Tobey and Tsugumi VS Eddy. As they were all dueling, Hanna heard something familiar and turned to the trees. There she saw Marcelo waiting. The blue haired girl rushed towards him and Sora noticed what she was doing. As the green haired girl was about to follow her, a small and unnoticed beam hit her and made her faint into some , Hanna had reached Marcelo and was discussing once again with him.

"Have you made your decision?" Marcelo asked.

"I have, Marcelo. I think I'll stay here with guys I can trust." Hanna replied and showed her deck.

"You disappoint me, and you'll live to regret your decision!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Hanna, I fully understand your desire for revenge against Tabitha."

"You don't understand anything about me, Marcelo. I'll get my revenge because I have the tools for it." Hanna said as two dueling tables came out of the ground. "Now it's time to crush you, you pathetic snake!"

"You play a tough game." Marcelo replied as he took out his deck. "But why are you resisting my offer? I too am a duelist who hates Tabitha, but I can't bring her down all by myself. I need you, Hanna!"

"Just shut up already! Duel start!"

Meanwhile, at the other duels from the schoolyard, it seemed that the chosen duelists were having the upper hand.

"Psychic Link! Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord!" Rad said and a giant red metallic dragon with very sharp claws and a bird-like mouth appeared behind him and destroyed Dani's Aqua Guard, Rikabu's Screwdriver and Rothus, the Traveller. "It's time to burn you down for good, Dani! Gaial King Dragon, break all of his shields!"

"Noo!" Dani yelled and took cover as the dragon threw an immense fire beam upon all of his shields.

"Awaken! Lightning Five Star!" Tsugumi said and a golden armored angel with two red wings on its head and a laser gun its hands appeared behind Tsugumi. "Lightning Five Star makes all my creatures with 500 in their power win all battles, so your big guys are doomed! Ike, Lucky Tulk, destroy Danjoul, the Awakened War Demon! Pure Arial, take down Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader! Ultimus, finish off Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing! And now, Lightning Five Star, double break his shields!"

"Eddy not like you! Blonde girl meanie!" Eddy said as Lightning Five Star fired a laser and broke two of his shields.

"I summon Aqua Sniper! Send Rumble, Temporal Sage and Franz the 1st, Ice Fang back to your hand!" Edo said and Aqua Sniper roared and slashed Tobey's creatures with one of its arms. "Ike, Crystal Axe, double break his shields!"

"You'll pay for this!" Tobey exclaimed and took cover.

Meanwhile, at the duel between Hanna and Marcelo, it seemed that Hanna was also having the upper hand.

"I summon Magical Dragon Babelginus and destroy it! Then with Dark Lupia's effect I destroy your Dias Zeta, the Temporal Suppressor! Then, with Magical Dragon Babelginus' effect I revive Bolshack NEX and summon Cocco Lupia from my deck as well! Ike, Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, destroy his Romanoff Zeta, Temporal Demonic Eye! Hah, it seems like you're pretty unlucky today, Marcelo." Hanna spoke, arrogantly.

"Heh, it seems so." Marcelo replied and then looked at the other duels. "It looks like your friends are winning. Wouldn't this be the perfect time for you to bring Tabitha a little present?"

"I've had enough of you! Come on, do your turn and let's finish this!"

"Why are you angry at me? I only wish to form an alliance with you. We both want Tabitha destroyed, but why do you insist on working against me?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! STOP YAMMERING!" Hanna yelled.

"The decision is yours, Hanna. You can either become soft and forget about your glorious future or you can join me, and if you decide the latter, it is only a matter of time until we drink from the cup of victory! You must choose, but I suggest you choose wisely." Marcelo said and Hanna sobbed as she remembered once again the party from the other day. "Your childish whining annoys me, Hanna. You are a powerful duelist, NOW ACT LIKE ONE!"

Hanna looked at him with anger coming from her wet eyes. The girl left her dueling table and ran towards him. In the next moment, she pushed Marcelo so hard that he had a hard landing on the ground. Then the blue haired girl turned from him and ran towards the chosen duelists.

"Why you..." Marcelo barely spoke.

As the duels were taking place, Hanna ran through the battle fields, avoided the creature attacks and broken shield shards until she reached Tsugumi. Then she quickly put her hand in the blonde girl's pockets and snatched a pass card out of it. Afterwards she turned around and ran away.

"Hanna..." Tsugumi spoke, shocked.

"Hahaha, I don't believe it, it worked. It actually worked! Hanna bought it!" Marcelo laughed and then rubbed his butt. "Ouch, ouch. And don't think I'll forget about your moment of insubordonation, Hanna!"

As she was approaching the trees where Marcelo was hiding, Hanna took off the necklace which Tsugumi gave her at the party. She threw it on the ground while speaking in her mind:

"I don't know if this is the right choice, but I have made my decision. I must do everything in my power to bring Tabitha down, and I swear I'll crush her personally!"

As Hanna reached Marcelo, he contacted Tabitha through his cell phone and a red portal appeared in front of them. Marcelo entered it first, but Hanna turned around and looked between the trees at the chosen duelists for one last time.

"Good bye, guys, and thanks. I'll never forget you." Hanna said and then followed Marcelo into the portal.

Dani, Tobey and Eddy packed their decks up as well and ran away from the schoolyard. As Rad and Edo were helping Sora wake up, Tsugumi walked to the necklace, took it in her hands and said:

"I can't believe this! Hanna!"

The blonde girl fell on her knees and yelled to the sky as loud as she could:

"WHY, HANNA, WHYYY?"

And so, the sun was setting, giving the crimson red sky a sour look, almost as sour as the 'victory' that the chosen duelists had had that day. They had won a battle, but lost a friend.


	98. Despair

An hour after Hanna ran off from the school with Tsugumi's pass card, the chosen duelists had returned to the control room where Hakuoh and the apprentice were waiting. They had seen everything through their surveillance cameras, but there was nothing they could say. They all looked suggestively at one another until the emotions finally bursted out.

"How could Hanna do this to us? That liar! That creep!" Rad shouted and kicked the wall.

"I just knew it! I told you guys from the beginning that she was a traitor, but would you listen to me? Noo." Sora spoke, sourly.

"I believed her, I trusted her, she was my hero... HOW COULD SHE DO THIS TO MEEE?" Edo cried loudly.

Tsugumi was trying to hold back her tears, the apprentice was sitting silent and indifferent, as if nothing happened, and Hakuoh was observing everyone else. The blonde boy then spoke to the others:

"Ok, guys, I think that's enough. It can't be helped. I was the one which decided to greet Hanna into our team. I was hoping we could show her that there are other ways in life, not only the path of evil, but I guess that she has made her final decision. If there's anyone to blame, I suggest you all blame me."

"No, it isn't your fault, Hakuoh-sama. It's all Hanna's fault, and she will pay!" Rad replied with a vengeful tone in his voice.

Hearing those words from her friends was enough to make Tsugumi leave the room. Rad tried to stop her, but Sora didn't let him go. Tsugumi ran out of the school and headed towards the beach as the sun was setting ahead of her.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle, the witch was rejoicing her victory. Hanna and Marcelo were kneeling in front of the throned witch and waiting for new orders.

"Hahahaha, it's good to have you back with us, Hanna. And thank you for bringing the pass card and the locations of the five orbs with you." Tabitha said and Hanna got up from her knees and took out Tsugumi's pass card from her kimono's pockets.

"Let me take a closer look at that card to see if it's not a fake." Marcelo said and was about to take the pass card from Hanna's hand, but the blue haired girl stopped him with her other hand.

"Don't worry, it's the real deal, now back off!" Hanna spoke to him, agreesively.

"Huh? Why so defensive? We're on the same side."

"Yeah, I know."

"Marcelo, stand down! Hanna, bring the pass card to me!" Tabitha ordered and Marcelo made a few steps back as Hanna walked to the throne.

"Here is the pass card, Tabitha-sama." Hanna said and handed it to the witch.

"It looks pretty real to me. I must say, good job, Hanna!"

"Thank you very much, Tabitha-sama."

"Haha, take some time off, you've earned it." Tabitha said and then turned to Marcelo. "Ah, at last we have what we need. Marcelo, tell the others to get ready, tomorrow night we are attacking the school!"

"As you wish, Tabitha-sama."

A few kilometers away from the castle, at the city's beach, Tsugumi was sitting on the sand all alone, watching the sun set and holding Hanna's necklace in her hands. It was the second time she had lost a close one. First Subaru lost his memories again, now Hanna betrayed them. It seemed that no matter what Tsugumi tried, she couldn't protect the ones she cared for. The girl looked at the necklace for a moment and let a tear fall on it.

"How could she?" Tsugumi said as she remembered the moment when she offered the necklace to Hanna at the party.

And so another day had ended and another night had also passed. As morning came at Tabitha's castle, everyone was already awake and ready for work. That night they would finally have their revenge upon the chosen duelists for having their castle attacked on and them humiliated. At the training room, Dani, Tobey, Eddy and Marcelo were giving their best shots at dueling.

"Awaken! Romanoff Zeta Wizard, the Demon Awakened! Ike, Romanoff Zeta Wizard, triple break his shields!" Marcelo ordered and two cards from the top of his deck fell into his graveyard, the cards being End of the World, Dark Divine Dragon and Invincible Abyss. "Perfect! I cast Invincible Abyss and destroy all your creatures!"

"Not good for Eddy." Eddy said and backed off as his Quatro Fang and Baban Ban Ban got destroyed.

"Escobalt Zeta, King Dogfighter of Anihilation, totomeda!"

Eddy was thrown against the wall and Marcelo packed up his cards. Then he rubbed his hands victoriously while heading towards the door and saying:

"I'll be going out for a while, I want the rest of you to keep training!"

As Marcelo left the room, Dani and Tobey ceased their duel as Dani spoke with a frustrated voice:

"Just who does he think he is, ordering us around?"

"And just where is he going, anyway?" Tobey added, but then he noticed that Hanna was waiting outside and followed Marcelo a few moments after he left. "It's Hanna…"

As Marcelo was walking down the hall, he heard some footsteps approaching him from behind. When he turned to see who it was, he suddenly got caught into Hanna's grasp. The girl then whispered to his ear as she pulled him to the stairs:

"I've got a question for you."

The whole scene was witnessed by a spying Tobey. The boy had panicked and headed straight towards Tabitha's throne chamber, where he informed the witch of what he had seen. Tabitha thought of the situation for a few moments and then spoke to her minion:

"Hanna attacked him?"

"That's right, she dragged him outside, Tabitha-sama." Tobey replied with worry.

"Haha, I see. If they're at each other's throats, well then, we'll just have to let them settle it." Tabitha said with a passive voice.

"But, Tabitha-sama…"

"It's none of your concern either, now get back to training! Who told you you can take a break?"

"I-I'm terribly sorry, Tabitha-sama!"

Meanwhile, outside on the beach, Hanna and Marcelo were discussing in a place where nobody could see them, right under the shadow of the castle which was lit by the rising sun.

"I want some answers, Marcelo!"

"What's this about, Hanna?"

"How are we going to dethrone Tabitha? You better not lie to me!"

"Ah, yes, hahaha. You didn't have to drag me out here to get information, I'll gladly tell you everything." Marcelo said and then took out a psychic creature card from his pockets. "This guy is Diabolos Zeta, Anihilation Awakened. This creature is one of the legendary psychic creatures which brought havoc to the creature world thousands of years ago. He had gone as far as to possess the powers of all 5 civilizations and evolve into a new creature known as Devil Diabolos Zeta. This creature possesses enormous power, and if it were used in a duel, it would help its owner to win the duel faster than he or she would think! That card, Devil Diabolos Zeta, is in Tabitha's hands, and she plans to summon it into our world with the power of the five civilization orbs. My plan is the following: if I could somehow manage to strike a deal with Devil Diabolos Zeta, then we could gain the creature's ultimate power and finally be able to destroy Tabitha!"

"Now I get it! That's why you manipulated me to get that pass card – so that you can enter the school, get the orbs and summon that Zeta thing!" Hanna spoke with an angry voice.

"I had to do it… for you!"

"Do it for me?"

"Yes. You see, if you defeat Tabitha, then I know that you will take command of our team. I've always been your ally, Hanna, I just had to hide it from the others so it wouldn't get suspicious."

"Hmph." Hanna mumbled and walked back into the castle.

"Hehehe, she really is a lot dumber than she looks." Marcelo thought. "It won't be long now until we get the orbs, and then I'll finally show Tabitha who the true owner of Devil Diabolos Zeta is!"

Later that day, Rad, Sora and Tsugumi headed back at the school to plan with Hakuoh and the apprentice their next move. Hakuoh ordered them to start guarding the orbs as he and the apprentice were perfecting the new security system. They knew that a hard battle was approaching, and they had to do everything in their power to prevent Tabitha from getting the five civilization orbs. Hakuoh even tried to cancel Tsugumi's pass card access, but his computer couldn't reach it due to Tabitha's magic. The best they could do was to ensure that the witch and her minions didn't make even a step in the schoolyard.

Meanwhile, at the beach, Subaru was having a relaxing afternoon by swimming into the sea. The stronger the water he was swimming against, the better. As he was crossing wave by wave, he was reflecting at his life ever since Marcelo saved him from an imminent drown. He didn't seem to remember anything after he was humiliated by his cousin Lili and kicked out from the Geki mansion, the person which saved him was living together with another girl called Hanna, but they weren't together, nor were they siblings. Even more curiously, Marcelo was encouraging him to get together with Hanna. Then there was the Duel Masters summer school. He decided to go there in order to find more about himself while becoming a better duelist, but that didn't happen. All that he got from that school were humiliations for being different and loneliness. But there was this one girl who kept bugging him, her name was Tsugumi, and for some reason she was looking vaguely familiar. Even though he was supposed to be in a relationship with Hanna, that Tsugumi girl was striking more than a chord into his heart. And even more strangely, whenever he was at hardships, she was there for him, always cheering him up somehow. Then there were her friends, Rad, Edo and Sora. They seemed to be the most obnoxious persons he had ever seen. Each and every one of them managed to somehow annoy Subaru beyond his limits, almost as that arrogant Hakuoh which wanted to team him up with them. But even so, there was this one thing that kept bugging Subaru, and that was what Edo told him at the beach – that he was his friend. Edo had argued with Marcelo over who was his best friend, and while Subaru didn't take the brown haired boy seriously, there was something strange about the way Edo fought with Marcelo. It seemed that he really did believe what he was saying. But why? Why would Edo state that Subaru, a boy he had never seen before, was his best friend?

Subaru woke from his thoughts as he saw that there was somebody that was waiting for him at the beach. The long black haired boy swim back to the beach while being pushed by the waves. As he reached it, he saw that the one waiting for him was Edo.

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to have some fun with my old friend." Edo replied and showed his glowing deck.

"Tsh, if it's a duel you want, then you'll have it!" Subaru said and walked to the sheet where he put his stuff.

The black haired boy took out a towel from a backpack and wiped the water off his hands, chest and hair. Then he searched in his pants' pockets and took out his dueling deck. Afterwards he turned to Edo and both decks started glowing, his with a purple light and Edo's with a blue light. Two dueling tables rose from the sand and both duelists put their decks on them.

"Heh, this will be the perfect opportunity to have my revenge for the defeat he gave me the last time we played." Subaru thought.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle, the final preparations for the battle were taking place. Dani was sharpening his metal claws, Tobey was calculating the amount of time they would need for getting each orb, Eddy was punching the walls to train his muscles, Hanna was drawing a map of the school with the exact locations of each orb, Marcelo was thinking of the speech he would give to Devil Diabolos Zeta and Tabitha was taking a bath in a magical pool. When the sun was setting, Hanna and Marcelo came to Tabitha with the drawn map.

"Tabitha-sama, here are the exact locations of the five civilization orbs." Hanna said and handed the map to the witch.

"Ah, yes, excellent! Let's see… the fire orb is hidden in Hakuoh's office, at the last floor, the water orb is hidden in the school's aquarium, at the first floor, the nature orb is hidden in the biology lab, the light orb is hidden at the last floor, in Hakuoh's class and the darkness orb is hidden in the basement." Tabitha said and then she grinned. "Perfect! Now here's my plan: since there is six of us, we have the advantage of covering the whole school. I will stay behind and destroy their defense system while the rest of you go and get every orb. Dani will go after the fire orb, Tobey after the water orb, Eddy after the nature orb, Hanna after the light orb and Marcelo after the darkness orb."

"Brilliant plan, Tabitha-sama!" Marcelo exclaimed. "But may I suggest that we make this whole operation with quickness and caution? After all, you cannot survive more than one hour outside of the castle and…"

"Hahaha, don't you worry a tiny bit about that, Marcelo. You see, this magical water is created one time per year and its effects are restoring my own powers. By the time the night falls, I will be healthy and ready for action once again! And then victory will be ours!"

Back at the beach, as the sun started setting, the duel between Subaru and Edo had begun. It was the fourth turn for Subaru and he had Drilling Squito and Maxval, Electro-Fuuma in his battle zone, while Edo had Aqua Cascade and Aqua Hulcus in his battle zone.

"I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet! Show me your hand!" Subaru said and Edo revealed the cards in his hand, which were Aqua Super Emeral, The Strong Spiral, Streaming Shaper and Aqua Jet. "Heh, I discard Streaming Shaper!"

"Grr… I hate that bi… I mean Jenny!" Edo spoke with anger. "Well, you asked for it, Suby! I cast The Strong Spiral and send Maxval back to your hand! Then I draw a card, thanks to Aqua Cascade. Ike, Aqua Hulcus, break his shield!"

"Block the attack, Drilling Squito! Heh, you think you're good at drawing? Here's my way of drawing, water boy – I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

Subaru revealed the top 3 cards of his deck, which were Ribbit NICE Hanzou, Aqua Surfer and Hyperspatial Raiden Hole. The black haired boy took Hanzou and Raiden Hole to his hand and let Aqua Surfer go to his graveyard.

"Nice draw, Suby, but that won't stop me from owning the zone!" Edo said as he placed an evolution card on his Aqua Cascade card. "I evolve Aqua Cascade into Crystal Super Paladin!"

Then the ground shook as a blue crystal centaur with four hands, two in which it held two shields and two in which it held two swords rose from the deep sea and rushed behind Edo. Subaru stared at the creature as he remembered that he and Edo had also summoned the creatures into the real world the last time they dueled as well. He also remembered that he had summoned powerful creatures like Darkness Ganveet and Ballom Hunter into the real world in his other duels as well, such as his matches against Billy and Hakuoh.

"Heh, this is about to get interesting." Subaru said with a low voice.

"Ike, Crystal Super Paladin, double break his shields!" Edo ordered and the paladin sliced two of Subaru's shields with both its swords.

"Not so fast there, Edo! Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Crystal Super Paladin!"

Two black demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and stretched themselves until they caught Edo's mighty centaur and crushed it into pieces. The brown haired boy watched how his creature got destroyed and then turned back at Subaru only to see that the boy got surrounded by a purple aura, meaning that things were getting serious.

"It's time to get this party started! I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!" Subaru said and a hole appeared in the sky, out of which a red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword descended. "With Volg Thunder's effect I'll put the top cards of your deck into your graveyard until two creatures end up in it that way."

The top cards which ended in Edo's grave were Cutie Heart, Spiral Gate and Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!).

"Then with Raiden Hole's effect I destroy Jenny and also get Thunder Tiger out!" Subaru continued and a black armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes descended from the hole in the sky as well and landed behind him while roaring towards Edo. "Heh, let's see you handle this!"

"Woah, never thought I'd face those two giants of yours, Suby, but I'll gladly accept the challenge! I summon Aqua Attack!" Edo said and a swordsman made of water appeared behind him.

"Heh, it's over! Psychic link!"

The two psychic creature cards from Subaru's table shined with a bright purple light as the two creatures united into one giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword. That was when the sun had set completely and the night had fallen upon the beach. Everything was dark and Edo could see the creepy Volg Tiger only by the rays of the full moon.

"F-freaking awesome…" Edo said while staring with fear and amazement at the demonic tiger.

"You're about to experience the wrath of my creatures, Edo Kanda! I summon Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow and Drilling Squito! Ike, Volg Tiger, attack and discard a card from his hand!" Subaru said and Edo discarded Crystal Zweilancer. "Then with Volg Tiger's effect I may summon from my graveyard a creature that costs less than your discarded creature! I summon Aqua Surfer, send Aqua Attack back to his hand! Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast, double break his shields!"

"Argh!" Edo yelled as Volg Tiger slashed two of his shields with its sword. "This is so not good!"

"Ike, Cebu Aquman Jr, break his shield!"

After the shield got broken, Edo saw that the shield shards immediately united into a card which glowed with a bright blue light. The brown haired boy immediately took it into his hand and showed it to Subaru while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Cutie Heart! Send Volg Tiger back to where it came from!"

"Tsh, I send the Thunder Tiger part back and the other side flips back into Volg Thunder!" Subaru said.

Now it was Edo's turn. As the brown haired boy was about to draw his next card, he noticed that that certain card began to glow with an even brighter blue aura than his other cards. All of a sudden, he got the image of his favorite creature, Aqua Sniper, in his mind. He remembered all the great moments he had shared with it, like the first time he got it from a booster pack. He remembered opening the booster at his school in the break.

"_Hah, you're wasting your money on booster packs!" a boy laughed._

"_Go away, that's not true!" little Edo replied as he opened the booster. "Wow, I don't believe it, Aqua Sniper!"_

Since that day, Edo grew up to be the best duelist, first in his school and later from his town. Then came the great tournaments in which he and Sniper had won all the time.

"Great and fond memories… However, we we've also been through harsh times." Edo thought as he remembered the boy that he accidentally killed while winning his final tournament. "That's when I reflected on giving up dueling, but then the apprentice came, and then we've made some new friends. We've been together for so much time, and yet it seems as if we've only met yesterday, Snipy."

Edo then woke up from his dreams and looked at the field. Subaru had Volg Tiger and Cebu Aquman tapped, and Aqua Surfer, Drilling Squito and Dismelnia, the Aqua Shadow untapped. Then he looked at his mana zone and saw that he only had six mana, and with another card from his hand he would have seven.

"Sniper would help me out, but I have only 7 mana… Depending on my last two shields isn't really promising." Edo spoke in his mind and then closed his eyes as he put his hand on the top card of his deck. "Here we GO!"

As Edo lifted the card from his deck, the blue light turned stronger and lighted the places surrounding them within the radius of a kilometer. It was almost as if it was a white night. Both Subaru and Edo were shocked of what was happening. As Edo took a peak at the card, he saw that its front side was all blue.

"Sni-Sniper, it is you, right?" Edo asked.

Then the powerful glow slowly faded away as the blue front side began to gain an image.

"Th-this is…" Edo could barely speak while looking at the card's new design.

All of a sudden, Edo noticed that the card's cost changed from 8 to 7. That was when he smiled happily and then turned to Subaru while saying:

"ALRIGHT! Let me show you something here, Suby!"

"Heh, it doesn't matter what you summon, it can't save you from the mess you're in." Subaru replied, self-confident.

"We'll see about that! I summon Aqua Naruto Surfer!" Edo shouted.

All of a sudden, a spiraled wave rose from the sea and a strange creature seemed to be riding on it with a surfboard. When the wave reached the shore, it suddenly disappeared and the creature on the surfboard flew right behind Edo. Due to the blue light they could see it perfectly. The creature was Aqua Sniper with a sharp blue armor, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard. Edo turned to him and admired the creature as it roared proudly at its enemies.

"Wow! You're… fantastic! My Snipy's all grown up!" Edo said and wiped a tear from his right eye.

"Whatever… will you do your turn now?" Subaru spoke bored.

"Oh yeah… Aqua Naruto Surfer, send Volg Thunder back to the hyperspatial zone and Deis Melnia back to Subaru's hand! Ike, Cutie Heart, destroy Cebu Aquman Jr!"

"Heh, at last you show me what you're really made of. It's time to bring down the heavy artillery, Edo, and I won't show you any mercy!"

"Bring it on, Suby! Let's have some fun!"

"I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger!" Subaru said and a demonic tiger warrior with black armor and two purple swords appeared behind him and roared. "Ike, Thunder Blade, destroy Cutie Heart!"

Thunder Blade jumped into the air and suddenly attacked the unsuspecting blue cyber virus. Before the little thing could react, it got slashed in four by the swords. Now the tension was ruling in the air. Both Subaru and Edo were staring at one another as the purple energies that Thunder Tiger, Wolf Blade was unleashing were interacting with the blue energies emanated by Aqua Naruto Surfer. You could feel the rivalry between both creatures and duelists, but even so, deep down inside they were both enjoying the match, even if Subaru wouldn't admit it.

"Ike, Aqua Surfer, break his shield!" Subaru ordered.

"My turn, I summon Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!)." Edo said and revealed his top 5 cards from his deck, which were Aqua Jet, Aqua Slash, Aqua Cascade, Aqua Surfer, Energy Stream and Aqua Attack. "With Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!)'s effect I summon Aqua Cascade and Aqua Attack for free! How do you like that, Suby? Go, Aqua Naruto Surfer, break his shield!"

"Those creatures scare me the least. Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Aqua Attack! Then I revive Cebu Aquman Jr!"

Then Subaru revealed the top 3 cards from his deck, which were Maxval, Electr-Fuuma, Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General; and then he took them all to his hand.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Maxval-Electro Fuuma and Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! I destroy Zabi Olzekia and you'll have to destroy one of your creatures as well!" Subaru said.

"I destroy… Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!)." Edo said.

"Ike, Thunder Blade, destroy Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

"Block the attack, Aqua Cascade!"

Thunder Blade aimed its swords at Aqua Naruto Surfer and jumped towards it with the intention of cutting the creature, but then the brave Aqua Cascade appeared in front of it and used both its liquid swords to protect its surfer brother. Seeing how Aqua Cascade got destroyed by the brutality of Thunder Tiger, Aqua Naruto Surfer swore that he would avenge his comrade.

"Now that the coast is clear, ike, Aqua Surfer, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered.

"Not so fast, Suby! Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send his Thunder Blade back to his hand!" Edo said and the blue surfer appeared out of nowhere and hit the tiger demon with its surfboard, making it disappear. "And now I summon Aqua Jet and draw two cards, one for Aqua Naruto Surfer and one for Aqua Jet himself! Then I summon Aqua Super Emeral! Ike, Aqua Naruto Surfer, destroy Aqua Surfer!"

"Heh, I'll let it."

"Huh? Are you nuts, Suby? Why would you do that?"

"I have my own reasons, Edo. Is that all?"

"Not at all! Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"I think I'll let that one pass as well." Subaru said and took the card from his shield to his hand.

"Huh? Why are you so generous all of a sudden?" Edo asked and scratched his head.

"That's because, dear Edo, I've won!"

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, Subaru's hand glowed with a powerful purple aura as he took a card from his hand and placed it on one of the cards from his dueling table while saying:

"Evolution! I evolve Drilling Squito into BALLOM HUNTER, LORD OF DEMONS!"

A red winged and yellow skinned goat demon which was wielding a long and sharp purple sword appeared behind Subaru and roared so loud that it shook the ground and made a part of the beach's sand be pushed in the air and fall into the water.

"M-my gosh…" Edo barely said as he watched with fear how Ballom Hunter destroyed his Aqua Super Emeral and Aqua Surfer, but also Subaru's Maxval.

"Ballom Hunter destroys all non-Hunter creatures when summoned. And since your Hunter creatures aren't blockers, it's over, Edo!" Subaru said with a cold voice. "Now you're gonna pay for what the humiliation you gave me back then!"

"S-S-Suby, c-c-can't we talk this out at a nice cup of hot chocolate?"

"NO! BALLOM HUNTER, LORD OF DEMONS, TODOMEDA!"

Edo closed his eyes and waited for the finishing blow. Ballom Hunter flew to him and aimed its sword at him. But right in the next moment, the weapon landed right in front of the chosen water duelist.

"W-why didn't you finish me off?" Edo asked and watched how Subaru was picking up his cards.

"Probably for the same reason you didn't finish me off." Subaru replied and was about to walk away and disappear in the dead of the night.

"Even though he doesn't remember anything from a certain point, he might still have some lost memory deep down inside." Edo thought.

"You know what?" Subaru said while suddenly stopping and then he turned back to Edo. "Now that I think of it, back at that duel you gave everything you had and put your whole passion in it. It's not my style to say this… but I think you're an ok guy. I can tolerate you from now on."

A smile of sudden happiness appeared on Edo's face as the brown haired boy cheerfully ran to the black haired boy. In the next moment, Edo grabbed Subaru and started throwing him in the air while singing:

"Suby is my best friend! Woopee! Woopee!"

"DON'T PUSH YOUR LUCK!" Subaru yelled and Edo let him fall on the ground.

"Aw, okay…" Edo spoke, disappointed, while watching the hurt Subaru get up.

"Son of a…"

Meanwhile, in the city, little did the citizens know that the six persons which were walking down the street were the ones which would bring their city's imminent destruction. Tabitha was leading the others with all her might to the school. Dani was anxiously waiting for the battle, Tobey was being worried by the threat which their enemy would pose, Eddy didn't seem to care about anything, Hanna was staring at Tabitha and trying to hold back her anger and desire to crush the witch, and Marcelo was plotting the perfect plan for the defeat of Tabitha once they would be in the possession of all five orbs. As they were approaching the school, Tobey walked his master and said:

"Tabitha-sama, aren't you worried that the security system might be too much even for you?"

"Don't worry yourself with useless details, Tobey. Their security system is nothing but a bug that I can squash with my powers anytime I want." Tabitha said.

"Yes, you must focus on finding the five orbs." Marcelo added.

"Do as the pyramid head says, men." Tabitha continued.

"Pyramid head? Even you, Tabitha?" Marcelo spoke with shock as Dani started laughing louder than a hyena. "Stop laughing, Dani, this is serious! Don't you realize that the chosen duelists are expecting us every minute and thinking of any kinds of traps for us? That means that while we're waiting we're wasting time!"

"There's no need to get yourself all worked up, Marcelo."

"Well, Tabitha-sama, nobody seems to be listening to me."

"You must excuse my minions, they're all giddy due to our imminent victory, and we must keep up their morale, Marcelo. I'm pretty giddy myself, pyramid head."

"MY NAME IS MARCELO! M-A-R-C-E-L-O, IS THAT SO DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER?" Marcelo yelled at the witch.

"What's that? You don't enjoy my humor?" Tabitha innocently replied.

Meanwhile, at the school, the place seemed completely deserted. The lights were all out and there was no sign of life to be found. But inside the building, Hakuoh, the apprentice and the three chosen duelists were all sitting inside the control room and watching the whole school and its surroundings on computer screens. They were all ready for the imminent threat as never before. But still, there was one thing that was bothering them. To some it didn't look that it was affecting them much, but to others it was very obvious that they were deeply hurt by it. Rad was being silent, but you could sence the fire of revenge that was burn in his eyes, Tsugumi was sitting in a corner and would sometimes take a look at the necklace from her hand, and Sora was looking at the camera while holding her fists clenched up with fury. But then the green haired girl felt a hand gently touch her right fist. She looked up and saw that it was the apprentice.

"M-master…" Sora blushed. "What are you doing?"

"I know how you feel, my child." the old man spoke. "You've tried your best to be cautious with her, but deep down inside you also trusted her and viewed her as a friend."

"I… guess you're right. But even so, this doesn't change the fact that she's a traitor!"

"I know that this is going to be difficult to ask, but I'll ask you not as a teacher, but as a parent, that you try to resolve your conflicting emotions towards her. I know that at this time what I'm saying might not make sense, but I truly believe that she was confused and had no other choice."

"She did have a choice, master! She could've stayed here with us, but…"

Before Sora could finish her sentence, the old man put his forefinger on her mouth and spoke with the warmth of a parent in his voice:

"Please, don't hold a grudge against her. This is not what I've taught you, Rad and Edo to do. I've raised you like my very own children to be heroes of good and defenders of the dueling world, not avengers of death."

"I'm sorry, master." Sora said while bowing her head in shame. "It seems that in the end we might not actually be worthy of being true chosen duelists."

"Keep in mind that even though any chosen duelist can be replaced, you're all humans and you are all prone to mistakes. But if one manages to see their mistakes and also works hard to correct them, then one is indeed worthy of being a hero." the apprentice said and Sora suddenly got back her smile.

"Thank you very much, master!"

"I'm glad to see that the little Sora that I once knew has finally returned to us."

Suddenly, the alarm set off and everyone woke up from their thoughts. They saw on a giant computer screen that Tabitha and her minions were just one street away from the school.

"This is it, guys, the moment we've been waiting for!" Rad said. "But wait a minute, where the heck is Edo?"

"That doesn't matter now, Rad. Everybody, go to your positions and be ready for battle!" Hakuoh said and everybody left the room, except for Tsugumi, because the light orb was in that room.

Rad went to Hakuoh's office to guard the fire orb, Sora went to the biology lab to guard the nature orb and Hakuoh and the apprentice went to the defense system room to operate all the weapons that they had prepared for their enemy.

Meanwhile, outside of the school, Tabitha and her minions could already see that the building was slowly becoming a battle fortress and the schoolyard a battle field. But that didn't stop the witch and her team from advancing towards their trophy. As a matter of fact, Tabitha was quite amused by what was going on.

"Hahaha, don't you just love watching those miserable morons attempting to defend themselves, pyramid head?" Tabitha laughed.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that anymore!" Marcelo replied. "How'd you like to be called egg face?" Marcelo spoke with a lower voice and started laughing.

"So why don't you share your little joke with everyone?"

Tabitha's demand stunned Marcelo for a few moments. If the witch found out that he had insulted her, he was doomed. But luckily for him, he had quickly thought of a plan to escape that situation. Marcelo turned to the others and started singing:

"I'm not wearing underwear today!"

Hanna stared at Marcelo with big eyes.

"No, I'm not wearing underwear today!" Marcelo continued.

Tobey's and Tabitha's jaws dropped as they watched him sing.

"Not that you probably care, But you got my underwear, Still nonetheless I gotta sayyyyyy… That I'm not wearing underwear todayyyyy!"

When Marcelo finished singing, Dani laughed even harder than before, so hard that he was rolling on the ground while laughing. Tobey and Eddy gave Marcelo some fake applause as he bowed down and said:

"Thank you!"

"You serious?" Hanna spoke shocked.

"Yes!" Marcelo replied and clenched his fists with excitement.

"You… are a freak." Tabitha said disgusted.

"This… is getting ridiculous." Tobey added.

A few moments later after that random moment, Tabitha and her minions were finally in front of the schoolyard's entrance. Two large metallic spikes suddenly came out of the ground and rose for two meters to the sky. Then a laser barrier appeared between those spikes, blocking Tabitha's way into the schoolyard. The witch also saw that the schoolyard was filled with laser guns and landmines. A ditch filled with lava was surrounding all the entrances to the school. Every window was covered by a metallic wall. This seemed to be the greatest challenge that Tabitha might face, but the witch didn't look the least intimidated Tabitha simply smiled and shouted:

"This is it! My loyal minions, follow me to victory!"

Tabitha created two laser balls in her hands and casted them upon the two metallic spikes, destroying them. Then she ran first into the schoolyard and made the lasers shoot at her. The others were a bit scared of seeing so many lasers and explosions, but they were sure that their leader knew what she was doing. Tabitha ran through the minefields, making each and every mine near she passed blow up behind her. Afterwards, when she saw that laser guns would appear out of nowhere, she'd first wait for them to fire, dodge their attacks and then fire a magical laser back at them, destroying them. This thing laser for almost half an hour, and the witch's minions thought for a moment that she had died. After fighting her way through, Tabitha had reached the school's power supply. With a grin on her face, the witch fired a laser and destroyed it, thus leaving the school without electric current to fuel its defense system.

"Wow, I don't believe it, Tabitha-sama actually did it!" Tobey exclaimed.

"Hahaha, it's party time!" Dani added.

Meanwhile, inside the school, Hakuoh and the apprentice were rushing back at the control room where Tsugumi was guarding the light orb.

"That Tabitha cut out our power!" Hakuoh said.

"We have no choice, Hakuoh-sama, we'll have to use the light orb to supply the building's inner defense system." the apprentice replied.

Back at the schoolyard, Tabitha used her X-ray vision and looked into the ground. When she was 100% sure that there were no landmines left, she turned to her minions and waved at them with her right hand, showing that the coast was clear. Then the witch used her powers and made the lava from the ditch turn into earth. Afterwards she made that earth from the ditch grow for one meter until the ditch was no more. With the final obstacle gone, Tabitha and her minions were finally free to enter the school. They all climbed the stairs to the front entrance and stopped in front of the doors. Tabitha took out Tsugumi's pass card and with a swift move she opened them.

"Alright, you all know what you have to do. Spread out and bring me the orbs!" Tabitha ordered and all of her minions split into five different directions. "Hehehe, I can already feel the taste of victory."

Tabitha slowly walked down the corridor and looked around. Whenever she would find a security camera or laser gun, she'd blow it up to smithereens. Even if they were harmless without electricity, she couldn't afford to risk having Hakuoh power up the school with something else and catch her minions in a trap.

Dani ran all the way to the stairs and then climbed them as fast as he could. When he reached the final floor, he rushed towards the doors at the end of the corridor which had written on them 'Principal's Office'.

"Haha, fire orb, here I come!" Dani said and ran at the doors.

As he approached the doors with the speed of an angry bull, they suddenly opened and a boxing glove came out of the room, knocking him in the face. Dani landed on the floor with his nose broken as Rad came out of the office while saying:

"Haha, you were too easy!"

"You!" Dani growled and got up while also taking out his deck. "Surrender the fire orb or face the might of the great Dani!"

"Sorry, pal, not on my watch!" Rad replied and also took out his deck.

Two dueling tables rose from the floor and both duelists put their decks on them. They deployed their shields, drew their cards and shouted 'Duel start!', thus beginning their match.

"I summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw!" Dani said.

"I summon Genji Aini!" Rad said.

"I summon Rikabu's Screwdriver! Blaze Claw, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, destroy both his creatures!"

"Tsh, you got lucky, that's all."

"Then my luck shall bring your end, Dani! I summon Cocco Lupia! Genji Aini, break his shield!"

"I don't think so, you red haired noob! I summon Pyrofighter Magnus! Ike, Magnus, destroy that Genji Aini!"

"Oh, I'm scared." Rad said, sarcastically. "I summon Gaial Zero!"

"Hah, as if that thing will help you win…" Dani laughed. "I summon Rothus, the Traveller! I destroy Rothus!"

"I destroy Cocco Lupia! And now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and put Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman in the battle zone!"

A red dragon dressed in samurai armor and wielding two swords in the forms of crosses appeared behind Rad and roared at Dani.

"Ike, Gaial Zero, double break his shields! And now you'll reveal those shields to me and I'll summon psychic creatures with cost less than the cards from your shields!" Rad said and Dani revealed his shields as Aqua Surfer and Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper. "Uh oh…"

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Dani spoke, arrogantly.

"I… put Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord…"

"Haha! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord! Also, shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Gaial Zero back to your hand! Hah, now that's what I call psychic creature fail!"

"Just shut up, you annoying shrimp!"

"You'll pay for that, tall one! I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole, draw a card and put Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther in the battle zone!"

A blue panther-like creature appeared behind Dani and roared at Rad. Then the short boy tapped another card on his table while saying:

"Ike, Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"I'm starting to get tired of this game of yours! I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" Rad said and another dragon, similar to his psychic creature, appeared behind him and roared. "It's show time! Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman, break his final shields!"

"Argh!" Dani yelled as he took cover from the dragon which slashed his last shields. "Not so fast! Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon back to your hand!"

"Heh, you're only stalling for time."

"We'll see about that! I summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw and awaken Crimson Lord Yanus, Temporal Warpanther!"

The blue panther suddenly got surrounded by bright flames and turned red.

"Now with Crimson Lord Yanus' ability I'll make Blaze claw a speed attacker! But wait, there's more! I summon Aqua Guard!" Dani said and the panther got surrounded by a blue aura and lost its flames, turning back to its original form. "I awaken Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther and draw a card! Then I summon another Aqua Guard! Hahaha, fear my army of creatures!"

"Not good…" Rad said while sweating.

"Ike, Blaze Claw and both my Aqua Surfers, break all of his shields!"

Rad took cover as Dani's creatures broke all of his shields. When he thought that it was his end, he suddenly saw a bright red light in front of him. That light turned out to be a card from one of his shields. The red haired boy took it and showed it to Dani while saying:

"Cancel your victory party for tonight, shrimp, cause it's over! Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper!"

"No! This can't be!" Dani spoke shocked.

"Destroy Deepsea Yanus and Blaze Claw!" Rad said and both of Dani's creatures got crushed by the red metallic scrapped. "And now it's time to awaken! Arise, Crimson Genji Double Cross, the Swordmaster Awakened!"

Genji was surrounded by a red aura and it grew in height and width a bit. When the aura was gone, Genji was wearing an even stronger armor which also had a golden crown on his head, and his two swords were now in supports on the back of his armor.

"Tsh, that thing doesn't scare me! I have two blockers and two creatures which can finish you off next turn!" Dani said.

"Think again! When Crimson Genji Double Cross attacks, it destroys all blockers!" Rad said and Dani's jaw dropped. "Ike, Crimson Genji Double Cross, destroy his Aqua Guards and finish him off!"

Dani yelled as loud as he could as the creature attacked him with both its swords and threw him against the wall. That was it, the fire orb was safe and sound thanks to Rad. But little did he know that while he was enjoying his victory, at the first floor, in the school's aquarium, Tobey was swimming and searching for the water civilization orb. Since Edo wasn't there to guard it, he didn't have to worry about dueling. But as Tobey saw the glowing blue light shine closer to him, he didn't notice that many piranha fishes were swimming right behind him. When Tobey reached the orb, he said:

"Wow, fantastic, it's actually the water civilization orb!"

The boy grabbed it and admired it for a moment. Then when he turned around to swim back to the surface, he got face to face with the squad of hungry piranha. The boy yelled loudly and swim upper, but the fishes still caught it and bit him badly.

"TABITHA-SAMA, HELP ME!" Tobey yelled.

"Huh? That's Tobey!" Tabitha said and then spoke to him through telepathy. "Tobey, what's the matter? Are you alright?"

"I'm in the aquarium, Tabitha-sama, and these piranhas are killing me!" Tobey replied through telepathy.

"Oh no! Hang in there, Tobey, I'm coming!"

Tabitha opened a portal and teleported herself at the aquarium. There she was greeted by the horrifying image of Tobey being bitten by the squad of piranha fishes. But even so, the boy didn't let go of the water civilization orb. Tabitha quickly used her magic and got Tobey out of the water. Then she fired small lasers at the few piranhas who were still holding onto his skin, destroying them.

"Tabitha-sama… take… the orb…" Tobey said and offered the water civilization orb to his master, and once he saw her take it, he collapsed into a pool of blood.

"Tobey…" Tabitha murmured as she watched the wounded boy. "This isn't over, I promise!"

Tabitha opened a portal to her castle and made the hurt Tobey enter it along with the water orb. Afterwards, the witch closed it and continued her walk in the school.

Meanwhile, at the biology lab, Eddy opened the doors and looked around. It seemed that there was nobody. The tall boy walked around and looked for the flower pot where the nature civilization orb was hidden, when Sora suddenly jumped out of nowhere and hit his head with her foot. The green haired girl landed on the floor and thought that Eddy was finished. But surprisingly, the giant boy was only hurt a bit. He 'adjusted' his head with his hands and then looked at the chosen nature duelist with anger.

"Eddy hurt, Eddy not like you!"

"Well boo hoo, as if I care!" Sora replied and took out her glowing deck. "If you want the nature orb, you'll have to get past me!"

"Eddy beat puny girl!" Eddy said and took out his deck as well.

Two dueling tables came out of the floor and both duelists put their decks on them, deployed their shields, drew their cards and began the duel.

"I cast Faerie Life and get one more mana!" Sora said.

"Eddy also cast Faerie Life!"

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and get one more mana!"

"Eddy also summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"I summon Princess Cub SP! Bronze-Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

"Eddy cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and put Koshirou, Temporal Young Demon in battle zone! Eddy break shield with Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"It's time to get serious! I tap Princess Cub SP and 5 more mana, and then I get Kankuro, Temporal Actor out!"

A giant dragon dressed in samurai armor and wielding a long sword appeared behind Sora and roared to Eddy.

"Then I summon Terradragon Drapi and destroy it!" Sora said. "And since I've summoned a creature with 7000 power or more, I'll awaken Kankuro!"

Sora's dragon roared and got surrounded by a shiny green aura. When the aura faded away, the dragon got larger and was wearing a tougher armor with giant necklaces around his neck.

"Awaken, Jungle Kankuro, the Awakened Dramatic!" Sora said and the dragon roared even louder at Eddy. "Ike, Bronze-Arm Tribe, break another shield!"

"Eddy got shield trigger, Eddy cast Faerie Life and get another mana! Now Eddy have 8 mana, Eddy awaken Koshirou into Danjoul, the Awakened War Demon! Then Eddy summon Mykee's Pliers! Eddy attack with Danjoul and summon Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing! Eddy now get 7 more mana cards!"

"Uh oh, I don't like the looks of this…" Sora said and sweated.

"Eddy double break with Danjoul! Mykee's Pliers make Baban Ban Ban speed attacker, Eddy break puny girl last shields with Baban Ban Ban!"

Sora took cover as all of her shields got broken. When she got the cards in her hand, she was disappointed to see that she had no shield trigger. The cards were Bronze Chain Sickle, Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader, Kankuro, Peerless Brute and Terradragon Diruga Vejida. The girl looked with fear at Eddy as he tapped his last card and said:

"Eddy finish puny girl off with Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

The fat green horse creature jumped at Sora and hit her with its wooden pitchfork, throwing her away and making her land on a flower pot, breaking it. Eddy walked to the broken flower pot and saw that the nature civilization orb was lying on its flowers. The tall boy leaned down and grabbed it, but as he was about to walk away, Sora grabbed one of his legs while saying:

"No, I won't let you do this!"

"Eddy crush puny girl!" Eddy replied and hit Sora with his fist so hard that he knocked her unconscious.

As Tabitha was walking down the hallway and destroying lasers and security cameras, she accidentally met up with Eddy, who was carrying the nature civilization orb in his hands.

"Ah, Eddy, what have you got there?"

"Eddy bring Tabitha-sama nature civilization orb! Eddy work hard for get orb."

"Ah, I see." Tabitha said as she took the nature orb from Eddy's hands. "Good job, Eddy!"

"Eddy happy that Tabitha-sama happy."

Tabitha opened a portal to her castle and threw the nature civilization orb in it. Then she and Eddy kept on going down the hallway with the hope that they would meet with the others soon.

Meanwhile, at the last floor, Hanna was looking for Hakuoh's classroom. But she couldn't actually concentrate on her mission, as deep down inside she still had remorse for what she had done. She had betrayed her friends and was now bringing their own ruin upon them. Even though her desire to destroy Tabitha was big, she still couldn't get rid of that bugging feeling of guilt that she had. It was crawling under her skin like a worm, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get rid of it.

But then the blue haired girl found it, Hakuoh's classroom. As she opened the doors, she was a little scared by the fact that the classroom was empty at that time of the night. Maybe it was because she was used to seeing that class at daytime, filled with people. As she entered the classroom, the door to the secret room opened by itself and she saw Tsugumi come out of it.

"It's you!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Hey there, traitor, long time no see!" Tsugumi said while putting accent on the word 'traitor'.

"I'm just going to say this once: stay out of my way, Tsugumi, I don't want to hurt you. All I want is the light civilization orb."

"You'll get it over my dead body!"

"You don't understand!"

"Understand what, Hanna? I've tried my best to understand you, I trusted you to the very end and I ignored my friends every time they said you were a traitor. What is there to understand?"

"I… don't have time for this!" Hanna said and ran to the room.

"No, I won't let you in!" Tsugumi said and blocked the entrance.

"Then you're forcing me to do it the hard way." Hanna replied and took out her deck.

"If that's the way it has to be it, then so be it." Tsugumi added while taking out her deck as well.

The two girls walked to the classroom's dueling table which was already broken in two because of the duel between Subaru and Hakuoh. They put their decks on them, drew each five cards, deployed their shields and began their duel.

"I summon Gaga Tulken, the Prophet!" Tsugumi said.

"I summon God Lupia!" Hanna said.

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card!"

"I summon Cocco Lupia!"

"I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and attack with Gaga Pikarian, break her shield!"

"I summon Heavy, Dragon God and destroy God Lupia!"

"I destroy Ultimus and take Heaven's Gate from my deck to my hand!"

"Heh, it will take you more than a Heaven's Gate to defeat me, Tsugumi!"

"We'll see about that, Hanna! I summon Pure Arial and tap Cocco Lupia! Gaga Tulken, destroy Cocco Lupia! Gaga Pikarian, break her shield!"

"I summon Necrodragon Giland! Heavy, Dragon God, destroy Gaga Pikarian!"

"It's time to show you what I'm really made of, Hanna! I cast Heaven's Gate and put Milzam, Spirit of Miracles in the battle zone!" Tsugumi said and then placed 5 cards from her deck on one of her shields. "Ultra shield plus! Hehe, let's see you get past this defense, Hanna. Pure Arial, break her shield!"

"Oh, it will be a piece of cake, Tsugumi. Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Gaga Tulken and Pure Arial! And now it's time for the heavy artillery, I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and destroy Milzam!" Hanna said and then a shiny red and yellow fire bird with blue eyes and with wings and tail similar to flames appeared behind her. "I get out Master Lupia, Temporal Wing!"

"That psychic creature…" Tsugumi murmured as she admired Master Lupia.

"Ike, Necrodragon Giland, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast not one but two Faerie Lifes and get two more mana!"

"Heavy, Dragon God, break her shield! Hah, it seems that we both have two shields left, Tsugumi."

"Indeed, but I shall by the one that will win this! I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and Gaga Shaula, Spirit of Understanding!"

"Haha, your overconfidence is amusing me, Tsugumi! Let's see how you handle this!" Hanna said and placed a darkness card upon her Heavy, Dragon God card. "I evolve Heavy, Dragon God into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg!"

A giant black dragon with 8 heads above its normal one appeared behind Hanna and roared. Hanna tapped that card and stared at Tsugumi with a fierce look in her eyes while saying:

"Ike, Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, break her final shields!"

The dragon fired lasers from all of its nine heads and broke Tsugumi's last two shields. But since one of those shields consisted of six cards, Tsugumi got surrounded by lots of floating shield shards. The girl stood with her head down for a few moments as the blue shield shards moved around her. That image of her was bringing shivers down Hanna's spine. Then, all of a sudden, Tsugumi turned her head up and gave Hanna a deep stare from her blue eyes as the shield shards united into 7 cards which went into her hand. Then she showed one of them to her opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark!"

A yellow and blue light with the shape of a DNA descended from the ceiling and fell upon Hanna's dueling table, tapping her creatures. Then the light went to her Master Lupia and Necrodragon Giland and surrounded both of them, pulling them to the floor.

"DNA Spark taps all your creatures, and if I have two shields or less, it also gives me an extra shield!" Tsugumi said as a blue shield appeared above her. "It's payback time, Hanna! I'll make you regret the moment when you've decided to betray us! I evolve Gaga Shaula into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits!"

The room got filled with a bright light as a giant golden robotic angel with white wings, dark purple cape and a black head with sharp teeth and a red X on it appeared behind Tsugumi. Hanna made a few steps back while sweating and saying:

"W-w-what is that thing?"

"This is Gaga Alcadeias, he is a 12500 powered triple breaker that does not allow the opponent to cast spells if he or she does not have Aliens in his/her battle zone!" Tsugumi said and then tapped the card. "Ike, Gaga Alcadeias, break her final shields!"

The angel roared loudly and then fired two light beams from both its hands. The beams destroyed all of Hanna's shields and the girl took cover to not get hurt from the attack as well. When the attack was over, Hanna got up and took the cards from her shields to her hand, only to see that she had Terror Pit, Inferno Sign and Dark Soul Creation, all of them being spells, and Gaga Alcadeias would not allow her to use them.

"This can't be…" Hanna mumbled.

"What's the matter, traitor? You've finally realized what a mistake you've made when you double crossed us?" Tsugumi spoke to the blue haired girl with a harsh voice.

"It seems that even the one who trusted me the most has now lost hope in me." Hanna replied with a sad tone in her voice. "Oh well, it seems that this is it, I chose this path and there is no return. I summon Magical Dragon Babelginus! With his effect I destroy Ultimus and replace it with Gaga Pikarian!"

"Hanna… With Ultimus' effect I take Mana Nexus to my hand, and with Gaga Pikarian's effect I draw a card!"

"Ike, Master Lupia, break her final shield!"

The fire bird chirped and flew towards Tsugumi while leaving a tail of fire behind it. When Master Lupia broke Tsugumi's final shield, the sound of it breaking sent a shock in her body, almost as if something inside her broke as well. Tsugumi didn't even bother to look at the card from her shield since it didn't glow or show any signs of being a shield trigger. Hanna stared at her opponent with sadness as she tapped a darkness card from her table.

"None of this would've happened… if you would've just let me enter the room." Hanna said as she watched Lunarzberg charge lasers in all of its 9 heads. "This is how it ends. Good bye, Tsugumi…"

As Tabitha and Eddy were approaching Hakuoh's classroom, they heard an explosion come right from it. As they rushed towards it, they were greeted by a thick smoke. Tabitha used her powers and created a small wind which made the smoke fade away, thus revealing the image of the defeated Tsugumi on the classroom's floor.

"Hahaha, Tsugumi Shirayama, at long last you are history!" Tabitha said and set foot inside the room.

"Indeed she is, Tabitha-sama." Hanna said and greeted the witch while holding the light civilization orb in her hands.

"Ah, Hanna, it's so nice to see that you have finally proved your loyalty to me."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Tabitha-sama?"

"You see, ever since you came back I had doubts about your loyalty. I thought that you had joined us as a spy for the chosen duelists, but the defeat of the chosen light duelist and the offering of the light civilization orb have proved me wrong. For this I have to say congratulations, Hanna!"

"Th-thank you, Tabitha-sama."

Suddenly, Tabitha's cell phone rang. The witch took it out of her pockets and saw that it was Marcelo. As she answered, his annoying voice already yelled:

"Tabitha-sama, I think I've found the darkness civilization orb!"

"Good work, Marcelo. We'll be there on the double!" Tabitha replied and then closed the phone call. "But first let's take care of this orb." the witch continued and opened a portal to her castle in which she threw the light civilization orb. "Now that this is taken care of, let's go at the final orb!"

When Hakuoh and Rad reached the classroom, Tabitha and her minions were gone. All that was left was an unconscious Tsugumi.

"Oh no, Tsugumi!" Rad shouted and ran at the blonde girl. "Thank goodness, she's still alive!"

"Tabitha must've gotten her hands on the light orb. Curses, we'll have to find a power source quick before she gets the other orbs as well!" Hakuoh said and ran to the computer room. "Rad, you take Tsugumi to the nursing room, I'll come and look after her after I finish my job here!"

"I certainly hope we'll not be too late…"

At the school's basement, Marcelo was searching in the old crates for the darkness civilization orb, but was rather unlucky. At first he found a box with an ugly spider which scared him out of his pants. Then he found a box with water throwers and got his face soaked up. Next he found a box with fireworks and got blown up a few feet away. After a few more tries, he had finally found the box he was looking for. He could notice that purple lights were coming out of it, and when he opened it up, he was amazed by the sight of the evil purple orb.

"So this is the darkness civilization orb. Hahaha, I can just feel the presence of Devil Diabolos Zeta! Victory shall soon be mine!" Marcelo said.

"Lay your hands off that orb, immediately!" a voice demanded and Marcelo turned his back to see that it was the apprentice.

"Hah, you gotta be kidding me! What are you going to do if I don't want to give it to you?"

"Let's just say that you wouldn't want to mess with this old man!"

The apprentice took a kung fu 'en-garde' position as Marcelo got up with the darkness civilization orb in his hands. But just when they were about to attack each other, another voice interrupted them.

"That's enough, Marcelo!"

"Tabitha-sama!" Marcelo exclaimed and ran at the witch which had appeared a few feet away from the apprentice. "Here is the darkness civilization orb."

"Ah, yes, great job, Marcelo." Tabitha said as she took the orb. "Now that your job is done, I have another mission for you."

"Huh? What mission, Tabitha-sama?"

"You and Eddy go upstairs and find Dani. Once you find him, come back here."

"But what are you going to do in the meantime, if I'm not too indiscrete?"

"I am going to teach this relic who is boss around here." Tabitha said and took out her glowing deck. "NOW GO!"

Marcelo and Eddy ran out of the basement as Tabitha approached the apprentice. The old man didn't say anything to the witch. He gave her a stare of menace as he also took out his glowing deck. Hanna retreated in a corner and got prepared for the match which was about to begin. From the tension in the air she knew that it would be a blast.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie! Then I destroy Jasmine and gain one more mana!" Tabitha said.

"I summon Yukigon, Mystical Beast Faerie!" the apprentice said.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain another mana!"

"Why are you so nature-based, Tabitha? From what I recall, you were relying more on darkness and water."

"Heh, times change, old man, and I said it was high time I tried something new."

"No matter how 'new' you're trying to be, you will never be able to hide what you really are – a creature of the past who had tried to outlive for far too long!"

"Think again, old geezer, I'll make sure that you won't outlive me!"

"We will have to see about that, Tabitha Lenox! I cast Crest of Mother and send Yukigon to my mana zone! Then I replace Yukigon with Triple Mouth, Decaying Savage! Triple Mouth's effect will give me one more mana and make you discard a card from your hand!"

Tabitha discarded Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole, but she didn't seem the least intimidated. The witch calmly drew her next card, charged mana and then showed a card from her hand while saying:

"Time to get down to business! I cast Hyperspatial Gotsusan Hole and put Gil Yokozuna Fuji in the battle zone!"

A volcanic creature with spikes appeared behind Tabitha and roared at the apprentice.

"Hahaha, get ready to meet your doom!" Tabitha laughed.

"A simple psychic creature is not enough to bring me down, Tabitha Lenox! I summon Takasuki Giant!" the apprentice said and then two cards came out of his deck and went into his hand. "With his effect I get Asura, the Great Enigma and Violence Thunder, Extreme Dragon Wizard from my deck to my hand!"

"Weak, I expected more from a guy like you! But now it's too late for you to try and own the zone! I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole, take back Jasmine, Mist Fairy to my hand and put both Geo Ohzeki Hamlet and Zabi Komusubi Flower in the battle zone!"

Suddenly, a green vegetable with spikes and a fat purple zombie with red petals around it appeared behind Tabitha and her magma creature.

"Her field is getting more populated, I have to take control of the game now!" the apprentice thought and then started his turn. "I evolve Takasuki Giant into Asura, the Great Enigma!"

A giant Buddha-like creature with four hands appeared behind the apprentice.

"I attack with Asura and draw 3 cards, one of which I put on my shields, one in my mana zone and one in my hand. Ike, Asura, double break her shields! Triple Mouth, break her shield!"

"I'm getting tired of this mindless game of chess." Tabitha replied as she took the cards from her shields to her hand. "Shield trigger, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord and destroy Triple Mouth! Now, are you ready for the fight of your lifetime?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Behold the creature which shall bring your impending doom! PSYCHIC LINK!"

Tabitha's psychic creatures jumped into the air and united into one. A powerful light filled the basement and the apprentice had to cover his eyes for a few moments. When the light was gone, he was horrified to see a giant fat purple dragon with spikes, green vines, jaws and fire on its head. Never in his life had he seen such a monstrosity, not even in his duels against the fiercest darkness duelists.

"What is that?" the apprentice asked, scared.

"This, my friend, is my newest beauty – Unryu Deis Izu, Great Yokozuna!" Tabitha said and the dragon roared so loud that the whole school shook out of control for a couple of seconds. "Unryu Deis Izu is a 20000 powered quadruple breaker which gives +5000 power to my other Aliens and untaps whenever he wins a battle!"

"Oh no, that means…"

"That your days as the apprentice of Hakuoh are numbered! Ike, Unryu Deis Izu, destroy Asura!"

With just a simple punch, the dragon knocked the apprentice's creature out in a second.

"Then untap, my beauty! Now quadruple break his shields, Unryu Deis Izu!" Tabitha ordered and the dragon used its green vines to break four of the apprentice's shields and stab him with them in the same time. "Hahaha, this is what you get for standing in my way! Look at you, you're now kneeling pathetically in front of me as my minions are now getting me the last orb. But there is a way out for you – beg me for mercy and I will spare you!"

"N-n-NEVER!" the apprentice yelled and got up while covering the blood falling from his stabs. "I would never surrender to the likes of you, just like I didn't surrender to Rezo!"

"Ah, Rezo, thanks for bringing back a memory that I wished to remain buried. Anyway, break his final shield, Bronze-Arm Tribe! It's over, Blazing Tiger, todome…"

"Not so fast, Tabitha! Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Blazing Tiger and Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"Hah, is that the best you can do? Oh, wait, it's your next turn now. You will show me what you can really do and make an epic comeback that will somehow shock me, am I right?"

"Sadly, I don't have any cards for a comeback, so I guess this means that you are the winner." the apprentice said and then spat some blood.

"Hahaha, you're too weak to even try to save your life. How pathetic! You disgust me!" Tabitha replied and then put her hand on her psychic super creature card. "It's time to finish this… once and for all!"

"No… I won't give you this satisfaction, Tabitha!"

Suddenly, bright lights came out of the apprentice's wounds. The old man got surrounded by a white and blue aura as he started to float in the air. Tabitha took her hand off her card and made a step back in fear. The apprentice unleashed all his spiritual energy and used it to weaken the witch's magical powers for a few moments. When he felt that Tabitha was vulnerable, he surrounded both his fists with gloves of light and attacked her. He first punched the right side of her thorax and broke some bones. Then he punched her back and broke her spine. That was when Hanna tried to intervene, for no matter how much she hated Tabitha, she would never like to see anyone suffer that horribly, no matter how evil they were.

"Hey, you, leave Tabitha-sama alone!" Hanna said and jumped on the apprentice's back.

"Foolish child, your intervention shall bring your punishment!" the apprentice replied and threw her off him.

The old man then flew to the scared Hanna, who was trying to crawl away and grabbed her by her left hand. As she tried to free herself from him, he used his power and ripped her whole left arm off her body. Hanna screamed as loud as her lungs could allow her and then fell unconscious in a pool of blood. Now that she was taken care of, the apprentice turned back to the wounded Tabitha and gave her a direct punch in the face which was so powerful that her skull almost cracked in two. Heavily wounded and defeated, Tabitha landed on the floor and didn't make any other move. The once mighty witch which entered the battlefield with excitement had become nothing but a pathetic worm at the hands of an old man.

But since the apprentice had also used his spiritual powers, he had drained his body of all of its energy and he landed on the floor as well. Those wounds he had gotten from Unryu Deis Izu had gotten the best of him. It seemed that his old body couldn't resist anymore. But still, he tried to crawl with his last powers to the darkness civilization orb to take it into his protective arms. However, his body did not want to let him do it and he landed just a few centimeters away from the orb. With his ear stuck to the floor, the apprentice heard some rushing footsteps descend on the basement's stairs.

"Rad, I'll leave the rest to you and the others…" the apprentice said and closed his eyes.

But little did he know that the ones who were rushing down to the basement weren't Rad and the chosen duelists, but Marcelo, Eddy and Dani. As they reached it, they were all horrified to see such a bloody sight.

"W-w-what happened here?" Dani asked.

"It must've been that damn geezer." Marcelo said and walked to Tabitha. "Tabitha-sama, are you alright?"

"M-Marcelo…" Tabitha spoke and opened her eyes. "T-take us and the orb back to the c-castle…"

The witch then opened a portal and fell unconscious for good. Marcelo took the orb and entered it while being followed by Dani, who was carrying Hanna, and Eddy, who was carrying Tabitha.


	99. The fire civilization orb

After the epic battle at the Duel Masters summer school, it seemed that both sides had suffered losses. Sora and Tsugumi were greatly wounded in their recent duels and the apprentice had died at the hands of the enemy. But the dark side had also suffered its losses: Tobey had been bitten by piranhas, Hanna lost one arm, and even the great Tabitha Lenox was knocked out at the end of the fight.

When Hakuoh finally managed to bring back electricity into the school, it was too late. The villains escaped with four of the five civilization orbs, the school was in ruin, and Rad seemed to be the only one who could stand on his feet. With the help of the chosen fire duelist, Hakuoh managed to bring Sora and Tsugumi to the nursing room along with the apprentice's dead body. Then Hakuoh sent Edo a message to come to the school as quick as he could.

As he got the message, Edo tried his best to convince Subaru to come with him at the school. At first he politely asked him, then he begged him, then he fell on his knees, then he held on to his feet, then he threatened to set his house on fire, and finally he simply blocked his way. None of these methods worked. It was the determined look in his eyes that made Subaru change his mind and come with the brown haired boy to the school.

When they both got to the school, they were horrified by the sight in front of them: burnt out schoolyard, broken windows, cracked walls and many destroyed laser guns on the ground. It looked exactly like an abandoned battlefield. Edo feared to even take a step on that ghostly ground, but seeing Subaru walk into it without hesitation convinced him to do the same. At the school's gates Hakuoh was waiting for them.

"It's you!" Subaru exclaimed.

"What happened here, Hakuoh-sama?" Edo asked.

"You wouldn't believe it until you'd seen it." Hakuoh said.

Meanwhile at Tabitha's castle, Dani and Eddy were trying their best to heal their fallen comrades. Tobey had compresses with disinfecting solutions all over his piranha bites, Hanna also had one on the place where her left arm used to be, but with the scope of stopping her bleeding, and Tabitha was full of bandages, almost like a mummy. All three patients were lying on three different beds of the same room.

"Gosh, Tabitha-sama really took the hit, eh?" Dani said and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Tabitha-sama hurt bad, Eddy sad."

"I wonder what will we do if she doesn't survive, big guy…"

Meanwhile, Marcelo was sitting on Tabitha's throne and admiring the four civilization orbs which were floating in front of him. The satisfaction he had could be read all over his face. As he took a drink from Tabitha's favorite glass of wine, he reflected upon the future he would soon have. He, Marcelo, would possess the power of Devil Diabolos Zeta. He, Marcelo, would conquer the whole planet. He, Marcelo, would crush the remaining chosen duelists and Hakuoh. He, Marcelo, would be the strongest being in the universe! But then a thought started haunting him. The man realized that there was an unsolved problem he didn't take care of yet. He smirked as he put the glass down and got up from the throne.

"Now that Tabitha is out of the way, it's time to take care of the other woman from my life." Marcelo said as he left the throne room.

Back at the school, Hakuoh had finished showing to Subaru and Edo what the cameras had captured before their destruction. They saw the image of Tabitha entering the schoolyard and fighting the defense system just before the cameras went off.

"Oh no, don't tell me…" Edo spoke with shock and Hakuoh nodded with a sad expression on his face.

"Who was that weird old woman?" Subaru asked.

"That… was Tabitha Lenox." Hakuoh replied.

Just in that moment a chord stroke in Subaru's head. He remembered denying the mere existence of a witch named Tabitha Lenox every time Hakuoh would try to talk to him. He dismissed it as a trick used by the blonde boy to make him join people he didn't like. And at certain times he'd find himself doubting whether his choices were right or wrong, and even consider for a moment that Hakuoh was right. But that was when Marcelo would come and advise him to forget about Tabitha, simply implying that it was all a trick. Then the simple thought of Marcelo also started to bother him. It had been weeks since he last saw him, and he didn't show any life sign. What was he up to? Was he even his friend? One thing was certain, and that was that Marcelo would have to give Subaru some answers when he'd return.

As they reached the nursing room, Hakuoh opened the doors and Edo and Subaru were even more horrified than before. They saw a hurt Sora and Tsugumi lying on beds unconscious, and the apprentice lying dead on another bed with a black pelt upon his body. Rad was sitting right next to Tsugumi's bed while staring upon both his wounded comrades and dead master with tears dripping from his eyes. Hakuoh slowly approached Rad and put a hand on his shoulder while saying:

"We did the best we could."

"No, we didn't. We would've done the best if our team was full!" Rad replied with sorrow coming out of his mouth.

"Don't worry, Rad, we'll make them pay!" Edo said.

Suddenly Rad turned his head at the two boys sitting at the door and gaze at them with fires of anger coming from his wet eyes. In the next moment Rad rushed at them and grabbed Edo by his shirt while pushing him against the wall from the corridor.

"You… Where the fuck were you?" Rad growled at Edo.

"I… was… with Suby on the beach…" Edo spoke with fear.

"You're a chosen duelist, you should've been here fighting alongside your comrades!" Rad continued and clenched his fists on Edo's shirt. "But instead you've wasted time… with this traitor!"

"Hey, leave him alone!" Subaru said and put his hands on Rad's right fist. "It's not his fault he wanted to duel me!"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Rad yelled and punched Subaru in the cheek, making him fall on the floor. "HAKUOH-SAMA TRIED MANY TIMES TO CONVINCE YOU THAT THE DANGER WAS REAL AND THAT WE WERE YOUR TRUE FRIENDS, BUT YOU NEVER LISTENED TO HIM!"

"Rad, that is enough!" Hakuoh said and came out of the nursing room.

"No, it's not enough, Hakuoh-sama! If these two would've been here, Tsugumi and Sora wouldn't have been wounded, and better yet, OUR MASTER WOULDN'T HAVE DIED!"

Edo's eyes suddenly widened when he heard what Rad said. Did that mean that the covered corpse from the room was Hakuoh's last apprentice and his master? It couldn't be, it had to be a joke! Edo just couldn't believe what he was hearing. In just a swoop second he freed himself from Rad's grasp and ran into the room. The brown haired boy quickly uncovered the corpse and was shocked to see that it was true. For a few moments he was stunned. He couldn't make the slightest move. But then his body began to tremble, his eyes got full with the liquid of sorrow and he opened his mouth and screamed out his pain as loud as he could.

Meanwhile in the dead of night, a strange figure was walking down the empty city streets, almost as if it was haunting them. The figure stopped in front of the place where Kokujo's UFO was parked and he stood in the light of a street lighter, revealing that he was Marcelo. The man laughed silently inside for a moment and then advanced towards the UFO. Once he was at its front door, he rang the bell. Then he waited for a few moments until the door opened and Tarja appeared in front of him all dressed in pijamas.

"Marcelo! But what are you doing here? It's 3 AM!" Tarja said.

"Ah, my beauty, you look fantastic even in sleep!" Marcelo complimented the woman.

"Thanks, but that's not a good reason for waking me up so early - I need sleep, so I can be able to sing."

"I was wondering... I know it's a little early, but... could you marry me?"

"And you woke me up, just to ask me that?"

"Yes, because... things might not turn out so well in the near future."

"What do you mean?" Tarja asked.

"I've got some bad news. You won't believe it... but..." Marcelo stopped and took a deep breath. "Here it goes: Hanna has betrayed the chosen duelists, and then she along with a strange old woman and 3 boys came to the school. The old woman destroyed the defense system before we knew what was going on. They then went into the school and asked us to surrender the 5 civilization orbs to them. Me and Subaru did not want to let that happen! We fought along the other students with all our might, but in the end the witch won. The school is now a ruin and she got away... with 4 of the 5 orbs! Hakuoh-sama told us that she will use those orbs to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta into our world, and once that happens, it will be our world's very end! So... before any of that happens, I want you to marry me as quick as possible!" Marcelo concluded and grabbed the woman's hand.

"How do you know the woman was a witch?"

"An old woman with strange powers that destroy lasers and other high tech weapons... what else could she be?"

"Hmmm, I see. What did she look like?"

"A blue-eyed blonde curly-haired old woman."

"Did you find out her name?"

"Hakuoh-sama said that her name was Tabitha."

"I knew it!"

"So, my beloved, will you accept my humble offer and be my wife?"

"It's still 3 AM in the morning Marcelo, you want me to give you an answer, when I'm not in a condition to even say my name."

"Heh, you can't say 'Tarja Turunen'? Haha, come on, don't be so silly, my precious muffin."

"No, I can say 'Tarja Turunen', but I'm too sleepy to say 'Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen'...and you want me to say if I agree to become 'Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen – Cabuli'."

"Could you at least marry me in the near future? I fear that we will not be able to show our love due to the imminent danger that our world is about to face."

"You think that we might die soon?"

"I fear that... The evil witch needs just one more orb, and the school is now defenseless and with few duelists left. If Tabitha decides to make a quick attack, then the world as we know it will be doomed."

"What does that have to do with the fact that you're waking me up in 3 AM to ask me if I'm going to be your wife?"

"It's because…" Marcelo said while moving his shirt away and revealing some fake wounds on his chest and left hand which seemed real. "…I've just returned from the school as fast as I could. Everything that I've told you happened about half an hour ago..."

"You look hurt!" Tarja exclaimed.

"Don't worry, it's nothing I can't handle."

"Why don't you sit here?"

Tarja invited Marcelo inside the spaceship and then closed the door once he entered. Afterwards she went to a room and quickly brought him a chair on which he sat.

"You're probably tired and need to rest." Tarja said while rubbing her hands. "I would've brought you some tea or coffee, but I'm too sleepy to do that."

"Don't worry, I'll survive." Marcelo replied and Tarja smiled to him. "So... what have you been doing lately?"

"Actually nothing special, every day is so similar to the other that I even feel a little bored. I think I kinda miss the time when I used to go touring around the world and sing to my fans... But I realize I'm a lot more needed here."

"And why are you so needed here? The chosen duelists are living on your hard work every day. And what do they do? Do they help? No, they keep going on pointless psychic creature quests every day."

"How do you know about the psychics?" Tarja asked while raising her eyebrow.

"Oh, haha, well I also have some." Marcelo said and took out from his deck his Romanoff Zeta Wizard, the Awakened Demon and Diabolos Zeta, Anihilation Awakened.

"Where did you get them?"

"Oh... hehe, I found them."

"Just like that? While walking at the beach, for example?"

"Yes, you're right."

"And where exactly did you find them?"

"I accidentally stumbled upon them one day. But why are you so curious, Tarja?"

"I don't know, Marcelo. It's just that for my friends it's a lot harder."

"Oh, I understand. Still, I want to ask you, why did you even let Hanna join your ranks in the first place? Didn't you suspect that she might betray you?"

"Well, no. You see, I've known Hanna for a long time and I've always thought she was a good person."

"A good person? Interesting..." Marcelo said and then thought. "Heh, if she was that good, she wouldn't have accepted my offer of alliance to kill Tabitha."

"Don't you agree?" Tarja asked.

"Actually, I wouldn't agree. I mean, from what I've seen at her while she was with you guys, she showed more anger towards that Tabitha character than desire for doing good."

"Everything comes with time, Marcelo. We should be patient to her. I'm sure that when everything is over, she'd be on our side, doing good... or cooking here with me, haha."

"Haha, although I think that when everything will be over, we will be either slaves or dead. Sorry, but I fear that that witch will soon get the last orb, and then..."

"Then let it be. I don't care that much about my life... Actually, I'd even prefer to die than be a slave." Tarja said but then Marcelo put a finger on her mouth.

"Don't say that! As long as we're together, we'll be able to go through everything, including slavery!" Marcelo replied.

"But the..."

"Don't worry, as long as I live, I'll try my best to protect you. I just want… to know if you can trust me. And if you can, then I see no reason why you shouldn't marry me."

"Well, I trust you, but..."

"Yes?"

Tarja remained silent for a moment as Marcelo looked at her while faking innocence in his eyes with ease.

"A marriage requires not only trust." Tarja suddenly spoke.

"Then what else?" Marcelo asked.

"Well, other things too..."

"Like?"

"Um, love, maybe?" Tarja said and smiled.

"And am I not showing love to you? You don't believe that I truly love you?" Marcelo spoke, offended, and pretended to be insulted.

"I do, but..."

"But what? What is it that holds you back from marrying me?"

"I don't know... I just... I'm not sure..."

"I see…" Marcelo said and got up from his chair. "Well then, I better be going. The school needs me. But in any case, do you promise that you will be my bride in the future, even if Devil Diabolos Zeta comes?

"Marcelo, I just told you that I'm not sure." Tarja said while opening the UFO's door.

"Ok, I'll give you some more time to think about it. Until then, au revoir, ma cherie." Marcelo said and walked out.

"If I only knew what he said." Tarja thought while closing the UFO's door and going back to her room to sleep.

Marcelo ran back to the castle while reflecting upon his future once more. With Tabitha gone, his time had come, it was too good to be true. Now his plan could finally take place. Since the school's defense system was destroyed, he did not have to fear entering the school. With the help of his new lackeys, Dani and Eddy, he would crush the remaining chosen duelists and get his hands on the final orb. Afterwards, he would summon Devil Diabolos Zeta and begin his world conquest. And once that would be over, he would marry Tarja and finally rule upon the world alongside her. A bright future awaited him and he had to make his path towards it.

Back at the school, as Rad, Edo and Subaru were sitting in the silent nursing room and watching upon the hurt girls, Hakuoh packed up his working tools and walked to the control room of the building. He would rebuild its defense system and turn his school into the powerful building it once was. Meanwhile, inside the nursing room, sorrow was floating in the air. Rad was sitting by the open window and staring into the emptiness of the night, Edo was sitting on a chair and staring at his own feet, and Subaru was sitting by Tsugumi's side, showing no emotion whatsoever. Then, all of a sudden, the silence in the room was broken by Edo's voice, who mournfully declared:

"Rad's right, it's my fault!"

"Huh?" Rad reacted while turning his head to the brown haired boy.

"It's all my fault, I should've been here to help you guys, but I wasn't!" Edo continued.

None of the boys showed any remorse for Edo's suffering. Rad was actually glad of that, since he believed that that was Edo's punishment. But Subaru couldn't show any sign of emotion. Everything struck him so awfully, waking him up to the cruel reality he was trying to escape. He did not know what his feelings were anymore. He was supposed to be in a relationship with Hanna, but he felt this strange attraction he had towards Tsugumi. And now seeing that girl on the hospital bed was tearing his heart into pieces. Without any second thought, he grabbed Tsugumi's left hand in both his hands, held it tight and then spoke to the other boys without looking at them:

"Who did this to her?"

"As if you'd believe us." Rad ironically replied.

In the next moment, Subaru took the scissors from a table and threw them at Rad. The boy calculated his throw correctly and the scissors reached their target: the wall. The sharp metal instrument went past Rad only by a millimeter distance, showing that Subaru wasn't kidding.

"Who did this to her? I'm not going to ask a third time!" Subaru said.

"It was… Tabitha Lenox." Rad replied.

Again Subaru heard that name. It seemed too often to be a lie. Everyone was pronouncing with so much determination that it seemed they weren't lying. But what did that mean? That a witch named Tabitha Lenox actually existed? And if she did, was she responsible from the school's destruction and Tsugumi's wounds? One thing was certain, and that was that Subaru had to get the answers he was looking for quick, before he would start to lose control of his mind.

But what he did not know was that he would get his answers sooner than he thought. At Tabitha's castle, Marcelo quickly climbed the stairs and went to the room where Dani and Eddy were trying to heal their wounded comrades. He stormed in with might, scaring the two boys, and declared loudly:

"Get up from your seats, you two, and let's go into battle! I, as your new leader, shall lead our team to victory!"

"What are you smoking there, Marcelo? What about Tabitha-sama?" Dani asked.

"Tabitha is caput, finished, offline, pwned, defeated, owned, terminated!" Marcelo spoke loudly and then put a crown made of yellow carton on his head. "From now on I am your leader!"

"Hey, who died and made pyramid head our leader?" Dani asked Eddy.

"I'M NOT A PYRAMID HEAD!" Marcelo yelled at the short boy. "Anyway, it's time for us to launch a new attack at the school!"

"Eddy confused. Why attack little school? Eddy team got puny orbs."

"Right you are, my low intellect friend, but there is one last orb that we have failed to get in our last mission. And we have to get it now, before they rebuild their damn security system!"

"What good would it do for us if we get the final orb, Marcelo?" Dani asked.

"Once we have all the orbs, we will be able to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta into our world, and then victory shall be ours!" Marcelo said as the spark of ambition shined in his eyes. "Now let's go, my loyal minions, and retrieve our final prize!"

"Yes, pyramid head-sama!" both Dani and Eddy replied.

"I'M NOT A PYRAMID HEAD!"

Back at the school, a whole hour had passed and everything was quiet. Rad, Edo and Subaru did not speak to each other another time. Edo fell asleep on the chair, Rad was watching TV in order to forget what was going on, and Subaru was sitting by Tsugumi's side, thinking of what his future would bring him.

Then, all of a sudden, an alarm woke the three boys up. Hakuoh appeared in a holographic message in the middle of the room and spoke with worry:

"Danger! Tabitha's minions are back in the school! Don't let them get the fire orb!"

"What does he mean?" Subaru asked.

"Those who hurt Tsugumi are back and they're after the fire civilization orb which is hidden in Hakuoh's office!" Rad said.

"We've got to get to the last floor now!" Edo added.

The three boys ran out of the room and headed to the stairs. Then they climbed as fast as their feet could let them, level after level, until they've reached the final floor. Once there, they ran through the corridor, heading directly at the principal's office. But great was their shock when they saw three other boys appear from the other stairway, blocking their way. Rad and Edo quickly took out their decks, whereas Subaru was stunned when he saw who they were facing.

Standing in the middle, with the tall and almost bald boy at his left and the short and long haired boy at his right was none other than his friend, Marcelo! He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was Marcelo the enemy? But then he remembered all those doubts and questions he had, and it seemed that this simple guy had the answers to them all. Subaru made a few steps towards the 'leader' of the enemy group, with a shadow covering his eyes, making Marcelo get a little worried. He had spoiled his cover, but he hoped that with his great acting he would be able to fool Subaru.

"Marcelo, what are you doing here?" Subaru asked.

"Ah, Subaru, I didn't expect you to be awake AND at the school at this time of the night." Marcelo replied with a friendly voice. "May I ask what you are doing in such a place?"

"I've asked you the same thing! I, for one, got brought here by Edo."

"Ah, Edo Kanda, that lovely fellow."

"Lovely fellow my ass." Edo whispered to himself with an angry tone.

"Tell me, Marcelo, what are you doing here? And why did you bring these guys with you?"

"Subaru, Subaru, Subaru, it's too complex for you to understand. Why don't I take you home and let my pals take care of their job?" Marcelo said, then walked to Subaru and stretched his hand to put it on his shoulder, but the long haired boy slapped it.

"Don't play games with me! I want to know the truth! What are you doing here, Marcelo? And don't you try to avoid the truth, or I'll make sure you'll spit it out from your mouth!" Subaru threatened Marcelo.

"Well, if you put it that way…" Marcelo said and then cooked up a plan in his mind. "I've come here with my friends to defend the fire civilization orb from Rad and Edo!"

"Huh?" Subaru, Rad and Edo exclaimed.

"They're all working for that evil Hakuoh! He wants to use the five civilization orbs' powers and take over the world! Don't let yourself fooled, Subaru, or you'll become their slave!" Marcelo spoke with an overdramatic voice.

Subaru let his head down and showed no emotion once again. Was Marcelo right? Was Edo trying all this time to trick him and to make him come to the dark side? If so, then was that nice girl, Tsugumi also evil?

"Grr, Marcelo, you bastard!" Rad growled.

"He's lying, Suby! Lying!" Edo yelled while letting tears fall from his eyes.

"Is he?" Subaru asked, his voice showing distrust.

"You're standing right next to the true liars, Subaru. Take my hand and I will save you from them!" Marcelo said.

Subaru slowly walked to Marcelo and his minions, to the shock of the two chosen duelists. Everything was so confusing for him, and it seemed that the only person he could trust was his friend, the one who saved his life and helped bring color to it when it was empty, Marcelo. But as he was about to take Marcelo's hand, the image of Tsugumi lying hurt on the bed appeared in his mind. The long haired boy stopped from walking and then looked at Marcelo in the eye.

"What's the matter?" Marcelo asked.

"Marcelo… do you know who hurt Tsugumi?" Subaru asked.

"He won't believe me if I blamed it on Rad and Edo. I've got to think of something else." Marcelo thought and then spoke to him. "Who hurt her? It was Tabitha Lenox."

"Tabitha Lenox you say…" Subaru said while taking Marcelo's hand. "YOU LIAR!"

All of a sudden, before anybody else could react, Subaru's right fist felt the warm skin of Marcelo's left cheek. The hit was so strong that it almost made some of Marcelo's teeth fall out of his mouth. The man landed on the floor and Dani and Eddy rushed to help him up.

"You blame it all on Tabitha Lenox, Marcelo? You mean that the character which you claimed that was nothing but the invention of our teacher was the one who hurt Tsugumi?"

"Suby!" Edo exclaimed with happiness.

"Why does everyone talk about her and claim that she's real? Could it be that you were the one lying to me all the time, Marcelo?!" Subaru almost yelled.

"You… little… bastard… How dare you do this… to me… your best fri-friend… ever?" Marcelo mumbled as he got up. "DON'T YOU SEE IT'S ALL A LIE? DON'T YOU SEE THAT THEY'RE ALL PLOTTING AGAINST ME?"

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Marcelo, the joke's over." Dani said.

"Marcelo caught. Marcelo liar. Eddy laugh. Eddy think Tabitha-sama also laugh."

"Haha, you're right, Eddy, Tabitha-sama would die laughing if she saw him fail so much." Dani said.

"'Tabitha-sama'? So it's true then!" Subaru said.

"Yes, my former friend, Tabitha exists… or she existed." Marcelo said while taking out his deck. "But her existence doesn't matter anymore, for I will make you pay for this insubordination!"

"You'd wish!" Subaru replied and took out his deck as well.

"Dani, you go get the fire orb while I and Eddy take care of these fools!"

"Yes, Marcelo-sama!" Dani said and ran away.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere!" Rad exclaimed and pushed Eddy and Marcelo aside while following the short boy.

Dani ran a few meters until he finally reached the principal's office. Once there, he noticed that the door was locked, but that was a problem for him. Even though he didn't have a pass card, he had his metal claws. Dani put them on his fingers and then played with the claws into the door's system until he managed to open it. Afterwards, he entered the office room and looked for the safe where Hakuoh had the fire civilization orb hidden. The safe was nowhere to be found and Rad's footsteps were becoming louder and louder. Dani then thought quickly of a secret place where the safe could be hidden and then hit a painting on the wall. The painting fell and revealed Hakuoh's safe. And to make things better, the code was written on the back of the painting. When Rad finally entered the office, he saw Dani opening the safe and filling the room with the orb's bright red light.

"It's too late, punk, the fire civilization orb is mine!" Dani said.

"We'll see about that!" Rad replied and took out his glowing deck.

Two dueling tables came out of the floor and the two duelists walked to them, put their decks on and deployed their shields.

Meanwhile on the corridor, the other four boys had also begun their duels. It was Eddy VS Edo and Marcelo VS Subaru.

"I cast Streaming Shaper!" Edo said and revealed his top cards: Aqua Super Emeral, Energy Stream, Crystal Super Paladin and The Strong Spiral. "I take them all to my hand! Then, ike, Aqua Slash, break his shield!"

"Eddy cast Living Lithograph. Eddy put top card from deck to mana zone." Eddy said and the card he got in his mana was Mykee's Pliers. "Dreaming Moon Knife get +2000 power. Eddy destroy Aqua Slash with Dreaming Moon Knife!"

"Playing tough, eh? Well, let me show you how real men play! I summon Aqua Super Emeral!"

"Eddy summon Wind Axe, the Warrior Savage! Eddy destroy Aqua Super Emeral! Dreaming Moon Knife break shield!"

"I can't believe that I was such a fool to believe every lie you've told me, Marcelo!" Subaru said. "But now it's time for you to pay! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Galatia Dragoon! Then I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone and destroy Troll, Grafitti Doll!"

"You were too easy, Subaru, I could manipulate you better than a puppet master!" Marcelo arrogantly replied. "I summon Clause Zeta, Death Count!"

"I may have been in the past, but now the puppet shall get its revenge! I summon two Jenny, the Suicide Doll! I destroy both of them and discard the last cards from your hand!"

"Grr." Marcelo murmured as he discarded Hyperspatial Vice Hole and Necrodragon Skull Gravitz. "My turn, I also cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, and I shall put Dias Zeta, Temporal Suppressor in the battle zone! Hehehe, let's see you face this beast, Subaru!"

Meanwhile at Rad's and Dani's duel.

"I shall be first! I charge mana and summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw!" Dani said.

"Fine then, I charge mana and end!" Rad said.

"I summon Rikabu's Screwdriver! Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw, break his shield!"

"Argh, what rush… No worries, I'll handle it! I summon Genji Aini!"

"Hahaha, you think? I summon Qurian and draw a card! Ike, Blaze Claw and Screwdriver, break 2 of his shields! Haha, get ready for the match of your life, Raddy boy!"

Back at the duels from the corridor, it seemed that Subaru was getting the upper hand.

"Awaken! Darkness Ganveet, the Assassin Awakened! It's time to show you who's boss around here, Marcelo! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The top 3 cards from Subaru's deck were Ballom Emperor, Lord of Demons, Terror Pit and Death March, Reapert of Death. All of them went to his hand.

"And now it's time to show you what I've got! I summon Death March, Reaper of Death! Ike, Darkness Ganveet, double break his shields!" Subaru ordered and Ganveet slashed Marcelo's Clause Zeta with one of its swords and two of his shields with its other sword. "Death March, break another shield!"

"Hahaha, you don't scare me, Subaru!" Marcelo confidently replied. "It's time to show you what a real darkness deck can do! I summon Galatia Dragoon and cast Bloody Cross!"

The 2 cards which landed into Marcelo's graveyard were Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole and Hannibal Zeta, the Charismatic Annihilator. The man grinned evilly as he tapped his psychic creature card and said:

"Hell's Soul Recall 4!"

"Huh? What's that?" Subaru asked.

"I shall send 4 cards from my graveyard back to the bottom of my deck, and then you'll have to choose to either put a card from your hand or one of your creatures to the bottom of your deck! So, what's it gonna be?"

"I think… I'll put the Ballom Emperor from my hand on the bottom of my deck."

"Then I'll use it again! I'll send the last card from my graveyard to the bottom of my deck, along with other 3 cards from your graveyard to the bottom of your deck, and…"

"Wait!"

"WHAT IS IT? I'M HAVING AN EPIC MOMENT HERE!"

"Marcelo… I have only 2 cards left in my graveyard." Subaru said and Marcelo sweated.

"NOO! …Dias Zeta, destroy his Death March! Curse you, Subaru, you've foiled my plan!" Marcelo spoke with anger.

"Why are you throwing your anger on me? You should be angry on yourself for being too stupid."

"That's it, I've had enough of you!"

"Boy, those two need to chill out…" Edo commented. "Anyway, Crystal Zweilancer, break his final shields!"

"Eddy not like you meanie! Eddy got shield trigger, Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Eddy destroy puny Aqua Surfer, Aqua Slash and Aqua Jet!"

"Uh oh, not good."

"Eddy make you pay! Eddy evolve Wind Axe into Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader! Eddy double break with Quatro Fang!"

Meanwhile at Rad's duel, the red haired boy was ready to make his comeback.

"I won't let you rush me anymore! I summon Cheering Pippi! Ike, Genji Aini, suicide with Rikabu's Screwdriver!"

"Well then, I guess it's game over!" Dani said with a grin on his face as he showed the card which would bring him victory. "I summon Pyrofighter Magnus!"

"Oh no!" Rad exclaimed.

"Ike, Blaze Claw and Qurian, break his final shields!" Dani ordered and his creatures broke Rad's shields so hard that the shield shards hit him and threw him against the wall. "It's over, pal! Pyrofighter Magnus, todomeda!"

All of a sudden, the four duelists from the corridor heard an explosion and looked at the principal's office. Through the explosion's smoke that was coming out they saw a small figure that was running. It was none other than Dani, and he had the fire civilization orb in his hands.

"Haha, I got it, guys!" Dani said.

"Perfect! Then it's time for us to go!" Marcelo replied.

Marcelo and Eddy packed up their decks and ran from the dueling field along with Dani. They all climbed down the stairs and disappeared. Edo rushed to the office and found a hurt Rad on the floor. As he tried to drag him to the nursing room, he found Subaru with his deck all packed up, ready to go after Marcelo and his minions.

"Suby, wait, don't go!" Edo shouted and made the boy stop. "Stay here with us, we'd really need your help right now."

"Be honest with yourself, Edo, we both know that my place isn't here. The only way that I can help you is by following those bastards and bringing back the fire civilization orb." Subaru replied and then opened a window. "Heh, Marcelo won't get too far, and he will pay for what he did to me."

"No, Suby, I can't let you go!" Edo said while letting go of Rad and grabbing Subaru's right hand. "I've just got back my best friend, I can't him go again!"

"…I don't know what you mean by 'best friend', Edo. I don't know if we even met before this whole school craze." Subaru said and turned to Edo with a sad smile on his face. "However, if we were friends in a past life, then I promise to you that we shall be friends again in our next life!"

"Suby…" Edo murmured as he let go of his hand.

"But for now I must avenge Tsugumi… and give Marcelo a taste of his own medicine!" Subaru said and jumped off the window.

The long black haired boy fell a few levels and safely landed in some bushes. Edo looked with fear at the window, and to his relief he saw that his old friend was safe and sound. As he got up from the bushes, he saw that Marcelo and the other two were escaping from the schoolyard. With determination in his eyes and a desire for revenge, the boy followed them.

"Good luck, Suby! And may you come back safe and sound to us!" Edo said.


	100. Zeta Wars, Part 1: Rebirth

The battle started only two months ago, but it seemed as if it lasted forever. After the destruction of the Geki mansion and the apparent defeat of Tabitha Lenox, the chosen duelists would have never guessed that they would have to face another great evil once again. But little did they know that the witch didn't give up yet on her conquest for ultimate power. Having been brought back to life, she immediately appeared to her loyal servant Hanna, who was being bullied by three boys, and recruited them all into her army. Then, when summer came, the witch had her revenge upon Subaru and Tsugumi for the humiliation they made her suffer at the Geki mansion. She erased Subaru's memories during a surf accident caused by her, leaving him apparently at the mercy of the waves. However, he was rescued by the mysterious argentinian duelist Marcelo. The chosen duelists were stunned when they heard the news about Subaru's amnesia, but they decided to join the Duel Masters summer school at which he also went. There the chosen duelists had met Hakuoh, who had been separated from his alter ego, White, by his loyal apprentice. Rejoicing their reuniting with their master, and with a new force, the chosen duelists went on a new mission: to gather the new types of creatures, the psychic creatures, who were spread all around the globe. The psychic creatures were creatures which had two forms – a weaker form and a stronger form, usually the stronger form needing to be 'awakened'. Psychic creatures didn't belong in one's deck during a duel, but in a new zone called the hyperspatial zone. But Tabitha was also interested in the power of these new creatures, and so the chosen duelists would cross paths with the evil witch yet again. After a couple of battles, it seemed that both sides were even, but then with the rise of the psychic super creatures things were about to be taken to a whole new level. Having gotten her hands on three psychic creatures which could link together, Tabitha managed to summon Gallows Devil Dragon, Dead Sea Dragon, and then the witch managed to cause even more havoc against her opponents. Also, she revealed that Marcelo, the nice guy who was Subaru's new best friend and Tarja Turnen's fiancee was nothing but her minion, sent to act as a spy between the chosen duelists. It was with his aid that she managed to enter the Duel Masters school and get her hands on the psychic creatures that she needed to form Gallows Devil Dragon. But little did she know that amongst her ranks she would have a traitor. Hanna, who had been abused by her once nice 'mother', decided to rebel against Tabitha and ran away with her two new psychic creatures. The girl offered them to Rad, who managed to form Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord, and then she joined the chosen duelists. But she didn't have the desire to do good, her only wish was to have Tabitha killed. However, she did manage to learn from Tsugumi that friendship and doing good to others was much more important than revenge. But little did anyone expect that the treacherous Marcelo managed to trick Hanna into betraying the chosen duelists and rejoining Tabitha's ranks once more. With the pass card that Hanna stole from Tsugumi, Tabitha managed to enter the Duel Masters school once again. This time she was after the five civilization orbs which were hidden inside the building. With their power, she would manage to summon into the human world the fierce Devil Diabolos Zeta. During the battle, both sides suffered losses, but with the power of Rad's deck and the sacrifice of the apprentice, Tabitha had been brought down and her minions got their hands on only 4 of the 5 orbs. With the witch being in coma, Marcelo assumed leadership and made a final attack upon the school, whose result was the capturing of the fire civilization orb. However, during this battle he had been revealed to Subaru as the one who was manipulating him all that time. Seeking answers to the things that happened to him in the past months, Subaru followed Marcelo back to Tabitha's castle, leaving Edo and Hakuoh to take care of the injured Rad, Sora and Tsugumi. With all five civilization orbs in the possession of Marcelo, a new battle was about to begin.

As Subaru was pursuing Marcelo and his lackeys back at Tabitha's castle, the sun was slowly rising from behind, bringing another hot summer morning with it. The three evil duelists had crossed all the important streets and would soon reach the beach. Once he felt the salty breeze of the sea, Marcelo turned back and was surprised to see Subaru still running after them, being at only a few meters distance.

"God, doesn't that fool know when to give up?" Marcelo spoke, frustrated.

"Huh? He's still chasing us?" Dani asked.

"Of course, you idiot, why else would I ask my previous question?"

"Eddy not understand why Marcelo worried."

"It's because he might pose a threat to us. If he manages to defeat us and get back the fire civilization orb, we'll never be able to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta! And we need to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta if we're going to win this war."

"Then you should stop worrying. In a few minutes we'll be back at the castle, and then everything's going to be over." Dani said and laughed.

After a few more meters of running, the three duelists reached the beach. They quickly climbed down the stairs and ran to right, towards the direction of Tabitha's castle. When Subaru reached the stairs, he stopped for a few moments to breathe. He had run all the way from the school to the beach as fast as he could, putting his whole body to really tiresome effort. He looked down and saw that Marcelo and his pals were taking a right turn. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Subaru started climbing down the stairs while saying in his mind:

"Get ready, Marcelo, I'm coming for you."

After a few kilometers of running, it seemed that the hand of tiredness was reaching Marcelo and his minions as well. Dani and Eddy were moving slower and slower, and when the castle could finally be seen, Marcelo turned back once again only to see that Subaru was still chasing them.

"Curses, doesn't that guy know when to give up?" Marcelo said and took the fire civilization orb from Dani's hands. "You hold him while I go to the castle to unite this with the other orbs!"

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Dani asked as he and Eddy stopped from running.

"I don't know, improvise!" Marcelo shouted as he ran straight to the castle.

Dani and Eddy turned back to Subaru and tried to block the way, but the running boy had more strength than them, so he simply pushed them aside, causing them to land on the sand, and kept running after Marcelo.

"You're not getting away this time, Marcelo!" Subaru shouted.

"Think again, loser! When I'll reach the castle, it will all be over for you!" Marcelo shouted back.

But as the castle could finally be seen a few miles away, the orb in Marcelo's hands suddenly glowed with an even brighter red light than before. This scared him so much that he slowed down, thus allowing Subaru to reach him. But then the fire civilization orb flew out of his hands and headed towards the castle. From Tabitha's throne room an even brighter light was coming. Then the water, light, nature and darkness civilization orbs came out and moved around in a circle. The fire civilization orb soon joined them and then a gate made of darkness opened in the sky, between the five orbs.

"Incredible!" Marcelo exclaimed as he stared at the strange phenomenon from the sky.

"What's going on here?" Subaru asked as he stopped right next to Marcelo.

"It's happening, it's actually happening! Hahaha, Devil Diabolos Zeta is coming!"

"Have you lost it, Marcelo? What are you talking about?"

But little did Marcelo know that back inside the castle, in the room where the hurt members of the team were lying, a strange darkness aura was surrounding Tabitha's unconscious body. All of a sudden, the witch opened her eyes, which were glowing with a red, almost hellish light. The aura become much stronger and then a black smoke came out of her body and left the room. That was when the aura disappeared and the witch's body began to rot. Her flesh quickly turned old and fell off, and when only her bones were left, they began to crack, slowly turning into dust. The black smoke made its way to the throne chamber, and once there, it jumped off the window and fell right past the five civilization orb. The smoke landed in front of Marcelo and Subaru, making the two move back with fear.

"What is the meaning of this?" Marcelo said while trembling.

The smoke took the form of a woman whose traits resembled Tabitha. Two red eyes appeared between the dark of the black mist, their sight piercing every shred of courage that the one who was being watched had.

"I-it can't be! This must be a dream!" Marcelo said.

"Who is this?" Subaru asked.

"I am death!" the being made of darkness said and made a deck appear in its right hand.

"A-are you… Tabitha?" Marcelo asked as he approached the being.

"Here's a hint!" the being said and tore Marcelo's carton crown into pieces with two dark tentacles which came out of its ethereal body. "Now, Marcelo, who is the leader?"

"You are, Tabitha-sama, you are!" Marcelo yelled and fell on his knees in front of the ghostly being.

"Pathetic…" Subaru mumbled and then turned to the being. "Are you the one named Tabitha Lenox?"

"Right you are, Subaru Geki, I am the ghost of the one who used to be Tabitha Lenox."

"You… You will pay for what you did to Tsugumi!"

Subaru also took out his deck and got face to face with the ghost of Tabitha. Two dueling tables came out and the two put their decks on them, set their five shields and drew their five cards. With the shout of 'Duel start!', their duel began.

But just as their duel began, back at the school, Tsugumi suddenly woke up with a scream of horror. In the next moment, Hakuoh and Edo rushed in the room with worried looks on their faces.

"What's going on, Tsugumi?" Hakuoh asked.

"Is everything alright?" Edo added.

"No, it's not alright! Subaru is in grave danger!" Tsugumi said as she tried to get up from the bed. "I've got to go after him!"

"You can't, Tsugumi, you're still hurt!" Hakuoh said and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to convince her to go back to bed. "Whatever happens, I won't let you go out there all by yourself, it can be very dangerous!"

All of a sudden, Edo put his hand on one of Hakuoh's arms and made the blonde boy look into his eyes.

"Please, let her go." Edo pleaded.

"Huh? But Edo…"

"Try to understand, Hakuoh-sama, that she has to. She and Subaru are connected, and if anyone needed her most in this moment, it was Suby."

"Oh fine, you can go… but I don't like the sound of this." Hakuoh said, worried.

Tsugumi smiled to both boys and then walked into the dressing room. The girl quickly took her red dress and her deck, all while thinking about Subaru and praying that he was alright.

Back at Tabitha's castle, the duel between the witch and Subaru was starting to get epic proportions. Both had lost a shield, and Subaru had his psychic creatures out on the battle zone. Volg Thunder, Thunder Tiger and Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier stood behind Subaru with might and were waiting eagerly for their master to order an attack. But then, Dani and Eddy appeared out of nowhere and interrupted the duel.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Dani asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…" Marcelo ironically replied.

"Eddy don't believe! Tabitha-sama alive! Eddy happy!" Eddy exclaimed as he watched the ghost of his master duel Subaru.

"Wow, that really is Tabitha-sama?" Dani added.

"Yes, indeed. And I got the feeling that Subaru is screwed." Marcelo commented.

"Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole!" Tabitha's ghost said and showed the darkness card to Subaru. "Choose one of your creatures and destroy it!"

"Hard choice." Subaru thought, but then he spoke to his opponent. "I destroy Black Ganveet."

The demon dressed in a red-caped golden armor, which was wielding two two-headed scythes with blue energy blades, and which was also riding a skeletal horse screamed in agony as he blew up.

"Then I summon Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler!" Tabitha continued.

The earth shook as from the darkness gate a black demon with a long snake like tail, two long sharp swords and two huge black guns on its shoulders descended. The demon landed right behind Tabitha and gazed upon Subaru and his two psychic creatures as the gate closed.

"What is this thing?" Subaru spoke with fear.

"This is your doom!" Tabitha replied with a creepy tone in her voice that made Subaru's spine shiver.

"No, I'm not giving up yet! I can still win this! Psychic link!"

The red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword and the black-armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes got surrounded by purple auras as they united into one. A bright purple light shined behind Subaru for a moment, and then a giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword came out of it and roared at Tabitha and her psychic creature.

"I'll make sure you go through the hell in which you put Tsugumi, or even worse than that, you monster!" Subaru said as he tapped his psychic creature card. "Ike, Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast, attack!"

By Volg Tiger's effect, Tabitha discarded the last card from her hand, Hyperspatial Guard Hole. Subaru gave her a slick smile as he summoned a creature from his graveyard due to Volg Tiger's effect.

"I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Diabolos Zeta back to the hyperspatial zone!"

"Hah, in your dreams!" Tabitha laughed at him.

"Huh?"

"Diabolos Zeta can't be chosen by the ability of a creature! You fool!"

"Oh no…" Subaru murmured, but then he got angry and yelled. "IKE, VOLG TIGER, DOUBLE BREAK HER SHIELDS!"

The tiger demon slashed two of Tabitha's shields with its purple sword, making the shield shards go through the dark ghost. But as the attack finished, the shield shards began to unite into two cards which she took to her hand. The ghostly witch laughed a bit and then spoke to her opponent:

"Hehehe, it will all be over soon!"

Back at the school, the wind was blowing stronger than usual for that time of the year. The trees were restlessly moving, the dust was flowing in the air, and the city was looking like a macabre ghost town at dawn. Even though the sun was slowly rising, you still had the feeling that there was something lurking beneath the shadows, waiting to strike.

Tsugumi bravely walked out of the school's and stood in the middle of the schoolyard for a moment.

"Subaru, hold on, I'm coming!" the blonde girl spoke in her mind.

Clenching both her fists, the girl began to run like a marathon racer, following the direction which Subaru took when he went after Marcelo.

Meanwhile, at Subaru's and Tabitha's duel, Diabolos Zeta got surrounded by an aura which had the colors of all five civilization orbs. The monster grew in size, and when the aura disappeared, Subaru saw a giant creature in blue armor, wielding two sharp purple swords and with an armor made of gold on its back which had two dragons and six blue wings attached to it.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, AWAKEN, DEVIL DIABOLOS ZETA, EVIL AWAKENED!" Tabitha yelled, uncontrollably.

The monster opened its blue eyes in which the world which it would destroy could've seen. Dani, Eddy, Marcelo and Subaru were all staring stunned at the evil monster. Five beams began to descend from the five civilization orbs, and they all fell upon Devil Diabolos Zeta, giving his body strength, until he managed to fully materialize into the human world. Now he wasn't a creature in a duel anymore, he was a creature brought upon the human world, ready to wraek havoc upon the unsuspecting flesh creatures.

Then, all of a sudden, a gate to hell opened right above Tabitha's ghost. From that gate, a red crown with two long and sharp horns came out and descended right unto the ghost's head. The crown shined with a bright red light and surrounded the ghost with it. After a few moments, the black smoke disappeared and revealed the new body that Tabitha had received. She looked like she was 30 years old, her long blonde hair being a little less curly. Her red lips looked more seducing than before and her skin was much softer. Her blue eyes kept the same menacing cold stare. The witch was now wearing a purple dress with a dark blue cape and white boots.

"Tabitha Lenox, this is your reward for the success you've had today." a demonic voice spoke from the gate.

"Thank you, I am forever grateful!" Tabitha replied.

"Now go and destroy all humanity!" the demon ordered as the gate to hell closed.

The witch turned back to Subaru and spoke with her younger, but still threatening voice:

"How ironic that you of all people helped me to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta and fulfill my destiny. Now it's time to finish this! Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened, attack!"

Devil Diabolos Zeta slashed Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast and Aqua Surfer, killing the latter and separating Volg and Tiger. Tiger got destroyed and Volg remained tapped in the battle zone. Then Devil Diabolos Zeta fired two laser beams from both its dragon heads and broke Subaru's last 4 shields. The attack was so powerful that it blew Subaru a few feet away from the table and knocked him unconscious. The shards from his shields floated above him and slowly united into 4 cards which fell on him. Those cards were Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, two Hades Death Gate and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom. None of them could help him win the game, and Volg Thunder couldn't help him win the game. It was over, Tabitha had won.

The witch turned to her minions, who bowed down both with fear and respect.

"Tabitha-sama, is that really you?" Dani asked.

"Indeed it is, my loyal Dani. I have come back from the dead to finish what I have begun." Tabitha said, and then she flew in the air straight towards Devil Diabolos Zeta, until she was right in front of the monster's face. "Devil Diabolos Zeta, I am Tabitha Lenox, the one who summoned you to this world!"

"Tabitha Lenox… you have respected our deal." Devil Diabolos Zeta replied with a deep, low and growled voice. "Now… I shall conquer this pathetic world, and then we will rule upon these flesh creatures!"

"So it shall be written and so it shall be done!" Tabitha said and laughed. "Now go, Devil Diabolos Zeta, and destroy that city!"

The monster nodded to the witch and flew away. Once he reached the city, a giant shadow fell upon a part of it, making the humans think that night had returned once again. Then, all of a sudden, the two dragon heads from Devil Diabolos Zeta's body roared, shaking most of the city's buildings. Then they fired lasers upon them, causing a great fire. Afterwards, Devil Diabolos Zeta began to slash more buildings with his swords, causing havoc everywhere. The humans were running desperately on the streets while the destroyed buildings were falling on most of them.

Meanwhile, Tsugumi was making her way through the crowd of desperate people, trying to reach the beach as fast as she could. When she was finally left alone on the streets, she could see the destruction that was caused by the monstruous Devil Diabolos Zeta. The girl froze with fear as she remembered the moment when she had faced the creature in her duel against Tabitha. It was almost as if she was staring into the face of pure evil, and that evil was now back to haunt her. But then the blonde girl woke up from her daydreaming as she heard a certain noise. She looked above her and was relieved to see Kokujo's UFO. A beam came down from the spaceship and teleported her inside. There she was greeted warmly by Tarja.

"Tsugumi, you're safe! I was so worried!" Tarja exclaimed and hugged the blonde girl.

"I'm alright, Tarja-san." Tsugumi replied and smiled to her.

"So, tell me what happened."

"It's a long story. Tabitha attacked the school and managed to get the five civilization orbs. During the battle, I was knocked unconscious. Still, I had this terrible dream in which Subaru was challenging Tabitha to a duel, and he was in great danger! To make it worse, when I woke up, Edo and Hakuoh told me that Subaru went after Tabitha's minions, so I decided to follow his steps. I still got the feeling that he's in danger and that he needs me!"

"While I stood here all night… Oh, and speaking of that, Marcelo came at 3 AM and to ask me if I want to be his wife!"

"Marcelo? Oh God! No, I can't tell her the truth about him, she'd be heartbroken." Tsugumi thought, and then she spoke to Tarja. "Oh, how… weird?"

"Yeah, I wonder why he did it."

"That's the least of our problems. Set coordinates for Tabitha's castle, I want to reach it as fast as we can!"

"Hmm, let me see." Tarja said and pushed a few buttons. "There, all done! I'm starting to get along with all this new technology."

"I'm glad, Tarja-san! Now let's go, we got a world to save!"

Back at Tabitha's castle, the reborn witch was in the room where her old body once lied, staring at the wounded Hanna and Tobey. She raised both her hands in the air and put them above her two minions. Two beams fell from her hands, the one from her left hand making Hanna's left arm grow back, her wounds heal and also turning her kimono from red to blue. The beam from her right hand healed all the piranha bites that Tobey got and replaced his student suit with the red robes of a college graduate. Both opened their eyes and got up from their beds. Hanna first took a look on her blue kimono, and then she turned to Tabitha and spoke with amazement:

"Tabitha-sama, you're…"

"What? This beautiful woman is Tabitha-sama?" Tobey spoke with the same amazement.

"Yes, my loyal servants, I am Tabitha Lenox, the Queen of Evil!" Tabitha exclaimed and showed them her royal clothing. "Now let's have some fun!"

Tabitha, Hanna and Tobey walked out of the room and went to the throne chamber, where Dani, Eddy and Marcelo were already waiting for their queen. With the team full once again, they all bowed down to their master as she sat on her throne and said:

"Today we've had a great victory, my servants! I have victoriously returned to you and I've also reunited our team! But the thing to which we owe our victory is none other than Devil Diabolos Zeta!"

"Heck yeah, we'll now kick their butts!" Dani exclaimed.

"Tabitha-sama has truly proven to us that no matter how much the odds are against her, she'll still find a way to make a comeback. I am truly impressed!" Tobey added.

"Tabitha-sama won, Eddy happy!"

Hanna and Marcelo didn't speak a word to Tabitha. They both stood there, staring at the floor. But then they all heard Tabitha snapping her fingers. In the next moment, a metal cross appeared at the left of the throne and on it, lying tied by metals was none other than the unconscious Subaru. Hanna's jaw dropped as she saw the boy she had a crush on being held there. She would've jumped to rescue him, but she didn't want to risk making Tabitha suspicious.

"Tabitha-sama, why did you bring him here?" Hanna asked.

"He will be the bait with which we'll lure the chosen duelists to our trap. And then we will be rid of them all!" Tabitha said with an evil grin on her face.

Hanna clenched her fists in anger as she tried to control her emotions. The girl still viewed the chosen duelists as her friends and she didn't want to see them hurt. No matter how grateful she was for being healed, she would never accept to work under someone who would hurt those which actually showed compassion to her. The blue haired girl turned to Marcelo and whispered to his ear:

"How long is it be until we dethrone Tabitha?"

"Don't worry, Hanna, it won't be long now. You just keep following Tabitha's orders like a good minion, and when the time will come, I will ask you to help me. Patience, Hanna, we will soon be drinking from the goblet of victory." Marcelo whispered back.

Marcelo's answer didn't offer her at all the comfort she was seeking. All of a sudden, her worst fears came back once again and she felt like the world around her was falling apart. But then, Tabitha posted a question which made both her and Marcelo shiver.

"Marcelo, what were you up to lately?"

"Uh, what do you mean, Tabitha-sama?" Marcelo asked while sweating.

"I mean why were you wearing a crown while I was a ghost? And why did you order Dani and Eddy to attack the school when me and the others were lying on our deathbeds?" Tabitha asked, and that made Hanna realize something as well.

"Why did you always encourage me to turn against Tabitha-sama?" Hanna also asked, making Marcelo walk back to a corner of the room. "Is this another one of your schemes to put yourself in a more favorable position?"

"Hanna, whatever are you talking about?" Marcelo asked, trying to look innocent.

"You've been plotting against me all along! Admit it!" Hanna said and put her index figer on Marcelo's chest.

"Do you guys know what's going on here?" Tobey asked.

"Don't ask me, ask the big guy." Dani replied and pointed to Eddy.

"Who knows." Eddy said.

"Marcelo, what have you been plotting behind my back?" Tabitha said and walked to Marcelo and Hanna.

"I haven't been plotting anything, I'm your loyal second-in-command, Tabitha-sama!" Marcelo tried to defend himself.

"You can't fool me anymore! I know you're much cunning than that!" Tabitha said.

Then, all of a sudden, Marcelo rushed to the table on which Tabitha kept all her cards, for the witch was working on a new deck. He quickly snatched the Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened card and said:

"Hahaha, Tabitha, you were not worthy of Devil Diabolos Zeta's power! You're nothing compared to me, the true Duel Master!" Marcelo said.

"You'll pay for those words, you traitor!" Tabitha shouted.

Marcelo took out a gas bomb from his pocket and threw it on the floor, causing a small explosion and filling the room with a thick gas. Using this opportunity, he fled away. However, Hanna managed to see him run through the gas and she ran after him. They both climbed down the stairs and exited the castle, thus running on the beach on the way back to the city which was in flames.

"You're not getting away, Marcelo! I knew that you were scheming something, and now that your secret is out, it will be a pleasure taking you down!" Hanna spoke in her mind.


	101. Zeta Wars, Part 2: Friendship

With the Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened card in his hands, Marcelo was heading back to the city. Once there, he'd go after Devil Diabolos Zeta and try to strike a deal with the monster. If he would've convinced the monster that Tabitha was a worthless ally, he'd finally get the power that he wanted. And now that he was free from Tabitha's clutches, it was only a matter of time.

"Soon I will be this world's leader!" Marcelo spoke loudly.

But little did Marcelo know that Hanna was following him, being just a few meters behind him.

At Tabitha's castle, the smoke from the throne chamber had finally vanished. Now the three minions which were left in the room were sitting on their knees in fear as an angry Tabitha was lamenting about what was happening.

"YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS, HOW COULD YOU LET HIM GET AWAY?" Tabitha yelled.

"It wasn't our fault, Tabitha-sama." Tobey tried to defend the group.

"Silence! Why must I be surrounded by traitors like Marcelo and useless twits like you three?" Tabitha said and fired a laser beam in a fit of rage, creating a hole right in front of Dani, Tobey and Eddy. "You will find Marcelo and bring him to me immediately!"

"Y-yes, Tabitha-sama!" the three responded with fear and ran out of the throne chamber.

At the city, hell was being unleashed due to the monstrosity known as Devil Diabolos Zeta. The fiend was demolishing the buildings, setting the city on fire and watching how the humans under him were utterly killed. The heat was barely supportable, all you could hear were the sounds of crushing buildings and screams of agony, all you could see were people that were either running or flying away with their rockets as fast as they could. But it didn't matter whether they chose the air or the ground as their way of escape, most of them wouldn't survive. Those who were on the ground would be crushed by the falling buildings, whereas those who were flying away would most likely be burned to ashes by Devil Diabolos Zeta's dragon heads.

In order to not risk being spotted by Devil Diabolos Zeta, Tsugumi and Tarja landed with the UFO at the exit of the city. Tsugumi had gone on her own to find Tabitha's castle, whereas Tarja remained at the UFO and offered shelter to the few survivors who managed to escape the burning city.

Marcelo stopped at the stairs which united the beach with the city. He had run the whole night and was starting to get exhausted. While he was taking deep breaths, he took out the Devil Diabolos Zeta card from his pocket and admired its evilness.

"Heh, it was about time I betrayed Tabitha. It won't be long now until I will finally bring down that witch." Marcelo said and was about to begin climbing.

Then, all of a sudden, he heard some footsteps touch the sand, approaching him from behind. Marcelo turned around and saw a blue-haired girl in a blue kimono approaching him from the direction of Tabitha's castle.

"Hehehe, so there you are." Marcelo laughed as he stared evilly at the girl.

After turning a quarter of the city into a fiery ruin, Devil Diabolos Zeta finally showed a change. The monster ceased attacking the buildings and suddenly flew a little higher so that he was above the city's largest building. Then the monster stared at the one building which caught his interest, the Duel Masters summer school. At the school, Hakuoh was staring back at the monster through the window.

"I've lost my disciple and loyal friend, I won't let you get your claws on my other pals! Even if this school will burn to ashes, you'll never hurt them!" Hakuoh thought.

The blonde boy ran to the control room and looked under the main computer. There he saw a big shiny red button on which it had written the following message: 'Press only in desperate situations'. Obviously, the situation in which they were was more than desperate, so Hakuoh quickly pressed the red button and made the whole school shake. All of a sudden, the school rose from the ground and began to change its form from a building to a human-like machine. Two parts of it turned into arms, other two turned into legs and the rest took the form of a robotic warrior whose head consisted of the control room.

"You're mine, Zeta!" Hakuoh spoke through the giant speakers.

"Heh, bring it on, foolish mortal!" Devil Diabolos Zeta calmly replied.

Back at the beach, Marcelo was sitting face to face with Hanna, ready to confront her.

"So, Marcelo, what exactly are your intentions?"

"Incredible power!" Marcelo exclaimed and showed Hanna the Devil Diabolos Zeta card.

"Incredible power?" the girl asked, confused.

"Yes, Devil Diabolos Zeta and I will rule together!"

"You and Devil Diabolos Zeta?"

"It's not too late for you to join us, Hanna. If you work under us, who knows, you might become the greatest duelist ever! Or would you rather fight and die in vain?"

"Save your breath, you mindless fool, I'd rather fight and die than follow the likes of you and Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Hanna said and showed her glowing deck.

"I'm so disappointed of you, Hanna. Oh well, have it your way…" Marcelo said and took out his deck as well.

Two dueling tables rose from the sand and both duelists approached them and put their decks on them. They raised up their shields, drew their five cards and began their match.

"I guess I'll start. I summon Troll, Grafitti Doll!" Marcelo said.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Hanna said, then she drew two cards and discarded Necrodragon Zabi Cassiopeia.

"Your start is getting weaker than I've expected, Hanna. Just a proof of how much you've 'evolved' while you were with the chosen duelists. Oh well, your loss. I cast Bloody Cross!"

With the spell's effect, both Marcelo and Hanna put the top two cards from their decks to their graveyards. Marcelo got Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole and Hannibal Zeta, the Charismatic Annihilator in his graveyard and Hanna got Terror Pit and Hyperspatial Samurai Hole in hers. Marcelo smiled as he tapped his Troll, Grafitti Doll card and said:

"Soul Recall 1, I send Hannibal Zeta, the Charismatic Annihilator to the bottom of my deck and discard a card from your hand!"

The card which Hanna discarded was Inferno Sign. Things didn't look pretty for her at all. Marcelo's creature broke her shield and she got surrounded by the shield shards. She gave him a stare filled with hate as she waited for the shield shards to unite into the card which would go to her hand.

"My turn, I summon Deis Melnia, the Aqua-Shadow!" Hanna said.

"It's good, but not enough to stop me! I cast Primal Scream!" Marcelo said and put the top cards from his deck to his graveyard, those cards being Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Galatia Dragoon, Grudge Gathering and Clause Zeta, Death Count. "Heh, I return Clause Zeta to my hand! Then I use Troll's Soul Recall and put Galatia Dragoon to the bottom of my deck. Ike, Troll, discard a card and break her shield!"

This time Hanna discarded Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons. It was clear to her that she had to make a good comeback in that moment, or else she'd lose the advantage of the duel.

"It's time to get serious! I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil!" Hanna said and a train with a blue locomotive which had two big hands and a serpent head appeared behind her while filling the air with steam from its engine. "Ike, Deis Melnia, suicide with Troll!"

"Hah, why didn't you just block in the first place?" Marcelo asked.

"Because, my 'dear' Marcelo, Zabi Trash Train lets me draw a card whenever one of my Aliens gets destroyed, so I now draw a card! It's time to counter attack your discard!"

"Hah, stubborn as ever I see. Still, you can't stand a chance against my mighty creatures! I summon Clause Zeta, Death Count!"

At the castle, Tabitha was sitting by the throne chamber's window and watching how the sun was bringing another summer morning upon the city. The star's hot rays combined with the smoke and the flames didn't seem at all a good combination for the witch, so she created a red beam in her right hand and said:

"Let's make some atmosphere!"

Tabitha fired the red beam upon the sky and suddenly turned it from blue to crimson red. At the city, the act which the witch had done was bringing even more panic amongst the citizens. Now that that problem was settled, Tabitha looked upon the city once again and got lost in her thoughts.

"This whole war seems to have been for nothing. With or without the psychic creatures, I still managed to summon Devil Diabolos Zeta into this world and most of my goals have been achieved. Despite a few minor setbacks, I control this planet now. And soon I will bring the chosen duelists to their knees."

Tabitha then turned to the table on which she was building her new deck. Her attention was caught by three new psychic creatures which were shining with bright yellow, purple and red lights.

Back at the duel on the beach, it was the turn of Hanna. Before she could draw, the girl got a strange feeling in her right hand, and right as she was about to touch her deck, her hand glowed with a bright blue light.

"Huh? What's with this whole light show?" Marcelo asked.

"Get ready, Marcelo, 'cause you're about to experience a world of pain!" Hanna said as she drew the card and placed it upon her Zabi Trash Train card. "Evolution! Zabi Trash Train, become Emperor Cebu Marco X!"

A green marine creature with three sharp mouths and a red X on its head rose from the sea and jumped behind Hanna while roaring at the scared Marcelo.

"With his effect I'll draw 3 cards! Ike, Emperor Cebu Marco X, double break his shields!" Hanna ordered and the creature roared so loudly that 2 of Marcelo's shields got shattered into pieces.

"Argh! You'll pay for that!" Marcelo shouted. "My turn, I summon Galatia Dragoon! Soul Recall 2, I send Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole to the bottom of my deck and destroy Emperor Cebu Marco X with Clause Zeta's effect!"

Hanna's creature roared with pain and blew up right behind her, making the blue light from her hand disappear.

"Ike, Clause Zeta, break her shield!" Marcelo ordered.

"I summon Bolshack NEX!" Hanna said. "With its effect I also summon Cocco Lupia from my deck!"

"Hah, your attempts at trying to control the zone are getting pathetic, Hanna. Watch a true master in action! I cast Bloody Cross!" Marcelo said and got End of the World, Dark Divine Dragon and Hyperspatial Vice Hole into his graveyard. "Soul Recall 2, I send End of the World and Hyperspatial Vice Hole to the bottom of my deck and destroy Bolshack NEX! Ike, Clause Zeta, break another shield! Hahahahahaha, it will soon be over, Hanna! Give up while you still can!"

"Even with one shield left, I'll still be able to defeat you!"

"Tough words for someone in your situation."

"We'll see about that! I summon Dark Lupia! And now here's a little surprise for you, Marcelo: I summon Heavy, Dragon God!"

"What the…"

"I destroy Heavy, draw a card, and now you'll be forced to destroy one of your creatures!"

"I destroy Galatia Dragoon!" Marcelo said while sweating.

"Then with Dark Lupia's effect I will destroy Clause Zeta as well!" Hanna added while watching Marcelo's creature being slashed in two by her fire bird's scythe. "How do you like that for a comeback?"

"Grr, I'm not done with you yet, you goodie two shoes! I summon Necrodragon Skull Gravitz and Troll, Grafitti Doll!"

"Marcelo, Marcelo, Marcelo, you should know when to give up."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean… that it's over!"

Suddenly, Hanna's right hand got surrounded by an even brighter red aura. Marcelo had to cover his eyes, for the power of the card which Hanna was about to use was so great that he couldn't imagine what was cooking for him. When the bright red light disappeared, Marcelo saw that a dragon dressed in golden armor which was wielding four sharp laser cannons had appeared behind Hanna.

"W-w-what is that thing?" Marcelo asked with fear.

"This is GILL Supergalactic Dragon! With his effect I may destroy any number of your creatures with a power of 9000 or less, and for each destroyed creature I may put one of your shields to your graveyard!" Hanna said and pointed at Marcelo's creatures. "Destroy Skull Gravitz and Troll!"

The dragon roared and aimed two of its cannons at Marcelo's creatures. The creature fired two red lasers from it and killed them both. Then the dragon aimed its other two cannons at two of Marcelo's shields and blasted them off into smithereens. The cards from Marcelo's shields were Terror Pit and Grudge Gathering, but since they were sent to the graveyard, he couldn't use them.

"Curse you, Hanna, and your dragon too!" Marcelo shouted.

"Your curses won't save you this time! Ike, Cocco Lupia, break his final shield!" Hanna ordered and the red fire bird chirped and flew through Marcelo's last shield, breaking it. "It's over! Dark Lupia, to…"

Before Hanna could give the final attack, the Devil Diabolos Zeta card suddenly came out of Marcelo's pockets and surrounded him and his cards with a dark purple aura. The card made him fly away with all of his cards and took him in the direction of Devil Diabolos Zeta. Hanna looked at him with anger and hit the table with her foot while saying:

"Damn, that coward got away once again!"

"Hanna-san!" a familiar voice shouted her name.

The blue-haired girl looked up and was surprised to see that Tsugumi was sitting at the stairs and had watched her duel against Marcelo all that time.

"Tsugumi-chan…" Hanna murmured.

The last thing Subaru could remember was Devil Diabolos Zeta's attack which knocked him unconscious. Slowly, the darkness was fading. He opened his eyes and first saw things foggy.

"Ah, you're finally awake." a woman's voice spoke.

As he adjusted his sight, he managed to distinguish a throne chamber with grey brick walls, purple curtains, two tables and a red rug which led to the throne next to him. He also saw a woman dressed in purple and with a red crown which had two extremely large horns. In the next moment he remembered what happened in his previous duel and struggled to get loose.

"Hahahahahaha, try how hard you wish, you can't escape those hard metals. Not even the strongest man in this world can break them." Tabitha laughed.

"You son of a…" Subaru replied. "Why did you bring me here?"

"You see, Subaru Geki, you are a precious item in this whole war."

"War? What are you talking about?"

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that you are all mine!"

"I'll never belong to anyone else!"

"Haha, you'd wish, Subaru. But you see, this whole summer you'd been my pawn, and you've played exactly after my wishes." Tabitha said and made a mirror appear in front of Subaru, on which she showed him images of him, Hanna, Marcelo and events from the psychic creature hunt. "Those whom you thought as your friends, Hanna and Marcelo, are actually working under my command."

"No! This can't be!" Subaru spoke loudly as his eyes widened.

"I am the one which raised Hanna, she's served me well in all my conquests and followed devotedly every plan of mine. As for Marcelo, he was my loyal second-in-command, always coming up with new brilliant plans on how to defeat our enemy."

"You're lying! Those are not the people I know! Hanna is a loving and caring girl, and Marcelo is a great man and devoted friend!"

"Hah, you'd wish! That was the 'perfect' world in which I placed you, Subaru. Marcelo rescuing you from the waves' wrath, you guys living with Hanna in that beach house, Marcelo's manipulations over you – telling you what was right or wrong, always keeping you away from Hakuoh and the chosen duelists, everything was part of my plan!"

"Plan? What plan are you talking about, you damned witch?"

"Oh, it's going to be something big, even bigger than you could imagine! But what matters now is that you're mine! Now you've got an important decision to make: either join me and my minions or die. And if you choose the latter, I'll let you watch how the chosen duelists suffer miserable deaths right before you join them."

"I'd never join you! Not even if you were the last being on this planet!"

"You might want to change your mind. I wouldn't like to have a nice looking chap like you be tortured and murdered."

"Nice looking chap? You sure you're alright, Tabitha Lenox?"

"Ah, if only you didn't stand in my way so many times." Tabitha said and put her right hand on his chest. "I'd so love to honor you with my seductive tricks."

"Eh? Get away from me, you freak!" Subaru yelled, rejecting her advances.

"Tsh, fine, but remember this: you'll regret your decision sooner than you think!"

Tabitha turned around and got out of the throne chamber, leaving Subaru all alone. The black-haired boy was devastated. Everything that he thought was right had been shattered into pieces. The world he knew was a lie. He still couldn't believe that the only two persons in his life who showed compassion towards him were nothing more than manipulators all that time. As he sat there in the darkness of despair, he could see a small light of hope in his past. That light was the only one whom he felt he could completely trust, and that was Tsugumi. Suddenly, he felt a tear fall on his right cheek.

"Tsugumi, forgive me, I couldn't avenge you." Subaru thought and then looked at the red sky through the window. "Whatever happens from now on, I'm glad that I had the chance to meet you."

Back at the beach, Hanna had finished packing up her cards. Now the girl climbed the stairs to the city and met up with Tsugumi.

"What are you doing here?" Hanna asked.

"I was looking for Tabitha's castle, but then I found you challenging Marcelo to a duel." Tsugumi responded.

"And why did you wait for me instead of going at the castle?"

"Because you're my friend."

"I'm your friend?"

"Yeah, that's right, you're my friend! That means we have to help each other."

"Help each other?" Hanna asked and blushed. "After everything I've done to you guys, you still think I'm your friend?"

"Everyone makes wrong decisions, Hanna-san, but what makes friends special is that they can forgive." Tsugumi replied and showed the blue-haired girl the necklace which she threw off when she betrayed the chosen duelists. "I thought you might want this back."

"I'm lost for words…"

Tsugumi helped Hanna put the necklace back on her neck and afterwards she smiled at the blushing girl.

"Now let's go catch that Marcelo!" Tsugumi said and ran towards the city in flames.

"Right behind you!" Hanna replied and followed her.

Meanwhile, in the center of the city, the battle which none would imagine was going on. Hakuoh had transformed the whole Duel Masters summer school into a giant robot and was controlling it. With this high-tech machine, he was hoping that he'd be able to bring down the beast which was known as Devil Diabolos Zeta. And so, the battle had begun. The robot ran towards the monster, ready for a direct attack. Devil Diabolos Zeta's dragon heads responded with two laser beams, making the robot rise a small defensive shield from its left hand. After the attack was over, the robot jumped on Devil Diabolos Zeta and pinned the monster to the ground, crushing a few buildings in the process. Hakuoh was about to deliver Devil Diabolos Zeta a punch in the face, but the monster simply threw the robot away and got up. The robot landed on its own feet, but then the monster used one of its swords and made a hole in the left side of its waist. Zeta used its other sword to stab the robot in the head, but Hakuoh managed to use the robots arms and block it. Devil Diabolos Zeta was surprised of the human's apparent speed and strength. In a fit of rage, Hakuoh yelled and crushed Zeta's sword into pieces. Then the robot punched Devil Diabolos Zeta in the face, throwing the monster back.

All this was seen by Marcelo, who was being brought to Devil Diabolos Zeta by the card. As he was floating in the air by the card's power, he spoke to himself:

"That fool! He can't even compare himself to the mighty Devil Diabolos Zeta! He'll be crushed before he knows it!"

Meanwhile, inside the city, Tsugumi and Hanna were making their way through the crowds of desperate people which were trying their best to leave the city.

"Please, make way!" Tsugumi shouted.

"It's no use, Tsugumi, we won't be able to reach Zeta before Marcelo in this way!" Hanna said.

"We can't give up now, Hanna-san!"

All of a sudden, a building began clinging, making people run even faster. Hanna managed to stand on her feet as they passed, but Tsugumi was knocked down. When the blonde girl got up, she saw that the building was about to fall on her. Just as she was about to be crushed, Hanna jumped on her and both were pushed away from the colossal architecture, landing on the solid road. The blue-haired girl got up, wiped the dust off her blue kimono, and then she leaned to Tsugumi and helped her up as well.

"That was a close one." Hanna said.

"I guess I owe you one." Tsugumi replied.

"Nah, it's ok, just did what anyone would've done."

Just as they were about to continue their quest, a strange figure appeared in front of them. The stranger was much taller than them, wore big boots, a bone armor, a black cape and a snake on his left hand. He had long black hair and a face that made you think of the ugliest demons from hell.

"I don't believe it!" Tsugumi exclaimed. "It's Mr Lordi!"

"Tsugumi!" the monster exclaimed with a friendly voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a quest to defeat Devil Diabolos Zeta, that monster which is destroying the city. What about you?"

"I've come back because I felt that something wrong was going on here, and it seems that I wasn't wrong." Mr Lordi said, but then he noticed Hanna. "What is she doing here?"

All of a sudden, Mr Lordi revealed his sharp teeth and claws. His eyes turned hellishly red as he growled at the girl. He approached Hanna, ready to tear her apart, while saying:

"Tabitha's behind this whole thing, right? Let's see how she likes it when her precious minion is being torn into pieces!"

"No, don't, Mr Lordi!" Tsugumi shouted and ran towards him, blocking his way to Hanna. "If you want hurt her, you'll have to go through me first!"

"Tsugumi-chan…" Hanna spoke, shocked.

"Get out of the way, Tsugumi, she's the enemy!" Mr Lordi said.

"No, she's not! Listen, she might have been against us in the past, but she's changed, honestly!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen, Mr Lordi, Hanna had betrayed Tabitha due to the witch treating her badly. Since she didn't have where to go, she decided to join the chosen duelists. There's nothing to worry about, she's on our side now!"

"Hmm, I think I'll trust her then, Tsugumi." Mr Lordi said and got back to normal. "But I hope you won't do anything fishy, Hanna!"

"Thank you for the trust, Mr Lordi. And I'm sorry for what I've did to you guys in the past, I now understand how evil my master is." Hanna apologized.

"Ok, now that this is settled, what's the plan, guys?" Mr Lordi asked.

"Do you see that thing?" Tsugumi said and pointed to the man surrounded by a purple aura which was flying in the direction of Devil Diabolos Zeta. "That is Marcelo Cabuli!"

"That bastard again?" Mr Lordi shouted.

"Tabitha brought him back from the dead." Hanna explained. "He played an important role in her schemes – like tricking Subaru, capturing psychic creatures, seducing Tarja…"

"WHAT? SEDUCING TARJA?" Mr Lordi yelled. "That son of a bitch! How dare he steal my girl? I'll teach him a lesson!"

"But, Mr Lordi, didn't you decide to break up with Tarja-san after calling off the wedding?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yeah, I did, but now I've changed my mind. I want to apologize to her and start things over again."

"Well, we've got no time to waste! If Marcelo reaches Devil Diabolos Zeta, we'll get a new enemy which might be more powerful than even Tabitha! We've got to stop him now!" Tsugumi said.

"Ok, girls, hop on my back! I'll make sure to catch that worm!" Mr Lordi said.

Hanna and Tsugumi jumped on Mr Lordi's back and with a roar, the demon goblin jumped in the air. Mr Lordi landed on a building's room, and from that point they could see the fight between the robot and Devil Diabolos Zeta. They also noticed that Marcelo was getting closer and closer to the beast.

Hakuoh maneuvered the robot and fired lasers from both its hands, those lasers causing several cracks in Devil Diabolos Zeta's armor. The monster responded by firing lasers from both its dragon heads, and since the robot had only one shield, it got partially hit by the lasers' power, getting thrown back and landing on the half of the city which was still unharmed, crashing a few buildings in the process. The robot got up as Devil Diabolos Zeta was preparing a new attack. It could be easily seen that both Hakuoh and the giant robot were starting to get weakened.

"I'd give up my struggle and fly away as fast as I could if I were you. That way you'd stretch your life a little more." Devil Diabolos Zeta said.

"I'd never let my friends be destroyed by you! NEVER!" Hakuoh yelled.

The robot got up once again and ran to Devil Diabolos Zeta. The monster waited for this move and one of its heads aimed its laser mouth towards him. But Zeta underestimated him and Hakuoh made the robot punch that head, thus making the laser be fired in another direction. Luckily for Marcelo, the laser didn't harm him, but it went exactly at Mr Lordi. Since he was jumping, he couldn't avoid the laser, so he threw Tsugumi and Hanna off his back and used his powers to split the laser beam in half. As for the girls, Hanna landed on a building's roof, but Tsugumi was clinging to a broken pipe of a different building, and that pipe was going to fall soon.

"Tsugumi!" Hanna yelled. "Hang on, I'll help you!"

The blue-haired girl ran into the building and went to the elevator. To her unluck, it wasn't working, so she climbed down the stairs quickly. But as she reached the 7th floor, she felt that the building was shaking and was about to fall in the opposite direction of Tsugumi's building. The girl quickly opened a window and saw the building where she was supposed to go.

"Here goes nothing!" Hanna said and jumped off the window.

Luckily for her, the jump was strong enough and she managed to fall into the opened window from the 6th floor of that building. Then she climbed the stairs until she reached the 9th floor, where Tsugumi was holding the pipe.

"Hanna-san!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she saw Hanna opening a window and stretching her hand.

"Quickly, grab my hand!" Hanna shouted.

Tsugumi tried to grab it the first time, but then the pipe shook and was about to detach from that building's wall. The blonde girl got scared for a bit, but then she closed her eyes, thought of Subaru and reached her hand once again. Hanna grabbed Tsugumi's hand just as the pipe fell from the building. As she helped her up, Hanna said:

"Phew, that was a close one."

"You can say that again." Tsugumi replied while jumping into the building. "Thank you for the help, Hanna!"

"You're welcome." Hanna said and blushed. "We'd better be going! Mr Lordi must be looking for us!"

The girls rushed to the roof of the building and were surprised to find Mr Lordi waiting for them right there.

"Took you some time to come." Mr Lordi joked.

"Huh? But how did you find us?" Hanna asked.

"I followed the scent of your blood. Anyway, that Devil Diabolos Zeta isn't joking at all. It seems that the poor robot doesn't stand a chance."

"Huh? What robot?" Tsugumi asked and looked at the epic fight of the titans.

Hakuoh's robot couldn't resist much. Being desperate to defeat Zeta, Hakuoh made the robot give him another direct attack. Unfortunately, the monster anticipated that and quickly disappeared and then reappeared behind Hakuoh's gigantic robot. Before the blonde boy could react, Devil Diabolos Zeta stabbed the robot in the hole made in its waist with one of its swords and then used the other to stab its neck. Losing power, the robot gave up and fell on the ground to its defeat. Hakuoh fell out through a window and landed in a tree. Cherishing his victory, Devil Diabolos Zeta returned to destroying the other half of the city.

"Hakuoh-sama!" Tsugumi yelled.

"You two take care of him!" Mr Lordi said and jumped with the two girls into the tree where Hakuoh was. "There, make sure he's put to safety."

"What about you?" Hanna asked.

"I'm gonna bring down that Zeta monster!"

Mr Lordi jumped out of the tree and landed on the roof of another building. He then jumped a few more roofs, passing Marcelo and reaching Devil Diabolos Zeta. Marcelo rubbed his eyes and looked at Mr Lordi with a big shocked expression on his face.

"No, it can't be! He's dead!" Marcelo exclaimed.

After a few more jumps, Mr Lordi approached Devil Diabolos Zeta. He planned his surprise attack carefully and quickly soared through the air until he reached the monster. That was when he gathered his whole monster powers in both his fists and gave Zeta two punches, one which cracked the back of his armor and another which made his wings weaken and have him land on the ground. Devil Diabolos Zeta growled and looked with anger at the monster which attacked him. Mr Lordi prepared a second attack, but before he could do it, Devil Diabolos Zeta fired a laser with its dragon head and fried him.

Later that day, at the UFO, Tarja got out of the spaceship for a break. She looked at the destroyed city and reflected upon the revolution from that winter which brought the capital in the same state that city was. But she woke up from her dreams as she saw two figures approaching from the depths of the burnt buildings. After a few moments she could distinguish two more figures which were carried on and then she was horrified by what she saw: Tsugumi was carrying Hakuoh in her back and Hanna was helping Mr Lordi walk.

"Oh my God!" Tarja yelled as she saw her ex-fiancee.

"Quickly, they need help!" Tsugumi said.

Tarja ran into the UFO and called a few people outside. When they came, they helped Hakuoh and Mr Lordi get inside while Tsugumi and Hanna sat on the ground to rest.

"So what happened?" Tarja asked.

"Long story." Tsugumi spoke, tired.

"Let's just say that Devil Diabolos Zeta is a really powerful enemy." Hanna added.

Then silence fell upon them for a few moments. Then all of a sudden, Hanna got up and started walking in the direction of the beach. Getting worried, Tsugumi also got up and shouted at the blue-haired girl:

"Hanna! Don't go! Stay here with us! We could really use your help right now."

"You know she's right, Hanna." Tarja added. "How about joining with us?"

"I'll have to pass. I don't want to risk betraying you a second time. It wouldn't be fair." Hanna said and stopped.

"You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't betray your friends, would you?" Tsugumi asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything anymore…" Hanna said and turned to Tsugumi, giving her a sad smile. "You trusted me, Tsugumi, and I thank you for that."

As Tsugumi watched Hanna walk away, she realized that the blue-haired girl's scars were far deeper than she ever imagined. With Devil Diabolos Zeta's appearance, a new battle had begun, and it would be hard for anyone to trust each other ever again.


	102. Zeta Wars, Part 3: Death

Hanna walked all the way back to Tabitha's castle, passing even the five orbs which were floating above the beach. She entered the castle, climbed the stairs and met with Dani, Tobey and Eddy. After they explained to her what the situation was, she decided to inform Tabitha about what had just happened in the city. She found the witch sitting on her throne and drinking from her glass of wine while admiring her bonded hostage. Hanna felt Subaru's angry stare stab her and many feelings of guiltiness filled her heart. However, she had a job to do, so she walked to her master, kneeled down to her and gave her the status report.

"Marcelo is intending to strike a deal with Devil Diabolos Zeta. He wishes to gain the creature's power and overthrow you, Tabitha-sama. That is all."

"That backstabber! I just knew something fishy was going on. Too bad I didn't take matters into my own hands when I had the chance." Tabitha lamented.

"Tabitha-sama, I've seen that Devil Diabolos Zeta is causing massive destruction. Why do we have to let this monster do all this? Can't you just conquer the world by yourself?" Hanna asked.

"That's enough! How dare you question my plans, Hanna?"

"But what if that devilish monster decides to betray you just like Marcelo did and destroys us as well?"

"You're testing my patience!"

"I'm just worried that there might not be a second chance before Devil Diabolos Zeta destroys the universe as we know it."

Before anyone could react, Tabitha quickly got up from her throne and slapped Hanna. The girl was thrown against the wall, her left cheek being as red as a crab.

"Let me give you a fair warning, Hanna: don't you dare cross me again!"

"I would never, you've got to believe me!" Hanna said and tried to get on her feet. "I beg of you, Tabitha-sama, listen: you've got to stop Devil Diabolos Zeta, or else there will be nothing left of us! Don't you realize the gravity of this?"

"Hahaha, would you give it a rest? Tabitha-sama knows what she's doing." Dani laughed.

"Yeah, unless you're ready to leave us again, you traitor." Tobey added.

"Eddy agree. Hanna pathetic." Eddy said.

"Go ahead and laugh! But soon those pea brains of yours will be sorry!" Hanna replied to all three.

"Oh, I think that the chosen duelists are the ones who will be sorry as soon as I defeat them." Tabitha said with an evil grin on her face. "You see, my dear Hanna, there can be only one supreme leader in this universe, and trust me, Devil Diabolos Zeta is not going to be that one."

"I can't believe you still think that Devil Diabolos Zeta is going to give everything to you!"

"I don't care what you believe. I'll conquer this world and the universe first, and then I'll worry about Devil Diabolos Zeta."

"That's insanity! You're putting everyone's lives at risk, including yours, by letting that monster alive!"

"Enough!" Tabitha yelled and fired a laser at Hanna.

"You can't do this, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna said while dodging the attack.

"But I must give you credit for seeing through Marcelo and his attempts to subvert my plans, and in that regard I was quite impressed. However, I once again require full loyalty. Does any of this sink in, Hanna?"

"I understand, Tabitha-sama…" Hanna said with a conformed voice.

"Gentlemen, it's time to find the chosen duelists and finish them off once and for all! Follow my lead!" Tabitha said and walked out of the room, soon to be followed by Eddy and Tobey.

"What's the matter, Hanna? Are you going to sit there and moan or are you going to join us and kick some chosen duelist butt? You better hurry up and make your mind or else you'll miss Tabitha-sama's victory party." Dani said and laughed.

Hanna stared at the floor and clenched her fists with anger as Dani left the room. Now it was only she and Subaru. The girl didn't even dare to look back at the black-haired boy. She was too ashamed of herself to even try to speak a word to him.

Back at the UFO, Tsugumi and Tarja went inside the spaceship to help at healing the citizens. However, Tarja had a certain person in mind and she was rushing to the room where he was lying while speaking in her mind:

"Now I gotta... yeah, I gotta go to him... at least to take care of his wound. Yeah, right, to take care of his wound. What other reason would there be for me to go to him? After all, I'm getting married to Marcelo and I lo... Do I love him? Is that love? Oh, come on, admit it! It's not love! It's not. I do not love Marcelo... not that way... but that doesn't change the fact I'm going to become his wife. That's my final decision."

As Tarja reached a medical room of the UFO, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and opened the door. She entered the room and found a severely damaged Mr Lordi. 95% of his body was burnt, his armor had multiple cracks out of which black blood was falling and most of his hair was burnt. Tarja tried to act as naturally as possible and spoke to him:

"Um, hi."

"H-hi..." Mr Lordi said while hardly opening his eyes.

"I'm here to take care of your wounds. How are your eyes?"

"They're ok. The body from neck downwards is severely dama…" Mr Lordi tried to speak, but then he vomited blood.

"Yeah, yeah, got'cha. Don't speak too much. The truth is... I don't know how to help you. These wounds seem too deep." Tarja said while checking the wounds, but then she noticed the blood he vomited. "Oh, God!"

"Do-don't worry... about me. If I'm gone, it will be because of my stubborn decisions…"

"Stubborn decisions? What do you mean?"

"I've... decided to turn on you and leave you when... you needed me the most... because I was selfish..." Mr Lordi said and tried to close his mouth, but then more blood fell from it. "But most important... I let you fall into the hands... of Marcelo."

"Oh, the wedding thing..." Tarja said while checking the ring from her right hand. "Yeah, I remember. But it's a thing of the past. I managed to forget about that and continue my life... with Marcelo. And he's not bad at all."

"No... You're wrong... Marcelo is... GARH!" Mr Lordi yelled and put hand on his stomach as he spat even more blood and some of his burnt wounds opened.

"Shhh, don't talk." Tarja said and put her index finger on his mouth. "You must rest. And I feel that Marcelo isn't in your top list, so don't talk about him. But I understand you, it's normal for you to not like him."

"Listen, I can't resist anymore." Mr Lordi replied and grabbed her hand tightly. "My whole body has been pushed off its limits and lost lots of monster blood. I... want you to know... that Marcelo... is..." suddenly, he coughed even more blood, but then he whispered to her with his last powers. "…Tabitha's minion."

Tarja fixed her stare on the monster's motionless face for a moment. When she felt that there was no more life left in that once powerful body, she began shouting as loud as she could:

" No! Wait! Don't, don't go! Don't leave me! Speak to me! Say something!"

But Death was too cruel and did not let her lover offer her one last response. Crystal tears were swelling down her white cheeks as she held his Mr Lordi's hand with all her strength and yelled so loud that the whole UFO heard her:

"TSUGUMIIIIIIIIII!"

In a few moments, the blonde girl rushed inside the room and saw the tragic scene.

"Oh no... this can't be!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"He just... gave up… like he didn't care if he'd live..." Tarja spoke with sorrow.

"No..."

"And he said that if he's gone, it's because of his stubborn decisions. I...I still don't get it..."

"He regretted that he rejected you in front of the altar."

"I told him that it's a thing of the past... It doesn't have anything to do with his death..."

"He died... because he wanted to protect you from Zeta."

"So he died because of his own guilt... because of me... No, it's not worth it. By the way, I remember he said something about Marcelo…"

"Huh? Marcelo?" Tsugumi asked, impatient.

"Yeah, all he spoke about was Marcelo. At first I thought he was just jealous, but then..."

"Then what?" Tsugumi said while sweating.

"After what happened, I realized that he knew he was going to die and he's not the kind of a person who'd use his last minutes to talk about someone he hates, if it isn't really important."

"So what exactly did he say?"

"Let me think. I was so worried about him, that I didn't have time to realize what he was saying. All I cared about was... him." Tarja said and cried a bit. "Anyway, I think he said something like... Wait... he said that... that Marcelo is a minion of Tabitha. Yeah, right. That's what he said. Wait a minute, MARCELO IS A MINION OF TABITHA!" Tarja yelled. "Oh, God... and Mr. Lordi gave his life, just to tell me."

"Oh no, she found out!" Tsugumi thought and then quickly spoke to the woman. "I ... don't know what to say."

"About Marcelo? Me neither. The truth is I don't give a damn about that now."

At the city, Devil Diabolos Zeta was continuing his rampage upon the unharmed half of the city. The monster was slashing buildings with its swords and firing lasers from its dragon heads at the poor people who were trying to escape as fast as possible. For those citizens it should've been a normal summer morning, but they had to wake up and find the sky red and their city being attacked by a giant monster. It seemed as if hell had returned on earth once again, but this time under the form of only one demon.

At the ruins of what used to be the Duel Masters summer school, Rad, Edo and Sora managed to come out of their hideout from the basement. Rad was requiring Edo's help to move around but Sora had managed to heal up. The two boys began to walk slowly towards the exit from the schoolyard.

"How did we get into this shit again?" Rad asked.

"Well, first you and Sora left me behind, then I met Suby, then doctor Root appeared, then…" Edo narrated, but Rad interrupted him.

"I mean the shit with Zeta in which we're in now, dumbass."

"Oh… I and Suby went to the beach, but then he lost his memory and that pyramid head Marcelo was all like "I'm Suby's best friend" and I was like "No, it's not true, Suby's my best frie…""

"DON'T EXPLAIN ALL THE DETAILS! God, I'd strangle you if I wouldn't need you to help me walk. Right, Sora? Huh, where's So…" Rad said and turned back.

The red-haired boy was shocked to see Sora gathering stones around the dead body of the apprentice. She was trying to make a short but deserved funeral for their beloved master who had trained them to become the chosen duelists they were.

"Sora…" Rad mumbled.

"Oh, Sora! I'll get some more rocks!" Edo sniffed and let go of Rad, causing him to have a hard landing on the ground.

"You'll so pay for this, Edo…" Rad threatened and tried to get up and walk on his own.

After covering the apprentice's body with a pile of rocks, Sora lit a candle and layed it next to the improvised grave. Then she took out the apprentice's nature trump card, Asura, the Great Enigma and put it on the top of the pile of rocks. Rad and Edo also each put one Violence Thunder, Extreme Dragon Wizard on it, on the left and right of the Asura card. Afterwards, Sora clapped her hands together and said:

"You were like a father to me… to us. You raised us to protect the world, and yet we couldn't protect what was most precious to us: you."

"All we can do is to regret and give our thanks." Edo said and clapped his hands together and joined Sora in prayer. "Thank you for being there the time I nearly gave up dueling."

"Thank you from turning me into a future-less punk into what I am today." Rad said, but did not join his hands together due to the fact that he was too hurt.

"Thank you for being the parent I never had." Sora said and let her tears swell on her cheeks as she remembered how the apprentice found her when she was an orphan and raised her as the loving father she always wished.

Edo sighed with grief while staring at the grave of his former mentor. Not being able to endure it anymore, Rad fell on his knees.

"ARGH, RAD!" Edo yelled and helped his friend up.

"Grr, Tabitha will pay!" Rad said and pushed Edo aside, even if that meant that he fell once again. "SHE WILL PAY FOR WHAT SHE DID TO OUR MASTER!"

"Calm down, Rad, we don't want our master to remember us like this." Sora intervened. "You know he'd want us… to keep on going."

"Yeah, she's right, pal." Edo added.

All of a sudden, both Edo and Sora were shocked to see tears falling from the eyes of Rad, the tough guy that they always knew to be the strongest of them all. With their master gone, even he seemed like a shadow of his former self.

"We'll never forget you, master." Rad said and then took a deep breath, releasing a scream of pain afterwards. "NEVEEEEEEER!"

As Devil Diabolos Zeta was destroying the city, he felt a strange presence. The monster noticed a small purple globe land on its right shoulder. He turned his head to it and noticed that on it was a man dressed in black with hair long to his shoulders which made his head look like a pyramid. But what made Zeta be interested in this small human was the fact that he had in his possession his own card: Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened.

"Who are you, small creature?"

"Devil Diabolos Zeta, allow me to introduce myself, I am Marcelo."

"What do you wish from me so badly that you stole my card from Tabitha's hands?"

"I want to form an alliance with you, an alliance which will bring benefits to both of us."

Back at Tabitha's castle, Hanna was sitting by the window and watching how the city was being destroyed by the monster that her own master brought to their world. The room was dead silent. The only sounds which could be heard were the distant explosions coming from the city.

"So, Hanna, how do you explain yourself?" Subaru asked the girl with a cold voice.

"I've… got nothing to say." Hanna replied and turned to the boy.

"I bet you don't. What else could you say to the boy which you duped into believing that you were his best friend and tried to form a romantic relationship with him? You disgust me."

"Subaru… I know that it will be hard for you to ever believe me again, but…"

"But what? What lie are you going to cook up now?"

Hanna approached the boy which was bonded to the metallic cross and looked at him in the eye. All that Subaru could see in the girl were sadness, confusion, regrets and honesty. It seemed as if he was staring in an endless ocean of inner torment.

"Deep down inside, I do love you." Hanna said.

"Huh?" Subaru murmured.

"I was an orphan who was saved from imminent death by Tabitha Lenox. She offered shelter to me and protection and was the warming mother I've always wished for. In exchange I've offered my life to her and vowed to always help her with her schemes to show my thankfulness. But something happened, when she began to work on summoning Devil Diabolos Zeta, greed seemed to have taken over her. She was mistreating us, her loyal minions, and making injustices as well. She had changed, the loving mother I once knew was gone and got replaced by an evil power-hungry hag. Now I realize that I've made the wrong decisions."

"Hanna…" Subaru spoke with pity. "So does this mean that our life was a lie?"

"It was set up by Tabitha, yes, but… no matter what happens, I truly love you, Subaru!" Hanna spoke as sincerely as she could. "I know that it shouldn't be that way, I know that we are not meant to be together, but this is how I feel and I just want to express this feeling now!"

"We're not meant to be together? What are you talking about, Hanna?" Subaru said, confused.

"There's another girl with which you must be. She loves you more than anything and you two are truly meant to be together!" Hanna said while trying to hide the pain from her heart. "Now that I've gotten this rock off my soul, I wish I knew… what to do."

"I've noticed that you managed to befriend Tsugumi and her pals. Tell me, Hanna, are they really not that bad as I've imagined them?" Subaru said while smiling.

"Hehe, don't worry, they might seem like complete jerks, but deep inside they're nice people to hang out with. They… are true friends." Hanna replied and smiled to him as well.

"Then I know what you should do, Hanna!"

"Huh? What?"

"You should get out there and fight alongside them! Go and protect those you care for!"

All of a sudden, Hanna felt that the ocean of darkness in which she had sunk was finally disappearing. Subaru had given her the light she was searching for. Not being able to help herself, the blue-haired girl approached the long black-haired boy even more and said:

"I know I shouldn't do this, but…"

In the next moment, Hanna's lips united with those of Subaru. The girl kissed him with all the passion she had. His tongue met hers and both played in the mouths which became one. From that simple kiss Subaru managed to see Hanna's whole life of suffering and for a moment offered her what she wanted: love. The blue-haired girl let go of his mouth and admired him with a sad look and a faint smile on her face.

"Thank you for everything, Subaru! I'm happy to have had the honor of knowing you!"

All of a sudden, Hanna turned around and ran away from the throne chamber. Subaru looked at the opened door and wished her good luck in his mind. The blue-haired girl was running down the stairs, ready for her new objective: to protect those which cared for her, at all costs.

Back at the UFO, as Tsugumi was guarding the spaceship, she could see three more figures come out of the city. At first she thought they were hurt citizens, but as they approached, she realized that they were none other than her friends: Rad, Sora and Edo. A smile of happiness appeared on the girl's face, a smile she never thought she'd have again. The blonde girl ran to them, and before they could see who was coming to them, she jumped and hugged them all.

"Guys! Guys! I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Tsugumi, watch ou…" Edo tried to warn the girl, but soon lost his equilibrium and dropped Rad while falling on him.

"Wow, you surely are some great help, Edo…" Rad said while trying to push him off.

"I'm glad that you are safe as well, Tsugumi-chan." Sora replied. "Tell me, where are the others?"

"I've offered them shelter in the UFO. Tarja-san is there, taking care of the wounded."

"Then I suggest we head back and help her."

But before they could turn around and head to the UFO, a laser appeared out of nowhere and created a barrier of flames which kept them from going in that direction. They all turned to the direction of the beach and were shocked to see Dani, Tobey and Eddy approaching them, lead by a young Tabitha in purple clothes and with a red crown with really big horns.

"Oh no, I remember this suit!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Me too!" Edo added. "She must've turned into…"

"The Queen of Evil!" both Tsugumi and Edo stated.

"Huh? She looks more like the Queen of Bugs with those stupid antlers on her head." Rad pointed out.

"Those aren't antlers. That's her crown which grants her supernatural powers." Tsugumi said.

"That means that she's even a bigger nuisance than before!" Sora replied.

"Hahaha, ready or not, here I come, chosen losers!" Tabitha said and flew in the air, landing right in front of her enemies. "Ah, after so many battles it is such a pleasure to finally destroy you."

"Bring it on, witch!" Rad said.

"Yeah, we'll handle that and even more!" Edo added.

"No matter what you do, you won't be able to defeat the power of friendship and unity, a power which is much greater than your greed!" Sora said.

"Hah, all that talk about 'friendship' and 'unity' is pure garbage. And to prove you that I am right, I'll let each one of you face your deaths at the hands of one of my minions. Meanwhile…"

All of a sudden, Tabitha fired a purple beam on Tsugumi and made her float in the air. Then the witch took off with the girl while leaving a message to her minions:

"Take care of the rest!"

"Hah, time to get this party started!" Dani said and took out his deck.

"This time it's a fight to the finish!" Tobey added and showed his deck as well.

"Eddy crush puny chosen duelists!"

"Oh great, it seems that our only way out of this mess is by facing these guys." Rad said.

"Don't worry, we're here to back you up!" Sora said and took out her deck.

"Heck yeah, we're not afraid of these losers!" Edo added.

Six tables came out of the ground and the six duelists shouted 'Duel start!', thus beginning their confrontations.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Tsugumi landed in front of Tabitha's castle, right under the five civilization orbs. The purple beam disappeared from Tsugumi as the girl got up and was face to face with the witch.

"Hahahahaha, I guess this is where it finally ends, Tsugumi Shirayama." Tabitha laughed.

"Your lust for power sickens me!" Tsugumi replied.

"How long have we been adversaries, Shirayama girl? It seems like forever. And I do suppose I have a certain respect for you, but I digress. You may have fooled Hanna with your little 'friendship' ploy, but I'm nobody's fool! Now let's end this charade, shall we?"

"It's not a charade, Tabitha! Hanna didn't fall for anything, she just saw that we are much more caring than you!"

"Don't feed me your lies!"

"I'm not lying, Tabitha, I'm just telling the truth which you just can't accept because you're too big of a fool to understand it!"

"You're in no position to call me names." Tabitha said and took out her deck. "I grow tired of your mind games, let's end this already! Why didn't you take out your deck yet? Oh, I get it, you're waiting for your friends to come and save you. Well I got some news for you: they're not coming this time!"

Then, all of a sudden, a little smoke bomb was thrown out of nowhere and landed between the two enemies. The bomb blew up and covered them with smoke for a few moments. Tabitha made a wind appear and make the smoke fade away, and that's when they saw a figure come to them from the castle.

"It's…" Tsugumi said while staring at the blue clothes which could be distinguished from the distance.

"I don't believe it!" Tabitha exclaimed as the figure was just a few meters away from them. "Hanna!"

"The game's over, Tabitha!" Hanna said and took out her glowing deck.

"I hope you realize you're playing a very dangerous game, Hanna."

"I've made my choice, Tabitha, there's only one path to survive Devil Diabolos Zeta, and that's to follow Tsugumi and the chosen duelists!"

"Why you…"

"Stay out of this, Hanna! This is between Tabitha and me, now just back away!"

"I don't mean any disrespect, Tsugumi, but I'm not going anywhere."

"You understand you'll pay for this? Nobody defies my command and gets away with it!" Tabitha spoke with anger in her voice.

"Sorry, I don't work for you anymore. I've made my mind to bring this to an end." Hanna replied and both their decks glowed with such power that two dueling tables came out of the ground in front of them. "And once all is said and done, Devil Diabolos Zeta will be destroyed and our world will be in peace!"

"May I suggest that you have lost your mind? I'll destroy you." Tabitha said and put her deck on her dueling table.

"Come and get a taste of my creatures, Tabitha!" Hanna said and put her deck on the table as well.

Meanwhile, at the duels between the 3 chosen duelists and 3 minions of Tabitha, it seemed that evil was getting the upper hand.

"Hahahahaha, go, Pyrofighter Magnus, Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw and Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther, break his shields!" Dani ordered and his creatures broke 3 of Rad's shields.

"Awaken! Rumble Lecter, Terror Awakened! Now I evolve Bloody Squito into Startdash Reviver, Crystalline Shadow! With his effect I put Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade into the battle zone from the graveyard and send Aqua Cascade back to your hand! Go, Rumble Lecter, destroy his Aqua Naruto Surfer! Startdash Reviver, destroy Aqua Jet!" Tobey ordered and Edo watched how his creatures got crushed under the might of Tobey's creatures.

"Eddy awaken Danjoul, the Awakened War Demon! Eddy attack with Danjoul and summon Baban Ban Ban, Earth's Blessing! Eddy get 7 more mana! Now Eddy double break shield with Danjoul, then Eddy double break shield with Baban Ban Ban and also break final shield with Mykee's Pliers!"

"Argh! How are we going to make a comeback, guys?" Sora asked.

"Don't worry, these guys shouldn't be that big of a deal." Rad said.

"Yeah, I suggest we concentrate on our psychic creatures more. That way we might defeat them." Edo proposed.

"Then so be it! Awaken, Crimson Genji Double Cross, the Swordmaster Awakened! Then I evolve Psychen Pippi into Uberdragon Abare Mugen, the Infinite Rage! Ike, Abare Mugen, destroy Deepsea Yanus, Temporal Warpanther! Then untap and destroy Blaze Claw! Then untap and double break his shields! Crimson Genji Double Cross, double break his shields as well!" Rad ordered and both his dragons slashed 4 of Dani's shields with their swords.

"I summon Aqua Cascade! With Ocean G Hogan's ability I'll look at the top card of my deck, and if that's a creature, I may put it into the battle zone!" Edo said and revealed Crystal Super Paladin. "Perfect! I evolve Aqua Cascade into Crystal Super Paladin, send Rumble Lecter back to the hyperspatial zone!"

"Grr, release, I turn it back into Rumble, Temporal Sage!" Tobey said.

"Ike, Crystal Super Paladin, suicide with Rumble! Ocean G Hogan, destroy Startdash Reviver!" Edo said and gave Tobey his payback for destroying his creatures.

"Shield trigger, I cast Mana Nexus and put Natural Snare to my mana zone! Then I summon two Spirit Rider Ragmarl and send them both to my mana zone!"

"Eddy send Baban Ban Ban and Mykee's Pliers to mana zone."

"Ike, Jungle Kankuro, destroy Danjoul! Princess Cub SP, break his shield! How do ya like that, you overgrown monkey?" Sora made fun of her opponent.

Back at the duel between Hanna and Tabitha, spirits were getting pretty high. Hanna had only Cocco Lupia in her battle zone and it was Tabitha's turn. The witch drew a card, charged mana and said to her former minion:

"I'll give you one last chance to save your neck, Hanna."

"My only chance is to see you stop Devil Diabolos Zeta!" the girl replied.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Hanna." Tsugumi said, worried.

"I summon Marauder Deis Drive! Ike, break her shield!" Tabitha ordered and the creature rushed out of nowhere and slashed one of Hanna's shields with the spikes from its arms.

"I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil!" Hanna said and a train with a blue locomotive which had two big hands and a serpent head appeared behind her while filling the air with steam from its engine.

"I charge mana and break another shield with Marauder Deis Drive!"

"Heh, then it's time to bring out the heavy artillery! I summon Zabimeteus Samurai BLACK!"

A robotic dragon with black metal armor and sharp blue claws appeared behind Hanna and roared at the witch. Tabitha was unimpressed as she calmly began her turn.

"I summon Alien Father! Go, Marauder Deis Drive, break another shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Alien Father back to her hand!" Hanna said and the blue surfer appeared out of nowhere and hit Tabitha's alien with its surfboard, making it disappear. "I've often wondered what it would be like to duel against you once again, Tabitha, but your words are stronger than your dueling skills. I'm very disappointed!"

"You insolent fool!" Tabitha shouted at the blue-haired girl.

"I attack with Zabimeteus and put one of my shields to the graveyard!" Hanna said and put a shield which was Emergency Typhoon to her graveyard. "Now with Zabimeteus' effect I destroy Marauder Deis Drive! Ike, Zabimeteus, double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Zabimeteus!"

"Heh, I draw a card thanks to Zabi Trash Train. Ike, Cocco Lupia, break her shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Aqua Surfer and Zabi Trash Train!" Tabitha said and then gave her minion an evil smile. "Heh, a nice effort, but unfortunately your misguided aspirations are about to end in failure, Hanna."

"This duel is far from over, Tabitha." Hanna replied and gave the witch a similar smile.

"Oh right, I forgot who you are: a mere minion of mine whose mind has gone crazy. I admire your courage, but sadly I must inform you that your brave attempt to overthrow me is about to end in failure. Unless, of course, you decide to turn and walk away right now, and maybe if I'm in still a good mood I might spare your miserable life. This is my final offer, Hanna."

The witch got angered when she saw that the blue-haired girl didn't show any signs of fear or regrets. Her confident smile was making Tabitha boil deep down inside with great fury.

"Alright then, I believe you've made your final decision, haven't you? Well, now it's time to pay the consequences, Hanna!" Tabitha said and put two cards on her battle zone. "I summon Alien Father and Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior! Alien Father makes my other Aliens speed attackers and slayers! Ike, Zabi Claw, break her final shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Alien Father! Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Samurai Hole, destroy Zabi Claw and put Master Lupia, Temporal Wing into the battle zone!" Hanna said and a shiny red and yellow fire bird with blue eyes and with wings and tail similar to flames appeared above Hanna and right next to Cocco Lupia.

"Oh, I'm impressed, Hanna, but not enough to be worried. So do the smart thing and back down while you still can!" Tabitha said and summoned a flying plane made of bone and with a sharp teethed mouth. "I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager!"

"Tabitha-sama…" Hanna spoke in her mind as she remembered all the beautiful times she spent with the witch, back when she was caring and showed affection to her.

"Better hurry and decide, Hanna!" Tabitha woke her up from her thoughts.

"I summon Bolshack NEX! With its effect I put another Cocco Lupia into the battle zone! Then I evolve Bolshack NEX into Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg!" Hanna said and a black dragon with 9 heads appeared behind her." Let's do this, Lunarzberg! Break her final shields!"

The dragon roared and fired lasers beams from all its nine heads, breaking Tabitha's final shields and leaving small burns on her purple clothes and dark blue cape. The witch gave Hanna an evil grin as she showed a card from her shields and said:

"Your time's up! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Master Lupia and both your Cocco Lupias!"

"Oh no!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Zabi Fly, finish her off, todomeda!" Tabitha ordered.

The bone plane flew towards Hanna and fired its lasers upon her, throwing the girl back and having her land under the protective wings of Lunarzberg. Master Lupia also reappeared and flew at the girl, trying to make sure she was alright. Tabitha got even angrier when she saw how Hanna's creatures were trying to take care of her. The witch walked from her dueling table to the blue-haired girl and said:

"You're starting to annoy me, Hanna!"

"It's the least I can do…" Hanna replied with a smile on her face.

"Hanna, where in the universe did you get all this power?" Tabitha asked as she put her hands on the small burns from her body.

"Right now that doesn't matter, does it, Tabitha-sama?"

"This has all been a complete waste of my time!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"I remember, a very long time ago, I swore an oath to you, Tabitha-sama, and I could never break that oath." Hanna confessed to her former master.

"You had this planned all along, didn't you?"

"I did, Tabitha-sama, but all this could've been prevented if you only had given me some respect."

"Save your breath, Hanna."

"I tried to gain favor from you, but nothing was ever good enough. No matter how many duels I won, you always found fault. But then I saw how Tsugumi treated her friends and I realized that if she would ever be a leader, she'd be one of integrity, unlike you."

"You were too weak to ever gain my respect." Tabitha coldly replied as Tsugumi walked to the two.

"None of that matters now…" Hanna said and tried to get up on her feet. "You must listen: do as I begged you and stop Devil Diabolos Zeta, or else every last one of us is doomed!" Hanna continued, but then she fell on her knees due to the fact that she was hurt. The girl raised her head up and gave Tabitha a smile in which honesty and benevolence could be easily read. "Please, Tabitha-sama, do it for me."

Then, all of a sudden, Hanna turned around and climbed on Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg's back. Tsugumi got shocked and quickly shouted at her:

"No, Hanna, don't!"

The dragon roared and took off with Hanna, flying straight to the city. As they were approaching Devil Diabolos Zeta, the blue-haired girl yelled as loud as she could:

"IT'S TIME TO FINISH THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL! ATTACK WITH ALL YOUR POWERS, LUNARZBERG!"

The dragon filled all of its nine mouths with purple laser beams which shined so powerfully that they almost changed the color of the sky. Then, as they were just a few buildings away from Zeta, Hanna yelled:

"YOU'RE ALL MINE, DEVIL DIABOLOS ZETA!"

Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg fired lasers from all of its mouths, but Zeta turned its head to them and simply replied:

"So you think!"

In the next moment, one of Devil Diabolos Zeta's dragon heads turned to them and fired a laser beam that was bigger than all of Lunarzberg's beams. The beam destroyed Lunarzberg's attack and hit both the dragon and Hanna, pushing them back to the castle. When they reached Tabitha's castle, both Tabitha and Tsugumi had the horror of witnessing how Hanna and Lunarzberg were reduced to nothing but ashes.

"NOOO!" Tabitha yelled.

But it was too late for them to do anything anymore. Hanna was gone. Tabitha walked to the girl's dueling table and picked up her cards as Tsugumi looked down at the sad Master Lupia which was chirping to her.

"It's over, Master Lupia, but she fought like a brave duelist until the end." Tsugumi said.

After she packed up Hanna's deck, Tabitha stared at it and remembered all the times she shared with her. The day she saved her from those angry boys from the orphanage, the days of Hanna's childhood, how they worked together in Rezo's team, how they plotted behind Mutsuhito's back at the Geki mansion, how they enjoyed seeing hell unleashed upon the world, how Hanna managed to get Master Lupia on their quest in the forest and the happiness on her face in that day, the times Hanna rebelled against her, and now the girl's final words to her resounded in her mind:

"_I tried to gain favor from you, but nothing was ever good enough. No matter how many duels I won, you always found fault. But then I saw how Tsugumi treated her friends and I realized that if she would ever be a leader, she'd be one of integrity, unlike you."_

Without saying a word, Tabitha turned around and walked back to the castle. Meanwhile, Tsugumi was on her knees, crying as loud as she could and cursing Devil Diabolos Zeta in her mind.

"WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF, HANNA?" Tsugumi yelled.


	103. Zeta Wars, Part 4: Agony

After many shield breakings, spell castings and creature battles, the three chosen duelists managed to defeat Tabitha's minions.

"Crimson Genji Double Cross, Swordmaster Awakened, totomeda!" Rad ordered and the red samurai dragon hit Dani with one of its swords and threw him back at Tabitha's castle.

"Ocean G Hogan, Best Awakened, totomeda!" Edo ordered and the giant robot hit Tobey with one of the black boulders it was wielding, making him fly in the same direction as Dani.

"Jungle Kankuro, the Awakened Dramatic, totomeda!" Sora ordered her dragon which majestically swung its samurai sword and hit Eddy, making him follow his two allies back at his master's castle.

"Yay, we actually did it!" Edo exclaimed.

"I just knew that our friendship will prevail." Sora said and then looked up to the sky and whispered. "Thank you, master. Now I knew that as long as we're fighting as one, your spirit will live within us."

"Hey, look over there!" Rad said while pointing towards the beach, waking Sora up from her thoughts.

The three chosen duelists saw the figure of a blonde girl approaching them slowly while staring at the ground, with a look of sorrow on her face.

"Tsugumi, what happened?" Sora shouted and ran to her.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's castle, the three damaged boys had all landed miraculously inside the throne chamber due to the opened window. Now they were all being healed by Tabitha's magic as the witch was sitting on her throne with a gloomy look on her face. Then, all of a sudden, Subaru broke the silence by asking the witch:

"What happened, Tabitha? Why so grim all of a sudden?"

"Hanna is dead." Tabitha simply replied.

Those three words struck Subaru worse than any dagger or lightning could. His heart was beating faster and faster, he could feel the coldness of his tears and sweat swell on his hot skin. He could not say a single word. Another person which gave a meaning to his life had simply disappeared. And just like all things in life, he had to wait in order to find an answer to why she did what she did. But for that moment, Subaru only sobbed a bit for Hanna, preferring to truly mourn her death once everything was over, if he would survive.

The surprised voice of Tobey brought him back to reality and made him realize he had missed an order given by Tabitha to her minions.

"Wait just one minute here. You can't be serious, Tabitha-sama! Are you saying we are going to cease our attacks on the chosen duelists?" Tobey asked.

"Forgive me for asking, but as you sure you're ok, Taibtha-sama?" Dani added.

"I can't believe Hanna did that." Tabitha mumbled while picturing the scene of the girl's death in her mind.

"Well I'm not going to cry for her because the traitor got what she deserved." Tobey coldly spoke.

"Hahaha, about the whole ceasing attacks thing, I got an idea, Tabitha-sama: why don't we say we want to make peace with the chosen duelists? And when we're inside their group we'll destroy them once and for all!" Dani suggested, but in the next moment he felt the weight of Tabitha's fist on his cheek, causing him to fall on his back.

"FROM NOW ON WOULD YOU KEEP YOUR RETARDED THOUGHTS TO YOURSELF?" Tabitha yelled. "Right now all I can think about is the comrade we lost. Sure she challenged my authority in a failed coup attempt, and even though Hanna was a traitor, she never lost sight of her oath to me! She was a true duelist, UNLIKE MOST OF YOU!"

"Please excuse him, Tabitha-sama, he didn't know what he was saying." Tobey said and helped Dani get up. "Then what are your orders now?"

"What are my orders? Simple: get out!" Tabitha demanded with an authoritative voice.

"W-w-what?" Dani stuttered.

"I said that your services are no longer required here and I want all three of you out!" the witch insisted.

"But, Tabitha-sama, after all we've been through…" Tobey tried to intervene.

"Tabitha-sama want us out? Eddy sad. Eddy really sad."

"This is how far you had to go, boys." Tabitha suddenly talked like a caring friend. "From this point on I have to take matters into my own hands. Now I, Tabitha Lenox, wish to thank all of you for the support you've given me in these past months. Your work is truly appreciated."

"But what about the infinite power you promised us?" Dani brought it up.

"I agree. You've made a promise to us in exchange for our oaths." Tobey continued.

"When the time comes and I manage to conquer this world, I will come back for you to give you what I have promised. Tabitha Lenox never forgets her allies."

"Tabitha-sama…" all three boys said while staring at their master.

"We'll never forget you, Tabitha-sama!" Tobey said and the witch nodded in response.

Back at the chosen duelists, Tsugumi had given her friends the news of Hanna's tragic death. The reactions were mixed, but similar to one another. Sora fell on her knees, still not being able to believe it. Edo hugged Rad while crying out Hanna's name while the red-haired chosen duelist was trying to console him.

After a few moments of mourning their former friend, they all decided to go back into the UFO and find out if they could somehow help the wounded ones. Once inside, Tarja ran to them and announced them that Hakuoh had managed to wake up from his coma. She took them to him and saw that he was lying on a bed with bandages covering his small cuts. The nurse had just finished giving him medicines and she left the room along with Tarja, leaving the chosen duelists alone with him.

"Hakuoh-sama, are you alright?" Tsugumi asked.

"I'll be fine, Tsugumi." the blonde boy replied and smiled to her. "Tell me, what is going on outside? I wish to know."

"Hakuoh-sama, you're in no position to…" Sora tried to intervene, but Edo interrupted her.

"Devil Diabolos Zeta is still destroying the city. But what was surprising was that Hanna actually came here and helped out Tsugumi. She then tried to convince Tabitha to stop Devil Diabolos Zeta, but she had to pay the ultimate price."

"Hanna… is no more?"

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama." Rad said.

"I see. After all this, I guess that in the end she found her peace. Anyway, we shouldn't let her death affect our own battle!" Hakuoh said and reached his hands in his pockets, taking out 6 cards in his left one and one card in the right one.

"Hakuoh-sama, don't move, you'll hurt yourself!" Sora warned him.

"Don't worry, I'm made from stronger material than you think." the blonde boy joked. "Anyway, Tsugumi, I've got a mission for you."

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama?" the chosen light duelist asked and approached him.

"Take these 6 psychic creatures. They are Chandelier, Light Weapon, Merriane, Apostle of Alphs and Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon. There are two copies of each and when they link up they'll form the strongest light creature ever to exist!"

"But why are you giving them to me, Hakuoh-sama?" Tsugumi said as she took the cards and admired them.

"Because you'll need them in your fight against Tabitha! Now go, Tsugumi, go and save Subaru from the witch's clutches before it's too late!"

"But… what about Rad, Sora and Edo?"

"Don't worry, they'll come later, but until then, go!"

Tsugumi nodded to Hakuoh and turned her back, running out of the room. As she was rushing to the exit of the UFO, she passed by Tarja and the woman called her back. Seeing that she was ignoring her, Tarja followed Tsugumi, both of them heading back to the beach.

"Tsugumi, wait up!" Tarja shouted.

"What is it, Tarja-san? Go back to the UFO's shelter before Devil Diabolos Zeta comes back!" Tsugumi shouted back.

"Not until you tell me what's going on!"

Meanwhile, Devil Diabolos Zeta kept wreaking havoc upon the poor citizens. The city was almost completely destroyed and whatever survivors were left, were desperately trying to flee from the city. Marcelo was laughing evilly on the monster's shoulder and looking almighty in front of those which seemed like bugs to him from that height.

"Hahaha, that's it, fly away! Look, Devil Diabolos Zeta, they're retreating! They're powerless against your awesome strength!" Marcelo laughed.

"Indeed they are. I am a God while they're simple worms. Now tell me, how will this alliance bring me benefit?" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and ceased the attack in order to listen to the Marcelo properly.

"That's easy. Tabitha Lenox is planning to use you in order to fulfill her own plans, that being conquering the whole universe."

"I also desire to conquer this universe. Our plans have similar goals."

"Indeed they do, but you see, my godly friend, Tabitha thinks she can boss around with you, just like she bossed around with me and the others."

"I see. Well then, Marcelo, what are your intentions? Why do you wish to gain power from me?"

"Because in this way I will be able to rule upon this world and destroy that cursed Tabitha! At long last she'll pay for what she did to me!"

"But what did she do to you?" Devil Diabolos Zeta spoke, curiously.

"She… ranted about the size of my head!" Marcelo suddenly cried. "Can you imagine how horrible it is to be called 'pyramid head' every day?"

All of a sudden, a huge sweat drop appeared on Devil Diabolos Zeta's head and fell upon the city, stopping a part of the fires.

Back at the UFO, Hakuoh called Rad to him and gave him the other card he had in his hand. Rad looked at it and saw that it was a fire evolution psychic creature with 24000 power.

"What the… An evolution psychic creature? Do those things even exist?" Rad asked.

"Indeed they do, Rad. This card is called Storm Genji Double Cross, the Super Temporal. When you awaken its other side, it will reveal the ultimate psychic creature. You see, my dear Rad, the five soldiers which became psychic creatures and brought Devil Diabolos Zeta down back then had defeated him after a long time. However, this single card has the whole power of Jungle Kankuro, Ocean G Hogan, Lightning Five Star, Darkness Ganveet and Crimson Genji Double Cross into one."

"But… I am not worthy of such great power!"

"Yes you are, Rad." Hakuoh said and gave him a parent-like smile. "Edo, Sora!"

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama!" the chosen water and nature duelists suddenly exclaimed.

"Go and help Rad train. I need him to be able to use Storm Genji Double Cross at its full potential so that Tabitha will finally be defeated!"

"As you wish, Hakuoh-sama!" Sora said and bowed.

"We'll make sure that Raddy becomes the best of the best!" Edo added.

"Good, now go and may the creatures guide your way!" Hakuoh said and closed his eyes, going back to sleep.

"We won't disappoint you, Hakuoh-sama." Rad whispered while putting the card in his pocket.

At the beach, Tsugumi had stopped from running and let Tarja reach her. The woman started questioning her, bringing up that she was putting her own life at risk by going to face Tabitha all alone and other stuff. But little did they know that they were being watched by the evil witch from her castle. As Tabitha was plotting of the best way to destroy them, she suddenly heard the voice of Subaru break the silence of the room:

"Heh, left all alone I see. Tell me, Tabitha, did you really mean it when you said that you'd come back to those guys?"

"Yeah right. They were nothing but pawns to me since day one." Tabitha coldly spoke. "Now that their job is finished, they might as well die by the hands of Devil Diabolos Zeta."

"You're so cruel even with your own minions. No wonder Hanna betrayed you!" Subaru said to the witch which soon gave him a terrible laugh.

"Hahahahahaha, you're in no position to give me morals, Subaru Geki! You just wait, 'cause once I'm done with that blondie I will come back for you!"

All of a sudden, Tabitha disappeared from the room. From hearing the word 'blondie', Subaru realized that the witch was going after Tsugumi. He would've done his best to set himself free, but he knew it would be pointless. If Tsugumi would also die, he knew he'd get so angry that he would try his best to destroy the witch, and maybe after she would be gone, he'd take his own life as well. But until then, he had to wait and see what would happen, even if anxiety and fear were slowly taking over him.

Outside of the castle, on the beach, as Tsugumi was trying to convince Tarja to leave her alone, Tabitha appeared right in front of them.

"How irresponsible can you be, Tsugumi?" Tarja said.

"Um, Tarja-san…" Tsugumi replied and pointed to Tabitha.

"Oh my God!" the woman exclaimed.

"Predictable as always, eh, Tarja?" Tabitha sarcastically spoke.

"Annoying as always, eh, Tabitha?" Tarja fought back.

"Tabitha Lenox, I'm going to ask you just once: free Subaru and stop Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Tsugumi requested.

"Hah, this whole war must've heated your brain a little too much, Shirayama girl. As you could see from Hanna's example, I'm not that persuadable."

"Then why have you come here? To destroy us?"

"Hohoho, you think too low, Tsugumi. I wouldn't like to have a final battle right here and now, it would be too easy. I want to have some fun now, so I'll let you enter the castle."

"You still didn't tell us what is your purpose here." Tarja said.

"Oh, I had some unfinished business to take care of." Tabitha said while putting a grin on her face.

The witch looked past the two girls, past the whole ruins of the city, right at the monstrous Devil Diabolos Zeta. There she saw that Marcelo was lying on the monster's shoulder, trying to negotiate with it. Tabitha raised her right hand in the air, aiming at Zeta, and fired a purple beam. Tarja and Tsugumi dodged it and the beam went all the way to the city, reaching Devil Diabolos Zeta and grabbing Marcelo. The man yelled for help, but Zeta did not show any reaction to him. He was pulled by the purple beam and taken back to the beach. When he saw that Tabitha was the one bringing him, he exclaimed with fear:

"Tabitha!"

"You worm!" the witch replied and made the beam disappear once he landed in front of her. "You'll pay for this betrayal, Marcelo. I'm angry, and do you remember how I get when I'm angry?"

"Hahaha, you don't scare me anymore, Tabitha. You're nothing but a bad joke! Do you expect me to grovel in front of you? Neah, not likely. I have no need for you, all we ever did was fight one meaningless battle after another, what was the point? You wanted to control the psychic creatures and the universe? But we know that will never happen now. You lost control of your own minions, so what kind of a leader does that make you if you can't even manage your own kind? A pretty poor one if you ask me. Devil Diabolos Zeta is completely different, he's enormous and totally invincible! And with someone like ME to advise him on issues of importance, like which continents to devour and whose nations to enslave, I see no reason why we shouldn't have a successful partnership."

"You always did like the sound of your own voice." Tabitha said, bored.

"And you, Marcelo, are nothing but a traitor!" Tarja also intervened in the conversation.

"Tarja, my dear, what are you doing in such a dangerous place?" Marcelo pretended to be worried.

"I'd ask you the same thing, but now I've heard enough to know what a scum you are!"

"Everything that I said wasn't true! Tabitha made me say those words! You've got to believe me!"

"Yeah, right. But as you can see, I'm not that stupid anymore. I can't believe that I once, even for a second, loved you. Nah, I was probably feeling pity for you."

"GRR, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL DEVIL DIABOLOS ZETA BLASTS BOTH OF YOU TO PIECES AND I SCATTER YOUR DUST ALL OVER THE PLANET! HAHAHA!" Marcelo yelled at both Tarja and Tabitha.

Then, all of a sudden, a building fell on one of Devil Diabolos Zeta's dragon heads just as he was destroying the last remains of the city. The dragon head's blast was redirected and went to the beach. Tsugumi and Tarja jumped into the sea to duck, Tabitha flew in the air and Marcelo tried to run. The blast caused a great crack into the ground and made Marcelo fall into it, but he held on to the brink with both his hands. Tabitha landed in front of him and the two girls got out of the sea as well.

"Tabitha-sama, I didn't mean what I said! Please, save me, please!" Marcelo pleaded.

"I have to go back to the castle to prepare things for the final battle. I'll give you two choices: either I fire a laser and kill you here and now…"

"No, no!"

"…or you free yourself and get out on your own. And if you do, there will be nowhere to hide." Tabitha said and turned her back to him.

"Tabitha-sama, you can't just leave me here!" Marcelo said as the witch began to walk back to her castle. "Please, don't…"

"Marcelo, if you dare to have dreams of power… you will be consumed by them!" Tabitha said and suddenly disappeared.

"T-Tarja, Ts-Tsugumi, please help me!" Marcelo pleaded the two girls.

"N-n-n-never!" Tarja replied. "That's what you really deserve - there's only evil in you. I gave you two chances to be a good husband, but you still preferred power. Now why don't you use your precious power to get out?"

"B-but it's not my fault! T-Tabitha, she was the one responsible for everything! Please, save me!"

"There was no Tabitha when you betrayed me the first time." Tarja said and Marcelo's eyes widened when he saw that the woman remembered what he had done to her 100 years ago.

"I never meant what I did back then! All I did was for your own good! I only cared for you, really!"

"Hah, yeah right. But you see I'm not that stupid."

"I beg of you, help me!" Marcelo desperately said as one of his hands slipped. "I can't just die like this!"

"That's the same thing I thought about Hanna, but she still died." Tsugumi said.

"Hanna? To hell with that weakling, she deserved her miserable death anyway." Marcelo changed his voice to his usual vile one.

"Don't you dare speak like that about Hanna! You deserve it more than her!" Tarja yelled at him.

"Oh no…" Marcelo said while realizing what a terrible mistake he made, but also when he saw that the fingers from his other hand were slowly slipping as well. "Tarja, please save me, Tarja!" the man pleaded until his last finger slipped and he fell into the bottomless pit while screaming. "NOOO, MY POWEEER!"

"You wanted power, Marcelo, and you got it." Tsugumi said while staring into the deep pit in which he disappeared. "But look at the price you had to pay."

"A half of me is heartbroken… but the other half is completely disgusted." Tarja said while staring into the pit as well.

"Oh well, I guess that this is where our ways part, Tarja-san. I want you to know that I am aware of the danger and that I must do my best to save Subaru from Tabitha's clutches."

All of a sudden, Tarja hugged Tsugumi with her whole strength, making the blonde girl's cheeks blush.

"Just come back safe, okay?" Tarja whispered.

"I will, Tarja-san." Tsugumi whispered back.

The woman let go of her and the blonde girl turned her back and ran towards Tabitha's castle. A breeze came from the sea and ran through Tarja's hair as she watched with a smile on her face how Tsugumi was going to face her destiny.

The blonde girl ran all the way to the entrance of Tabitha's castle. There she opened the heavy door while putting all her strength in her arms. Afterwards, she walked inside the main corridor and got flashbacks in her mind of the night when she along with Hanna and the other chosen duelists attacked Tabitha's castle from the inside. She remembered that they took the stairs up to the last floor of the castle. That was where Tabitha's throne chamber was located and where she would most certainly be hiding Subaru. She quickly climbed the stairs while getting more flashbacks of the happenings from that summer in her mind. Tsugumi remembered going to the Duel Masters summer school alongside her friends, the special moments she spent with Subaru even if he was amnesiac, the moment Hanna joined them, the party they threw for Hanna and Subaru, their fights against Tabitha and her minions, her adventures with Hanna and Mr Lordi, and ultimately, Hakuoh giving her those new psychic creatures. Those memories ceased appearing in her mind as she was right in front of Tabitha's throne chamber. That was it, the moment of truth, when everything would be the beginning or the end was there. Tsugumi took a deep breath, closed her eyes and thought of all her friends for a moment, and then she opened the doors.

To Tsugumi's surprise, the only person which was to be found in the throne chamber was none other than a bound to a metallic cross Subaru. The black-haired boy was just as shocked to see Tsugumi alive and well in front of him.

"Subaru…" Tsugumi said.

"Tsugumi…" Subaru said.

"Oh my God, I'm so happy!"

The blonde girl ran to the boy and hugged him and the cross while letting her tears of worry fall on his black T shirt with Cradle of Filth. The boy got a calm expression on his face as his heart beats stopped being fast. The boy admired the beautiful angel which was holding his body, knowing that from that point she would be under his protection.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here? And most importantly… why did you come after me?" Subaru asked.

"Subaru…" Tsugumi said and looked up to him with tears of happiness still swelling on her cheeks. "I was so worried! I felt that you were in great danger and I went through so many hardships just to reach you! Thank goodness you're alive!"

"You… were worried for me?" Subaru said while blushing. "Why would you? I'm just a guy you met at school."

"You're more than that, Subaru. You're… much more than that." Tsugumi replied and tried to break the metals which were keeping him tied to the cross. "Once we're out of here, I'll explain everything to you!"

"So you think!" a familiar voice said.

Tsugumi and Subaru looked to the entrance door and were shocked to see that Tabitha had arrived. The witch slowly approached them and Tsugumi made a few steps back.

"At long last, there's nobody to interfere. You're all mine, Shirayama girl!" Tabitha said and took out her glowing deck. "It's time to end our quarrel once and for all!"

"Tsugumi, run while you still can!" Subaru shouted. "I'll try to make a diversion!"

"No, Subaru. I've run from Tabitha for far too long. It is time for me to end this battle!" Tsugumi replied and took out her deck. "Let's do this, Tabitha!"

Two dueling tables came out of the floor and both Tsugumi and Tabitha walked to them. They put their decks on them, set their shields, drew their cards and began the duel. After many turns it seemed that they were both equally matched. But then on her fifth turn, Tabitha showed a fire and darkness spell and said:

"I cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole! With its effect I summon White TENMTH Kaiser!"

A white dragon with 6 wings and 3 pairs of hands which also had 2 mouths on its chest appeared behind Tabitha. Tsugumi didn't seem the least intimidated. The girl drew her next card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Yodel Weiss, the Prophet! With its effect I also summon Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon!"

A golden light creature which had the form of a spacecraft appeared behind Tsugumi and was face to face against Tabitha's creature. The witch smirked as she casted another spell, a darkness spell, and said:

"I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and give -2000 to your Saint Ave Maria! Then I summon Black WILLOW Kaiser!"

A dark purple dragon with pairs of wings and mouths that couldn't even be counted, appeared right next to White TENMTH Kaiser and roared at Tsugumi, making the girl back down with fear. Tabitha tapped her light psychic creature and said:

"White TENMTH Kaiser, double break her shields! And I'll take Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole back to my hand!"

Tsugumi would've blocked the attack with Saint Ave Maria, but Emperor Hole made it lose 2000 power and it would've died in battle, so she let her two shields be taken down. The blonde girl took the cards to her hand and started her turn.

"I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and tap Black WILLOW Kaiser! Then I summon Chandelier, Light Weapon and Merriane, Apostle of Alps!"

Two golden robot warriors appeared behind Tsugumi and filled the room with their bright light.

"You don't scare me, Shirayama girl! Now it's time to bring out the heavy artillery!" Tabitha said and showed the card she returned to her hand with TENMTH Kaiser's effect. "I cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole and summon Red ABYTHEN Kaiser!"

A red dragon with 3 pairs of hands and 3 sharp mouths on its body in which 3 fire balls were glowing appeared on the left or Black WILLOW Kaiser and roared even loudly to Tsugumi's and her 3 psychic creatures.

"Hehehe, this is it! Next turn you are done for, Tsugumi Shirayama!" Tabitha said.

"Think again, Tabitha! You are done for right now!" Tsugumi replied.

All of a sudden, Tsugumi's psychic creatures got surrounded by a golden aura and united into one. When the aura disappeared, Tabitha saw a giant blue robotic dragon in a golden armor which was holding a blue energy sword which was surrounded by a yellow lightning.

"What in Hades' name is that thing?" Tabitha asked.

"This is Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie, the one creature which shall bring justice to all the evil that you've caused, Tabitha Lenox!" Tsugumi said.

"Wow, it's so beautiful." Subaru commented.

"This one is for Subaru! Go, Crazy Carnival!, quadruple break her shields!"

The dragon rose its sword in the air and with a move filled with grace typical of the light civilization, the creature slashed four of Tabitha's shields. The shards came so quickly at her that the witch couldn't take cover, so they pierced through her dark blue cape, making holes in it and also made small scars on Tabitha's purple clothing, the biggest and deepest being on her right shoulder, from which a few drops of blood were coming out.

"This isn't over yet! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, destroy Yodel Weiss!" Tabitha said.

"Crazy Carnival! now untaps and gives me one more shield!" Tsugumi said. "Let's see what you can do now, Tabby?"

"Oh, my pleasure! PSYCHIC LINK!"

Tabitha's three dragons got surrounded by a yellow, purple and red aura and united into one. The creature which was about to come out was much bigger than Tsugumi's Crazy Carnival! and its power managed to make Saint Chan-Merrie's light fade away. When the auras disappeared, Tsugumi saw an enormous golden dragon with 9 mouths, 3 having black energy balls inside, 3 having fire balls and 3 having light balls inside. The dragon also had long wings and two golden horns on its head.

"Feast your eyes on my newest weapon! This is Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"Oh my…" Tsugumi mumbled.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy it."

"I destroy… Crazy Carnival!, Saint Chan-Merrie. I send Chandelier back to the hyperspatial zone and keep Merriane and Saint Ave Maria."

"Hehehe, they won't be there for long. I attack with Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon and return Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole and Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper to my hand! Then I'll give -9000 to all your creatures and destroy them!"

"Oh no!" Tsugumi exclaimed as her last two psychic creatures blew up.

"IKE, SHACHIHOKO GOLDEN DRAGON, BREAK ALL OF HER SHIELDS!" Tabitha yelled and the dragon fired lasers from all of its mouths, destroying each and every last shield of Tsugumi's.

The girl was blown away by the creature and thrown against a wall. Subaru screamed her name, but that didn't help at all. When the attack finished, the shield shards slowly united into 6 cards which went into her hand. Tsugumi looked at her hand was disappointed to find two Impact of Heavenly Violence, Amaneth, Spirit of Shinto, Endra Pappi, Tulk SP and Lucky Tulk, the Oracle. But she decided she wouldn't give up. Tsugumi got on her feet and looked at Tabitha in the eye.

"Hahaha, your pathetic attempts to make a comeback amuse me. Face it, Shirayama girl, you've lost!"

"Never, Tabitha! I'll never give up when it comes to fighting for peace! Shield trigger, I summon Tulk SP! Now it's my turn, I summon 2 Lucky Tulk, the Oracle! Then I tap Tulk SP and summon Five Star, Temporal Luck!"

"Persistent as always, I see. Oh well, it's time to finish this match! I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy both your Lucky Tulks!"

"No!" Tsugumi yelled.

"Say good bye, Tsugumi Shirayama! Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon, finish her off, totomeda!" Tabitha ordered.

Under Subaru's eyes the dragon fired all of its lasers and blew Tsugumi off. The girl floated in the air while bleeding in agony. She looked at him with a peaceful smile on her face and spoke to him:

"I tried."

When the attack was over, a part of the throne chamber was damaged and Tsugumi was lying on the floor unconscious and with multiple burns. Tabitha covered with her hands the wounds from which blood was falling and approached Subaru with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Do you see that blonde girl over there? You will have the same fate if you don't join me!"

"I'd never join you! Not in a million years! Now let go of me so I can properly show you how a true duelist fights, you coward!" Subaru shouted.

"I'd love to, but I must prepare myself for the other chosen duelists, so I won't grant you this honor. However, if you wish to die here and now…"

In the next moment, Tabitha snapped her fingers and electric shocks came from the metallic bits which were holding Subaru tied to the cross. The electric shocks tortured him so much that he ended up unconscious as well. With a laugh of arrogance, Tabitha untied Subaru from the cross and let him fall on the floor, right next to Tsugumi.

"How lovely, the couple is now together in death!" Tabitha remarked and then walked to the window.

Meanwhile, at the UFO, Rad walked out of it with his deck glowing with a bright red aura in his hands. He looked in the direction of the beach and could see Tabitha's castle from the far distance.

"Good luck, Rad!" Sora shouted.

"Yeah, buddy! Get out there and kick that witch's butt!" Edo added.

"Thanks, guys! I'll surely do so!" Rad said to them and started running.

The wind on the beach was blowing even stronger than before, almost as if it was warning Rad to go back, but the boy ignored it and kept going on his way. He knew that with his new card he would be able to incline the balance in his favor.

"Tabitha, I'm coming for you!" Rad thought.


	104. Zeta Wars, Part 5: Final battle!

There was only half a day since Devil Diabolos Zeta had been brought to the human world, but all the chaos and destruction it caused made those hours seem like endless days to all those who were willingly or unwillingly participating of what came to be known as the Zeta Wars. The city was now in ruins, and whatever parts of it that were still inhabited by humans seeking shelter were the monster's new target. Now that the whole city looked like made of ash, Devil Diabolos Zeta was surveilling it, trying to find any survivors, for its blood thirst was bigger than any being could ever imagine.

At Tabitha's castle, the entrance door opened and revealed the way to the beach, the only escape that Dani, Tobey and Eddy had.

"Gee, Tobey, do we really have to go?" Dani asked.

"Of course, you dimwit, those are Tabitha-sama's final orders!"

"Tobey right. We must obey Tabitha-sama orders. Eddy not want make Tabitha-sama angry."

"Aw man, you two are no fun! That Rad character just came here to face the boss and I can't see that awesome match because you two suddenly decided to become goodie-two-shoes!" Dani complained.

Meanwhile, upstairs, at the throne chamber, Rad had entered it and was horrified by seeing the cruel sight of Subaru lying dead right next to Tsugumi's body while Tabitha was drinking a glass of wine on her throne.

"You're… sick!" Rad said, but then he realized that he made his first mistake when he let his emotions take over.

"A fine picture, don't you agree? I'll entitle it: Still-life with two lovers, hahaha!" Tabitha savored the irony before enjoying another drink from her precious wine.

"Are you done?" Rad suddenly changed his voice to a passive one.

"Oh no, my chosen duelist friend, I've already started!" Tabitha said while finishing her wine, making the glass disappear and getting up from her throne. "Once you're down, the other two will be easy to take care of."

Two dueling tables appeared from the ground as Tabitha made her deck appear in her right hand. With a vile smile on her face, the witch put her deck on her table and said:

"Well, it looks like it's just you and me, Rad."

"The time for speeches is over, Tabitha, let's end our quarrel right here and right now!" Rad said and took out the glowing deck in which he put the new card he received from Hakuoh. "And I don't fight you as the chosen fire duelist, but as the one which shall triumph in this war!"

Both duelists deployed their shields and drew their cards, thus beginning their duel.

"I charge mana and end." Rad said while placing a fire card in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and summon Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior!" Tabitha said.

"I summon Genji Aini!"

"I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager! Zabi Claw, break his shield!"

"I summon Cheering Pippi! Then I tap Genji Aini, destroy it, and summon Cocco Lupia! Get ready for your worst nightmare, Tabitha!"

"You're not superior to me, Rad!" Tabitha replied while putting a sly grin on her face.

The sounds of creature roars reached first floor of the castle, where the three former minions of Tabitha were standing.

"Gee, the duel's already started! That's it, I'm going in!" Dani said and rushed back into the castle.

"No, you idiot, it might be dangerous!" Tobey yelled at Dani. "Gosh, he's such a hothead. Eddy, let's go after him!"

Tobey and Eddy ran after Dani all the way back to the throne chamber. Once there, they were able to see the epic duel which was taking place between Tabitha and Rad.

"Hahaha, I summon Marauder Deis Drive!" Tabitha laughed.

"What's that?" Rad asked.

"This creature is a speed attacker. Now that I've got 3 creatures which can attack this turn, you'll soon be history! Go, Zabi Claw and Marauder Deis Drive, break his shields!" the witch ordered and her two aliens attacked two of Rad's shields, breaking them to pieces. "Zaby Fly, brea…"

"Not so fast, witch! Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy all of your creatures!" Rad said, but he also discarded Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon due to Zabi Fly's effect. "Now it's my turn, I summon Gaial Zero! Ike, Cocco Lupia, break her shield!"

"Heh, you're all mine." Tabitha laughed as she showed the card from her shield to Rad. "Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Cocco Lupia and Cheering Pippi! Now I charge mana and end."

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and summon Genji Double Cross, Temporal Swordsman!" Rad said and the red dragon in samurai armor which was wielding two swords appeared behind him. "Gaial Zero, double break her shields!"

By Gaial Zero's effect, Tabitha revealed her shields, which were Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Terror Pit.

"Grr… I summon Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord…" Rad spoke with disappointment as Gaial Zero broke Tabitha's two shields.

"Hahahahahaha, and here I thought you were not going to defend yourself. Well, I must say it's good to finally have a challenge around here, Rad!" Tabitha complimented her opponent. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Gaial Zero! Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, destroy Dragonic Pippi and summon Black WILLOW Kaiser!"

A dark purple dragon with pairs of wings and mouths that couldn't even be counted, appeared behind Tabitha. Dani, Tobey and Eddy were amazed by the creature, but Rad didn't seem the least worried. He simply started his turn by drawing, charging mana and showing a fire spell to Tabitha while saying:

"I cast Hyperspatial Gaial Hole and summon Gaial Kaiser!"

A metallic red dragon which was weilding two fire swords appeared behind Rad, right next to his other psychic creatures. Then, all of a sudden, the three psychic creatures got surrounded by a bright red aura and united into one. Their three cards also got one under another on the table as Rad placed a new card from the hyperspatial zone right on top of the 3 card stock.

"Super Infinite Evolution!" Rad shouted.

"What in the world is going on around here?" Tabitha said, with fear.

A huge red dragon with a fire mane on its head, a sharp armor covering its body and two enormous swords with chains in its hands appeared behind Rad, making Tabitha stare at it with amazement.

"I summon Storm Genji Double Cross, the Super Temporal!" Rad said and the dragon roared loudly and shook the whole castle. "Ike, break all of her shields!"

The dragon's roar, even though being far away, managed to reach the ears of Devil Diabolos Zeta. All of a sudden, fear began to fill the godly monster's body as its blue eyes widened.

"No, it can't be! Not here, not now!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and flew away from the city, heading back to Tabitha's castle. "I must protect the orbs before it's too late for me!"

Storm Genji Double Cross put both its swords in the position of an X and made a quick attack which could've barely been seen by anyone, except for itself. After the attack was over, each remaining shield of Tabitha's slowly broke into tiny pieces, leaving the witch uncovered in front of the dragon's might. But the attack was so big, that the two large horns from Tabitha's Queen of Evil crown suddenly broke and fell off. Then, every demon from hell screamed in pain as their unholy crown had been anihilated, thus making the remaining pieces of it disappear back into the place it came from. But even if she was no more the Queen of Evil, Tabitha remained young due to the fact that she was reborn in a new body once the crown was given to her ghost. Still, that didn't change the fact that most of her powers reverted to their weakened form.

"My crown… You'll pay for this!" Tabitha spoke with grudge.

"I say it was about time you lost those stupid red antlers." Rad joked.

"Hey, look over there!" Dani said and pointed to the window, making everyone look at it and see that a strange blue monster was approaching the castle from the city.

"It's Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Tobey remarked.

"Eddy think we in trouble."

"Why don't you forget about Devil Diabolos Zeta? His power will be mine!" Tabitha spoke to her minions and then turned back to her opponent. "Oh, and Rad, we haven't finished our little quarrel yet!"

"Right you are, Tabitha!" Rad replied and watched the witch take the cards from her shields to her hand.

"I cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole and summon Red ABYTHEN Kaiser!"

A red dragon with 3 pairs of hands and 3 sharp mouths on its body in which 3 fire balls were glowing appeared on the left or Black WILLOW Kaiser as Tabitha tapped her other psychic creature card and said:

"Black WILLOW Kaiser, break his final shields!"

The creature fired darkness beams from all its mouths, and not only did they break Rad's final shields, but they also hurt him and threw him away, making him land on the floor, on his back. The whole duel had drained Rad of most of his energy and he was getting very exhausted. The red-haired boy was taking deep breaths while trying to regain some of his lost energy. Tabitha wasn't in a better situation either. The wounds she had gotten from her duels with Hanna and Tsugumi began to say a word upon her body and she fell on her knees. Still, the witch raised her head up and spoke to the chosen fire duelist:

"Now that's what I call a duel. But the match is over, I have nothing left for you, you defeated me fair and square."

"No, Tabitha, I think we'll have to call this one a draw." Rad said and tried to get up, but couldn't, because of the exhaustion.

"You have to admit, we really went at it, huh? After all these battles we've been fairly evenly matched. You know, I've enjoyed every second of it, Rad."

"Sorry, but I can't admit to have enjoyed that. However, everything you did was just unnecessary evil. I only challenged you to a duel in order to bring peace back to this world. Unfortunately, I may never see that day. I only wish that whoever survives this duel will remove evil from this planet!"

"Hahahaha!" Tabitha laughed and suddenly got up on her feet. "Well at least you were right about one thing, Rad, and that is you will never survive the duel, and that means I shall become supreme ruler of this world! Bon voyage, Rad!"

"No, never!" Rad replied and used all of his strength to get up as well. "Awaken! Storm Genji Double Cross, the Super Temporal, become Last Storm Double Cross, the Super Awakened!"

Rad's dragon got surrounded by a bright red aura, so bright that it lighted the whole room, and it transformed into a dragon the size of Devil Diabolos Zeta with a sharp-spiked red and white armor and a huge sword with flame chains surrounding it. The dragon's appearance created a hole into the ceiling, which expanded to a big crack. Last Storm Double Cross turned its attention away from Tabitha and aimed it at Devil Diabolos Zeta, which had just arrived in time to protect its orbs.

"We meet again." Devil Diabolos Zeta spoke with anger.

The dragon unleashed energies from its body and surrounded Rad, Tsugumi and Subaru with red, yellow and purple auras. Back at the UFO, Edo and Sora also got surrounded by blue and green auras, and were both magically transported to the place of the final battle. The five chosen duelists were all brought between the two giant psychic creatures, all of them being ready for the final confrontation. All of a sudden, Jungle Kankuro appeared by Sora's side, Ocean G Hogan appeared by Edo's side, Lightning Five Star appeared by Tsugumi's side and Darkness Ganveet appeared by Subaru's side. Rad flew to Last Storm Double Cross and landed on its shoulder, looking down at the angry Devil Diabolos Zeta.

"No, I won't let you do this to me!" Devil Diabolos Zeta shouted and then turned to the castle. "Tabitha, get out here and help me!"

The witch nodded and teleported herself on Devil Diabolos Zeta's shoulder as the monster surrounded itself with the five civilization orbs. Zeta was intending to feed himself with the orbs' energies in order to be able to face his five enemies, but the chosen duelists had something else in their mind.

"Attack, Jungle Kankuro!" Sora ordered and the dragon hit the nature orb with its sword.

"Get him, Ocean G Hogan!" Edo shouted and the robot hit the water orb with one of its bulldozers.

"Lightning Five Star, destroy that orb, now!" Tsugumi said and the angel fired its laser upon the light orb.

"Darkness Ganveet, take down that orb!" Subaru demanded and his demon used both its bone swords to slash the darkness orb.

But to their shock, none of their attacks worked. The orbs had gathered too much energy from every civilization and couldn't be destroyed so easily.

"Hahahaha, foolish mortals, you and your toy psychics don't stand a chance against us!" Tabitha laughed.

"Everything will soon be over! And then I shall control all of you psychic creatures!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and began to syphon energy from each of the five orbs.

"You'll never win, Devil Diabolos Zeta! Because you are all alone, and you'll have to face an entire army of brave creatures!" Last Storm Double Cross suddenly spoke.

The dragon's energies also affected all the psychic creatures which had been found so far, getting each card out of each player's decks and summoning every psychic creature known so far to the decisive battle. Japanica, Alligator, Severance, Danjoul, Geo the Man and Geo Ohzeki Hamlet appeared behind Jungle Kankuro and Sora. Luna Allegria, Aqua Excalibur, Untouchable Powered, Deepsea Yanus and Gallows Cebu Kaiser appeared behind Ocean G Hogan and Edo. Great Chakra, El Diana, Vermillion Dravita, Julia Matina, Cheuxvelt, King of Galaxy, Gaga Packun and Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie appeared behind Lightning Five Star and Tsugumi. Rumble Lecter, Death April, Romanoff Zeta Wizard, Psychic Suva, Galactica Olzekia, Zabi Rigel, Zabi Polymer, Volg Tiger, Zabi Komusubi Flower and Black WILLOW Kaiser appeared behind Darkness Ganveet and Subaru. And finally, Bolshack Mobius, O'Flayer, Jonjo Jon, Final Storm Double Cross NEX, Crimson Lord Yanus, Psychic NEX, Storm Kaiser Double Cross, Mobius Samurai Dragon, Hydra Gilsaurus, Gaial King Dragon, Gil Polymer's Pliers, Gil Yokozuna Fuji, Red ABYTHEN Kaiser and Gaial Violence Dragon appeared above the other psychic creatures, at the same level as Last Storm Double Cross.

Both Devil Diabolos Zeta and Tabitha were amazed by the armies of psychic creatures that had been summoned by the power of Last Storm Double Cross.

"It's all the psychic creatures against you, Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Last Storm Double Cross shouted.

"You may even bring a whole army of civilizations, I still won't give up!" Devil Diabolos Zeta shouted back.

"ATTACK!" all the chosen duelists ordered.

All the creatures jumped upon Devil Diabolos Zeta, but the monster did not give up easily. Zeta fired lasers from both of its dragon heads, firstly destroying the small psychic creatures, and then taking care of the bigger ones. While he was doing that, Tabitha had the mission of assuring that the orbs were safe. However, the chosen duelists proved to have been much faster than her.

"IKE, JUNGLE KANKURO! KANKURO BLASTER!" Sora shouted and Kankuro used his special attack, managing to slice the nature civilization orb in half.

"How dare you?" Tabitha said and fired a lightning upon the two, making them both fall.

"LET'S GO FOR IT, HOGAN, OL' BUDDY! HOGAN BLASTER!" Edo shouted and Hogan filled all of his energy in the bulldozer and then throwing it upon the water civilization orb, making it crack until it was destroyed.

"Don't you even think of destroying these orbs behind my back!" Tabitha growled and fired another lightning upon Edo and Hogan, making them fall as well.

"IT'S TIME I SERVED YOU SOME JUSTICE, YOU CURSED WITCH! FIVE STAR BLASTER!" Tsugumi shouted and Lightning Five Star fired a laser out of which many invincible Tulks appeared and hit the light civilization orb until it cracked open and blew up.

"Curse you, Shirayama girl! Just die already!" Tabitha yelled even louder than before and struck Tsugumi and Lightning Five Star with an even bigger lightning.

"No, Tsugumi! This is it, witch, now you've gone too far! DARKNESS GANVEET, DESTROY HER! GANVEET BLASTER!" Subaru shouted and the demon filled both its swords with its dark powers and managed to slice the darkness civilization orb in two, destroying it.

"Argh! Burn in hell, Subaru Geki!" Tabitha said and fired a lightning upon them.

"Watch out, Ganveet!" Subaru said and jumped on Ganveet's head, making the demon dodge the lightning, but receiving the attack himself.

"Subaru-sama!" Darkness Ganveet exclaimed and soared through the air for his master.

"You disappoint me yet again, Tabitha." Devil Diabolos Zeta said as he managed to eradicate all the armies of the light, water, nature and darkness psychic creatures.

"It wasn't my fault, the chosen duelists…" Tabitha tried to defend herself.

Devil Diabolos Zeta suddenly roared with all its power as he absorbed the whole energy of the fire civilization orb. Afterwards, both his dragon heads fired red lasers which eradicated the whole army of fire psychic creatures. His last enemy which was still standing was none other than Last Storm Double Cross.

"This is where it finally ends, old friend!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and prepared his two swords for the final attack.

"I've been waiting for this moment ever since you were born, Dias Zeta!" Last Storm Double Cross replied and prepared his sword as well.

Last Storm Double Cross jumped out of the castle and went into the air, getting ready to charge at Devil Diabolos Zeta. Knowing his enemy's intentions, Devil Diabolos Zeta decided that he would make the first move and flew in the air after him. When he was high enough, Last Storm Double Cross aimed his sword at Devil Diabolos Zeta, and with Rad's attack shout he suddenly soared through the air with high speed at the evil Zeta. Tabitha and Devil Diabolos Zeta also responded with battle cries, but just a few moments before the two fractions could collide into a final battle, Zeta felt something pulling him. The blue monster looked down and was shocked to see that Darkness Ganveet was holding tight on his right pair of wings, absorbing a part of his energy. Subaru was also lying on Ganveet's shoulder and giving Tabitha and Zeta a smile of triumph.

"Zeta, I won't let you have everything your way!" Darkness Ganveet said.

"Ganveet, how dare you betray me? Even if I fall, peace will never come!" Devil Diabolos Zeta threatened.

"Um, Devil Diabolos Zeta…" Tabitha spoke to the monster as she looked up and saw the flaming attack approaching.

Before anyone could react, Last Storm Double Cross attacked Devil Diabolos Zeta so powerfully that a huge explosion covered everything, almost as if the world had ended.

When Tsugumi opened her eyes, she saw that Rad, Edo, Sora, Dani, Tobey and Eddy were all lying on the beach. The blonde girl also noticed the dragon head necklace which she gave to Hanna lying on the sand. She took it, got up and then looked around and saw that Tabitha's castle was no more. But instead, a large pit filled with lava had taken its place.

"Guys, you're all safe!" Tsugumi said.

"Yeah, never thought we'd really be able to defeat that thing." Edo replied.

"It was a long journey, but we've made it at long last." Sora added.

"But what exactly happened?" Tsugumi asked.

"After you guys were knocked out, Last Storm Double Cross and I engaged with Devil Diabolos Zeta and Tabitha into a final attack. I was knocked unconscious just when the collide happened, but I do remember seeing Subaru and Black Ganveet trying to stop Zeta." Rad said.

"Huh? Subaru? Where is he?" Tsugumi suddenly burst.

"We… don't know." Edo replied with a saddened voice.

"Oh no. Don't tell me he's there!" the blonde girl said and got up, running towards the lava pit.

Meanwhile, inside the pit, Last Storm Double Cross had managed to seal Devil Diabolos Zeta into a pool of lava. The cold blue from Zeta's eyes had finally disappeared as he met his fate in the fiery dungeon.

"At long last the universe is free of your evil. May your body become one with the earth of this planet, brother." Last Storm Double Cross said and disappeared back to the creature world.

A few meters above them, Subaru was holding to a rock with his left hand and was also holding Tabitha with his right hand. They were both severely damaged, but he didn't want to give up on saving their lives.

"Hang on, Tabitha!" Subaru said.

"Why are you doing this?" the witch asked while looking at the long black-haired boy.

"Never mind, we've got enough to worry about!"

"Let me go and everything will be over!"

"I can't do that!"

Tabitha then looked at the dead body of Devil Diabolos Zeta which was melting in the lava and continued her speech to Subaru:

"If you let me go, then the war between us will be over. You will get back your memories and your internal struggle will be finished!"

"Don't worry, Tabitha, I've gotten my memories back when Last Storm Double Cross brought me and Tsugumi back to life. Now hold on, I'll get us both out of here!"

"But I can never live in a world without my dear Hanna! She was everything to me, and now I can't live with the guilt that I have sacrificed her for my own ambitions."

"Still, I bet she'd want you to live on." Subaru said to the witch, but then the rock on which he was clinging began to move. "Uh oh…"

"Now, Subaru, time is running out!"

"No, we'll get us both out of here, period!" Subaru insisted, but the rock moved more and was about to fall along with them into the lava.

"YOU IDIOT!" Tabitha yelled while taking out a knife from her pocket. "I SAID LET GO OF ME!"

Tabitha used the knife to cut her left hand off, the hand which Subaru was holding, and thus she was able to fall into the pool of lava. While descending to her doom, the witch gave Subaru her final words:

"Farewell, Subaru Geki, victory is all yours! Now go back to your friends, they need you!"

"TABITHA!" Subaru yelled as he watched the witch disappear in the lava alongside Devil Diabolos Zeta's body. "I let her die… I don't deserve to be a hero…"

All of a sudden, Subaru opened his eyes as he heard a beautiful lullaby being sung. He looked around and saw that he was lying on a boat and Tsugumi was the one rowing. They were traveling on the sea, a few feet away from the shore. The sun was gently setting upon them, warming them with its calm rays.

"Is something the matter, Subaru?"

"Oh, I've just had the worst nightmare, Tsugumi. Tabitha erased my memories, and then you guys went on a quest to find psychic creatures, and…"

"Don't worry, it was only a dream. Now how about I sing you that lullaby again?" the blonde girl said while smiling to him.

"Yeah, sure." Subaru nodded and sat with his head on Tsugumi's lap. "Say, Tsugumi, will you guard me while I sleep?"

"I'll always do so, my love. Always."

Subaru closed his eyes with a smile as Tsugumi sang to him the same beautiful lullaby as before. The sun's rays were still shining upon them, their warmth taking Subaru back into the realm of dreams, and their light reflecting on the dragon head pendant from Tsugumi's neck.


	105. Get ready for the tournament!

It was hard for anybody to think that they would see another day after that summer. The Zeta Wars left the whole city damaged both materially and spiritually. Many lives were lost, but the survivors were still enough to inhabit such a large town. With help from the capital, the city was rebuilt by the end of summer, and thus at the beginning of September everyone could resume their normal lives.

With Devil Diabolos Zeta and Tabitha vanished into the lava pit, the whole chaos had ended and peace was restored back to the lives of our heroes. Mr Lordi had been brought back to life and was reunited with Tarja, the couple deciding to part ways with the chosen duelists and rejoin the Lordi band in tours. Meanwhile, the chosen duelists continued coexisting in the UFO, alongside the homeless Dani, Tobey and Eddy. The three former minions of Tabitha had trouble adapting to their new friends' peaceful ways, but overall they could get along. But little did any of them know that evil never rests and was waiting in the shadows for the perfect opportunity to attack.

In the first day of September, a few miles away from the city, a strange red portal opened. Nobody could notice it because it was open for only one second, in which three humans and a black fog came out. One of them was a hunched middle-aged man with a short moustache, short black hair and a uniform similar to the ones that the Nazis wore in the World War 2. By his right was a demon disguised as a tall teenager with long black hair, wearing black war clothes with spikes and having an inverted cross on his neck. Sitting behind them, with both his hands on a scepter, was a man wearing red and white robes, with purple hair long to his neck, and with a blue eye and a yellow one.

"Ok, guys, this is the human world." the disguised demon said.

"Thank you for bringing us here, Shagrath." the man in robes replied and stretched his hands. "Ah, it's great to have a body again!"

"Yayayayaya!" the middle-aged man added.

"However, mister Zakira here wasn't as lucky." Shagrath said while looking at the black fog. "Because he had been reborn several times, he couldn't be granted a new body, so he's now stuck in a ghost form."

"No worries, I'll get my body back soon." a voice resounded and the fog took the form of a muscular man with long hair.

"Heh, don't worry, Zakira, once I get my hands on the Proof, you'll have your body back." the man in the robes said while putting an evil grin on his face.

"You better do so, Rezo!" Zakira replied.

"I wonder if the world remembers me, the great Adolf Hitler!" the middle-aged man said and raised up his right hand. "Oh, how beautiful it was when I heard everywhere 'Heil Hitler!'."

"Don't get too excited, Hitler, we first must sign in the tournament and get our hands on the Proof of Duelmaster. Once that is done, we'll be able to rule upon these mortals!"

"As you say, Rezo, the Red Priest."

Later that night, in the nocturnal darkness, a tall boy dressed in a sailor suit was walking on the beach, almost as if he was in a trance. His eyes were closed and his legs were moving by themselves. He descended into a dark pit until he found a small cave inside in which he entered. He wandered into the underground while hearing an evil woman's voice in his mind:

"I am buried deep into the bowels of the earth. I am in the place where the apocalyptic creature known as Devil Diabolos Zeta met its end."

After a few minutes of walking, the tall boy suddenly stopped and opened his eyes. He was shocked to see a statue being stuck right against the wall in front of him. The statue was covered by dust, but he could still distinguish a purple dress with many holes, and the face of a once blonde woman which looked like she was sleeping. The statue had a knife in its right hand and also lacked a left hand.

"Tabitha-sama lives! Eddy thought Eddy never see her again!"

But sadly for Eddy, the statue didn't give him any response. Was it all a dream? He was about to believe that, but then he heard a voice in his head say:

"Yes, Eddy, I haven't been fully destroyed. I am now stuck into this decayed husk. I need you to bring the others and help me come back to life immediately!"

"Eddy do as Tabitha-sama command!" Eddy said while bowing to the statue.

The sun's rays found their way into Subaru's and Tsugumi's room as well, waking up the two lovers. Subaru tried to protect his eyes with his right hand, but it was no use, the light woke him up. The chosen darkness duelist rose from his bed, but didn't get off it yet. He looked at his sleeping beauty and tenderly struck her blonde hair. In a matter of seconds, she opened her crystal-blue eyes and spoke with her angelic voice:

"Good morning, Subaru."

"Good morning, Tsugumi." the black-haired boy replied and then got off the bed. "Today's the signing up for the tournament. I suggest we get up and go there fast to catch a good place."

"Aw, I wanted to sleep more. But oh well, I'm going to freshen up for the grand event." Tsugumi said and got up while yawning.

Subaru got out of his room while still in pajamas and walked to the bathroom, but on his way he heard noise coming from a dueling room. He curiously looked through the door opening and saw that Rad, Edo and Sora were sitting around and watching how Dani and Tobey were dueling.

"I tap Rikabu's Screwdriver and destroy Bloody Squito. Ike, Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw, break his shield!" Dani ordered. "Haha, what's the matter? Still don't know how to duel?"

"Of course I do!" Tobey replied and showed the card from his shield. "Shield trigger, I summon Locomotiver!"

"Oh I don't know, I think you've spent too much time around these chosen duelists." Dani said while he discarded Rothus, the Traveler. "Pyrofighter Magnus, break another shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Pyrofighter Magnus!" Tobey spoke with anger. "I'm just as strong as I ever was, and I'll prove it to you! I summon Drain Worm, the Parasite and destroy Blaze Claw! Locomotiver, attack Rikabu's Screwdriver!"

"Easy now, big fella, I don't wanna hurt you." Dani joked.

Subaru laughed silently as he headed to the bathroom. In his mind he was remembering the events from the Zeta wars and was thinking about how much the three former minions of Tabitha have evolved, managing to leave behind their loyalty to the witch for a better cause.

But just as Subaru disappeared from the corridor, Eddy quickly entered the UFO and went straight into the room where Dani and Tobey were dueling.

"Hey, it's Eddy!" Sora exclaimed.

"Why did you burst in like that?" Edo asked.

"And where were you last night? You scared us when you disappeared all of a sudden." Rad added.

"Eddy got great news! Everyone must listen to Eddy!"

"What's going on here, Eddy?" Tobey asked while putting his cards on the table.

"Yeah, we wanna know!" Dani demanded.

"Tabitha-sama is alive!" Eddy exclaimed and made everyone freeze with fear as he showed them the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened.

"It can't be!" Edo said.

"But that's Tabitha's trump card…" Sora added.

"Can she still be alive?" Rad spoke with fear.

"Tabitha's still alive?" Tobey asked.

"What do you mean she's still alive? She can't be!" Dani spoke with a surprised voice. "…can she?"

"This is the proof!" Eddy said while approaching Dani and Tobey. "Tabitha-sama want you two help me revive her."

"Hahaha, no problemo!" Dani laughed and walked to Eddy, joining his side.

"You traitor!" Rad shouted.

"Dani, Eddy might be trying to trick us by telling us that Tabitha is still alive." Tobey said.

"Well that Devil Diabolos Zeta card is a pretty good imitation. I dunno about you, but I'm pretty convinced. Hahaha!" Dani laughed.

"Don't let yourself fooled, Tobey! It's just talk." Rad intervened.

All of a sudden, Subaru entered the room with nothing but a bathrobe on him, and approached the former minions of Tabitha while looking at the Devil Diabolos Zeta card. Silence fell into the room as the long black-haired boy stopped in front of the tall Eddy and said:

"Listen here, everyone, Tabitha is dead, no matter what anybody says! I was there. We were both stuck into the pit where Devil Diabolos Zeta met his doom. I was holding on to a rock and Tabitha was holding on to me. I wanted to save both of us, but she didn't want to be saved, so she took out a knife from her pocket and cut off her left hand. I watched helplessly how the witch fell into the pool of lava and followed Devil Diabolos Zeta into the grave."

"Yeah, Suby's right, there's no way Tabitha is still alive!" Edo supported his friend.

"But didn't you idiots think about the possibility that maybe her body survived somehow? After all, she is a witch!" Dani suggested.

"Dani right. Eddy agree. Tobey must join us." Eddy said and showed Tobey the Devil Diabolos Zeta card.

"What? Tabitha's psychic creature…" Tobey mumbled.

"Come on, go for it! Grab it, Tobey!" Dani urged him.

With a confused expression on his face, the boy stretched his right hand to the card that Eddy was holding, but then he heard Subaru's voice yell at him:

"NO! DON'T TOUCH IT, TOBEY!"

"Subaru… He's right! I won't!" Tobey said and fought back his inner desire.

"You fool! Tabitha-sama will be resurrected!" Eddy said and ran away.

"Adios, Tobias!" Dani ironically said and followed Eddy.

Tobey fell on his knees and put his hands on his head. Subaru approached him and said:

"Tobey, are you ok?"

"Subaru, help me! I don't know who I am anymore!"

Dani and Eddy ran all the way back to the beach, heading right to the point where Tabitha's castle used to be. The castle was destroyed in the final battle with Devil Diabolos Zeta, and all that was left of it was a giant pit. Dani and Eddy descended into the pit until they found the cave in which Eddy sleepwalked the other night. The two entered it while Dani spoke with excitement:

"Let's see if we can find her meanness."

Both Dani and Eddy wandered into the dark cave as Dani spoke loudly:

"Hello? Tabitha-sama, where are you? It's Dani, your favorite minion of all time!"

After a few more moments of searching into the cave, Dani broke the silence again:

"Where is she? So Eddy, do you think that she's here?"

"Yes."

"Well, where then?"

"There!" Eddy said and pointed to the wall on which Tabitha's statue was bound to.

"T-T-Tabitha-sama!" Dani exclaimed and ran to the wall. "Boy, the boss is really in bad shape." Dani stated and then spoke to the statue. "Tabitha-sama, it's me, Dani! Wake up, please!"

"Tabitha-sama!" Eddy added as well.

Dani put his metal claws on his hands and climbed the wall until he reached Tabitha's head.

"Talk to me, your evilness! I'm here for you!" Dani said and knocked on the statue's head. "Yoo hoo! Anybody home?"

"Stop that!" Eddy said while grabbing Dani and throwing him away.

Dani landed against another wall, but he quickly got up and ran to the tall boy.

"Hey, how come she won't wake up?" Dani asked, frustrated.

"Eddy not know."

Dani put his palm on his face while sweating and wondering who was more stupid: Eddy due to his mental illness or himself due to his thoughts that Tabitha might be revived.

Meanwhile, somewhere far, far away, in a place hidden from human eye, in a dark room, there was a boy wearing a black leather suit and red T-shirt, with his dark blue hair reaching his feet, and he was facing two people in different duels. His opponents wore white robes and gray masks with blue tones on their eyes covered their faces. The boy was none other than Kokujo! His clothes were stained with sweat, his hair all messy and his body could barely resist to the pressure of dueling. He looked around at the room filled with defeated duelists, all wearing the same types of clothes like his opponents. Then he turned to one of them as he was doing his turn.

"I summon Bolberg Cross Dragon! Then I cross it with Octillion Force! Go, Bolberg Cross Dragon, break his final shields!" the duelist ordered and the dragon slashed Kokujo's shields with both its claws. "Geo Goctra, Armed Dragon, todome…"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Geo Goctra!" Kokujo exclaimed and four black hands appeared out of nowhere and stretched around the dragon, destroying it. "Heh, I guess it's my turn. I summon Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and choose the race Samurai!"

Kokujo's opponent revealed the cards from his hand, which were Cocco Lupia, Faerie Life and Kirino Giant. Kokujo discarded Kirino Giant and the opponent lost his last shield, which was Hell's Scrapper.

"Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper, finish him off, todomeda!" Kokujo ordered and the demon hit the opponent with its red sword and threw him into the pile of defeated duelists.

Suddenly, the room's door opened and a strange figure entered. A seductive female voice which brought both lust and fear into men's hearts spoke to the last two standing duelists:

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I promised that I'd come to see the last duel."

The figure came out of the darkness and they could distinguish a girl in her late teens wearing a big golden armor with large spikes. Her long white hair was lying on the armor's back and it somehow gave Kokujo the feeling that he had seen that hairstyle somewhere before. Also, the girl's eyes were covered by a black mask in the shape of an X.

"You made quite a mess down here, Kokujo. To be honest, I never expected you to be able to defeat the whole THEM organization, and in just one year's time too!" the girl said.

"After 12 months of training, I still don't know what you want from me… Tigra." Kokujo coldly replied. "I don't even know what kind of demon you are, or for that matter what you even look like under there."

"You want to see, don't you? Don't worry, you will get what you have requested… once you defeat the last standing member of THEM. And then you'll also find out why I've summoned you here, Kokujo. But until then, continue your duel!"

"It will be my pleasure to finish him, Tigra-sama!" the THEM member said while showing three cards. "I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Drum Treble, of the Mystic Light and evolve Drum Treble into Val Arthur, Explosive Armor! Ike, Val Arthur, Sir Virginia and B-Boy, the Explosive, break all of his shields!"

"Argh!" Kokujo yelled as the shield shards hit him hard. He was too exhausted to duel anymore and felt as if he couldn't finish the final match. However, his determination was pushing him beyond his own body's limits, so he took the 4 cards in his hand and said. "You fool, you just gave me what I needed to win!"

"What?" the THEM member asked with fear.

"Due to Ashliger's effect, my demon commands cost 2 mana less. So, grave evolution, I evolve Bloody Shadow into Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons! Varz Romanoff's effect destroys your Bloody Shadow! Then I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!"

"Wait, you can't do that!" the THEM member remarked. "Even if your Ashliger reduces Auzesu's cost by 2, you still have 4 mana to pay and only 2 untapped mana!"

"You're a bigger fool than I thought. Auzesu has Sympathy and his cost is reduced by each demon command that I have in the battle zone. Now guess what Olzekia and Varz Romanoff are." Kokujo spoke, ironically, as he tapped one of his cards. "Varz Romanoff, double break his shields, and Auzesu's effect destroys Val Arthur! Then, Olzekia, double break his shields, and Auzesu's effect takes down Sir Virginia as well! Are you ready to pray for mercy?"

"It can't be… I've lost…"

"Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast, todomeda!" Kokujo ordered and the two-headed lion roared and jumped on the last THEM member, throwing him away.

Kokujo stared at the dueling table for a moment and then fell on his knees. It was over. He had pushed his body over its limits and knew that his time had come. Tigra slowly walked to him while saying:

"Kokujo, I shall congratulate you for the great victory. Now it's time for you to get your prize."

Tigra reached her hand in one of her pockets and took out a darkness and light evolution creature card which had cost 10 and power 14500. She handed it to him and Kokujo murmured once he saw it in his hands:

"Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord…"

Kokujo then fell on the floor and lost his consciousness. Tigra leaned down to him and her lips slowly and gently touched his.

When Kokujo opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying naked into a blue tube whose liquid was healing his wounds. Tigra was standing right in front of the tube with a smile of happiness on her face. It was the first time Kokujo ever saw her like that.

"You wanted to find out everything about me, Kokujo, and now you will. My name is Tigra, and I was born as the daughter of the one you once knew as Fua Zakira."

"Zakira? So that's why her hairstyle seemed so familiar." Kokujo thought.

"But even though I am his daughter, I am not as cruel as he was. However, one thing that I inherited from my father was his immortality." Tigra said and began to strip her golden armor off, keeping only her mask on.

Kokujo blushed and widened his eyes as a naked Tigra approached the tube.

"Now, as I promised, here I stand… with nothing upon me." Tigra said as she opened the tube in which Kokujo was lying. "Gaze upon me, Kokujo, I will show you this and so much more."

Back at the underground cave, Dani and Eddy had tried everything they could to wake up the statue of Tabitha. They told it jokes, tried to tickle it, brought it a glass of wine, and even brought their decks as sacrifice, but nothing worked. After many failures, both Dani and Eddy were sitting in front of the statue with disappointed looks on their faces.

"Tabitha-sama, unfortunately we failed to bring you back to life." Dani said.

"Both Dani and Eddy feel really bad." Eddy added.

"Aw, forget it, Eddy, we'll never gonna bring Tabitha-sama back to life!"

In a fit of rage, Dani kicked the statue of Tabitha in its left knee. Then a somber woman's voice spoke from the statue to him:

"Don't do that!"

"What?" Dani spoke with fear.

"Eddy think Tabitha-sama say Dani not do that."

"I heard what she said, you bonehead, it's just that I didn't expect her to react! Gee, why am I stuck with such a retard?"

"Tabitha-sama react? Dani thinks what Eddy thinks?"

"So why are you sticking up for Tabitha, Eddy? She always used to treat us like dirt! Grr, as a matter of fact, I like her in this state a whole lot better!"

Dani once again kicked the statue in its left knee. But then the same woman's voice spoke to him again:

"What did you just say?"

"Uh oh, I think I'm in big trouble." Dani said while sweating.

Suddenly, a portal opened behind the two. Dani and Eddy turned their backs and saw that Rezo, the Red Priest was the one which came out of it.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Dani demanded.

"My name is Rezo, the Red Priest, and I have come to eliminate a problem I've been having."

"A problem?"

"The one that you know as Tabitha Lenox was my mentor, but she was also secretly plotting against me a few years ago. So now I have come back to get my revenge!"

"Eddy not let you hurt Tabitha-sama!"

Eddy tried to get into the Red Priest's way, but Rezo simply used his scepter's power and blew the muscular boy away. When Dani tried to attack him with his metal claws, Rezo simply pointed the sharp part of the scepter to the little guy's neck. But just as Rezo was about to finish both Dani and Eddy off, they all heard a strange sound.

"What was that?" Rezo asked.

"It sounded like a heartbeat." Dani said.

The three looked at the statue and saw that the left side of its chest, where the heart was lying, had begun to glow with a bright red light. They could also see small red lines appearing and disappearing into various places of her body, symbolizing the blood which was pumping once again in her veins.

"Hey, it looks like Tabitha-sama is coming back to life." Dani stated.

"Not if I can help it!" Rezo replied and stabbed the statue in its heart with his scepter, making the red light disappear.

"Rezo, just what do you think you're doing with Tabitha-sama anyway?"

"Eliminating her, that's what!"

But just then, the red light appeared once again, and this time it surrounded Rezo's scepter and body. The Red Priest yelled in pain as the statue started siphoning energy from his body. Once again they could see how the blood was pumping in her veins.

"Tabitha-sama lives! Tabitha-sama lives! Tabitha-sama lives!" the wounded Eddy cheered.

"She's alive! Alive!" Dani exclaimed and laughed as he saw that the statue slowly began to crack open.


	106. The witch is alive!

The red light which was glowing on the statue's chest expanded unto the whole body. The cave began to shake as the statue's cracks grew even bigger.

"How could this be happening?" Rezo asked while trying to oppose the force which was siphoning his energy off.

"Tabitha-sama awaken!" Eddy cheered.

"I got a bad feeling she's not too happy with us!" Dani replied and made a few steps back.

A small hole appeared into the left arm of the statue, at the place where the left hand used to be, and all of a sudden, the whole statue's arm cracked and a left arm with a left hand appeared. Also, the statue pieces began to fall off from the rest of her body, revealing her white boots, her torn purple clothes, the knife which she was holding in her right hand, and ultimately, her face. The witch opened her eyes, which shined with a bright red light, and said:

"I… am… back!"

"Tabitha-sama! Tabitha-sama!" Eddy exclaimed as he got up.

"Nice to see you… Tabitha-sama." Dani said, worried.

Tabitha's eyes turned back to their normal blue color and she pointed her knife to Rezo while saying:

"You, how dare you try to kill your own mentor?"

"You don't scare me with your little toy dagger!" Rezo replied and prepared his staff for a fight. "Besides, it's nap time again!"

Rezo waved his hand and made an army of darkness bats attack Tabitha, but the witch simply swung her knife and destroyed them all with a magic attack. The Red Priest rushed to the witch and punched her in the face with his left fist. Afterwards, he used his scepter and stabbed Tabitha in her right hand, making her drop the knife.

"Hang in there, Tabitha-sama!" Dani shouted.

Tabitha managed to grab Rezo's scepter and pull it out of her wound, to the surprise of everyone. The witch then used all her body force and threw Rezo against the wall.

"Hahaha, I've never felt more alive! For that I thank you, Rezo!" Tabitha said to the Red Priest as he got up and tried to attack her. "Now it's time for payback… with extra 'money'!"

Tabitha made the knife which was lying on the ground float in the air, and with a simple grin on her face and a move of two fingers, she made it fly straight into Rezo's spine, making him spit blood and fall on the ground in front of her. The witch walked to the Red Priest and simply stepped on his bleeding back, her foot making the knife plunge even deeper into his spine while saying:

"Ah, my pain, your pain, it feels so lively! It's good to be back!"

"Uh, Tabitha-sama, don't you think the poor guy suffered enough already?"

"Don't be silly, Dani, I'm just getting started! And once I'm finished with him, you're next on the list for having the nerve to kick me while I was in coma!"

"Uh oh…"

"You will pay for this, Tabitha!" Rezo growled and suddenly disappeared, making Tabitha's foot push the knife in the ground.

"Heh, coward." Tabitha said while cracking her neck twice.

Dani and Eddy bowed down to their master as she used her powers and changed her clothes into a black dress while also putting a black witch hat on her head.

"So much better." Tabitha said while fitting the hat on her head.

"So, Tabitha-sama, how did you survive the Zeta wars?" Dani asked.

"Subaru say Tabitha-sama die in lava. Subaru lie?" Eddy asked.

"Unfortunately, boys, Subaru was right. I did cut off my hand and let myself fall into the pit of lava."

"But why would you do such a thing, Tabitha-sama?"

"Because, Dani, I had to make sure that Devil Diabolos Zeta isn't destroyed. Once I was only a few millimeters near the lava, I used my last powers and created a protective aura around me. I dived into the lava and took out my Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened card. I used the card's powers and absorbed Zeta into it, saving the creature's life. Afterwards, I waited for you all to leave the pit, and when I felt I was alone, I made the lava turn into earth and tried to find my way out. Unfortunately, my aura wore off and my damaged body got stuck into the ground. In order to make sure that I wouldn't become worm food, I turned my body into a statue. Then I used every last bit of my powers to create this cave in the hope that someone would find me."

"Eddy found Tabitha-sama! Eddy rescue her! Eddy also found Devil Diabolos Zeta card in small cave." Eddy said while giving Tabitha the Devil Diabolos Zeta card.

"Ah, yes, I let this card in the cave as a proof of my survival. And speaking of cards, I think it's time for you two to receive some upgrades."

All of a sudden, two psychic creatures appeared in Tabitha's left hand. One of them was a darkness psychic creature, the other was darkness/fire.

"Dani, these are your new cards. I bring you… Big Promo!, Zabi Flower and Deis Rigel, Persistent Flame." Tabitha said while offering the cards to Dani.

"Wow, these cards are awesome!" the long-haired short teen exclaimed.

"Now it's your turn, Eddy." Tabitha continued and made a darkness, a nature and a fire psychic creature appear in her right hand. "I give you… Zabi Komusubi Flower, Geo Ohzeki Hamlet and Gil Yokozuna Fuji."

"Tabitha-sama is best leader! Eddy always grateful!" Eddy complimented the witch while taking the cards.

"Now… there's just one last thing." Tabitha said as she leaned down and took the knife out of the ground.

"And what's that, Tabitha-sama?" Dani asked but received no response.

All of a sudden, Tabitha slit her left wrist open, leaving her blood fall upon the dirt. Then, she shouted in plea:

"I beg of you, o, master of all that is dark and evil, restore to me what was once lost! In return, I will give up upon half of my lifetime on this planet! Restore to me what I've lost and I swear I will work for our supreme goal! For we are one, we work as one, and we shall rule upon this world as one!"

The cave began to shake powerfully, causing Dani and Eddy to duck.

"W-w-what's going on here?" Dani asked with fear.

"Eddy not know."

The blood which fell on the ground took the form of a circle and turned into a portal to hell. A transparent figure got out of it and it slowly began to materialize. After a few moments, Dani and Eddy were both shocked and embarrassed to see that the figure was none other than Hanna, which was also naked. As the ritual was completed, the blood and portal disappeared, and Hanna landed on her knees in front of Tabitha.

"It is now complete. She has been revived." Tabitha said to Dani and Eddy.

"T-Tabitha-sama…" Hanna murmured and then fainted.

"What happened to her?" Dani asked.

"She needs some rest, that's all." Tabitha said while taking the girl up in her hands. "Now let's go find ourselves a new base!"

Back at the city, the chosen duelists and Tobey were on their way to the tournament building. Even though the trees were still greenish, you could see a few leaves fall off them. The breeze was slowly turning colder than usual, and small white clouds were covering the great blue sky. In his mind, Tobey was remembering what had happened at the UFO a few hours ago.

_"Tabitha-sama is alive!" Eddy exclaimed and made everyone freeze with fear as he showed them the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened._

_"Listen here, everyone, Tabitha is dead, no matter what anybody says!" Subaru said. "I was there. We were both stuck into the pit where Devil Diabolos Zeta met his doom. I was holding on to a rock and Tabitha was holding on to me. I wanted to save both of us, but she didn't want to be saved, so she took out a knife from her pocket and cut off her left hand. I watched helplessly how the witch fell into the pool of lava and followed Devil Diabolos Zeta into the grave."_

_"What? Tabitha's psychic creature…" Tobey mumbled._

_"Come on, go for it! Grab it, Tobey!" Dani urged him._

_With a confused expression on his face, the boy stretched his right hand to the card that Eddy was holding, but then he heard Subaru's voice yell at him:_

_"NO! DON'T TOUCH IT, TOBEY!"_

_"Subaru… He's right! I won't!" Tobey said and fought back his inner desire._

The boy just couldn't believe that in just a few moments his life had changed once again. He was drowning in a sea of confusion, and it seemed that there was no way out.

"She can't be alive, because if she were, she would have come to face the chosen duelists personally." Tobey spoke in his mind and then he looked at the sky. "At least… that's the Tabitha that I remember."

"Hey, Tobey, you're falling behind!" Sora shouted.

"I'm coming!" Tobey replied and walked after the chosen duelists.

"Hey, Rad, do you believe that something's wrong with Tobey?"

"I know what you're thinking, Subaru. Dani and Eddy used Devil Diabolos Zeta to convince him that Tabitha is alive. Now he's probably confused on which side he's on. We should probably have a talk with him after we sign up for the tournament."

"I guess you're right."

All of a sudden, a boy appeared out of nowhere and stretched both his hands on the left and right, blocking their way. The boy had tan skin, transition glasses which resembled sunglasses, and was wearing a white T-shirt, black vest and black jeans with white/silver/ black sneakers.

"Hey, who are you and what do you want?" Rad demanded.

"The name's Nolan. I've heard that you guys are the five chosen duelists, right?"

"Yes, indeed we are the ones." Sora answered.

"Nice. Then how about one of you guys gives me a duel?" Nolan said and showed his deck. "This, of course, if you aren't too chicken."

"Excuse us, sir, but we are in a hurry. We've got to sign up to the Duel Masters tournament." Tsugumi said and made a polite bow to him. "Could you please let us through?"

"Sorry, girl, but I'm not going anywhere without a duel."

"The miss asked you politely, but you still refused? That's it, if you want a duel, you'll get one!" Subaru said and took out his deck.

"That's what I wanted to hear! Let's do this, ikuzo!"

"Huh? A black guy speaking Japanese? Hm, interesting. Ok, yosh, I accept your challenge!"

Two dueling tables rose from the ground and the duelists walked to them and put their decks on them. They looked each other in the eye for a moment and then rose their shields which materialized into the human world.

"Subaru, don't! You shouldn't be having a kaijudo duel!" Tsugumi said.

"You know she's right, Suby! Those Zeta Wars left us all with wounds, and you're no exception!" Edo added.

"Will you guys stop acting like my mom? It's over a month since then and I believe that I can have a kaijudo duel without getting hurt, thank you." Subaru said and placed Thunder Blade, Raging Beast to his mana zone.

"Oh? Using darkness and hunters, huh? Now that's new." Nolan commented.

"What do you mean?"

"So far I've only seen guys using fire, nature or light with hunters. You're the very first one I've seen using darkness. This will be interesting indeed."

"Whatever you say. You may do your turn now."

Nolan placed Jet R.E, Brave Vizier into his mana zone tapped and ended his turn.

"Heh, fire/light, huh? I know someone who also used this combo." Subaru said and gave Tsugumi a quick glance. "Ok, enough reminiscing, I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll! I destroy Jenny and discard a card from your hand."

"How unfortunate for me." Nolan said as he discarded Shooting Exedrive.

"Huh? You're also using hunters?"

"Indeed I am. But that's another story. Now let's concentrate on the match! I charge mana and end."

"If you say so. I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and end."

"I guess it's fun time. I summon Dragon Flare Egg!" Nolan said and a yellow egg appeared behind him, floating in the air.

"Huh? What's that?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yeah, never seen one of those before." Sora added.

"Raddy, you're the fire expert, do ya know what's that thing?" Edo asked.

"I wish I knew, guys." Rad said.

"An Egg creature. I've heard of those before. Interesting to finally see one." Tobey thought.

But then, all of a sudden, Tobey felt a strange force pulling him like in a trance towards a dark alley. His body was moving without his will and he could not fight it. He wished to scream out for help, but couldn't. Once he was far enough from the chosen duelists, he felt the force let go of him. Then, in the next moment, a dark figure appeared in front of him. The figure soon took the form of a witch dressed in black clothes. Tobey immediately recognized the long blonde curly hair, the cold blue eyes and the menacing smile on her face.

"Uh, ugh, uh…" Tobey mumbled.

"Hehehe, surprised to see me, Tobey?" Tabitha said.

"Tabitha-sama! So it's true, you really are alive!"

"And you, my dear Tobey, should know on whose side you're on."

"Huh?"

"What's the matter? Why didn't you join Dani and Eddy when they came to revive me? Is it that you're starting to get soft?"

"N-no, it's not that, Tabitha-sama, it's just…"

"Are you actually with the chosen duelists, Tobey? You're starting to disappoint me."

"I… I don't know who I am, Tabitha-sama…" Tobey said while staring at the ground.

Back at the duel, Subaru had begun his turn. He drew his next card, charged mana and showed a water card from his hand to Nolan while saying:

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr! With his effect I'll reveal the top 3 cards of my deck and add the darkness ones to my hand."

Then, Subaru revealed Drilling Squito, Hades Death Gate and Terror Pit. All were darkness cards and all went to his hand.

"Very well, then it's time to use my Egg's ability!" Nolan said and put the top card of his deck to the graveyard, which was Super Go On Pippi. "Darn, not a Dragon! Oh well, I summon Cocco Lupia and end."

"Not lucky, eh? I guess it's time to really get this party started! I summon Leon Diez, the Lion!" Subaru said and a bone lion with golden claws and horns, a spiky bone mane, blue mouth and sharp red teeth appeared behind him and roared so loud that it made some buildings shake.

"Impressive." Nolan commented as he put the top card of his deck to his graveyard. "Yes, exactly what I needed! I destroy Dragon Flare Egg!"

"Huh? Why would you do that?" Subaru spoke confused.

"Dragon Flare Egg's ability puts the top cards of my deck to the graveyard, and if that card is a non-evolution Dragon, I may destroy Egg and summon that Dragon for free!" Nolan said as the yellow egg cracked and a dragon dressed in a red, samurai armor and wielding a fire sword appeared behind him. "I summon Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon!"

"Woah, that was one awesome move!" Rad exclaimed.

"Agreed. Subaru's in big trouble." Sora added.

"Indeed it is, green-haired girl!" Nolan said as he placed a fire/light card upon his Sword Flash Dragon card. "I evolve Fighting Spirit! into Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon!"

The samurai dragon got surrounded by a bright aura and turned into a huge angelic dragon with fire wings, golden armor and a golden sword with a sharp blue laser blade.

"Meet my trump card, Bolshack Ulpheus!" Nolan said.

"But… that's also my trump card!" Tsugumi added.

"Huh? You use it?" Nolan asked the blonde girl.

"Kinda…"

"So you know what awaits him, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.

"Bolshack Ulpheus allows me to cast a light or fire spell without cost when summoned, so I guess I'll do this." Nolan said and showed a fire spell card. "I cast Invincible Cataclysm! Put three of his shields to the graveyard!"

Subaru watched how his three middle shields cracked into many pieces and turned into cards which fell on his table, to the graveyard. The cards were Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Aqua Surfer and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll.

"Not good!" Subaru said.

"Ikuze, Bolshack Ulpheus, shieldo break!" Nolan ordered in bad Japanese and the dragon used its sword and slashed Subaru's last two shields into pieces. "Heh, if it wouldn't be for your Maxval, Cocco Lupia would finish you off. I guess I'll just have to wait for one more turn."

"Yeah, right. Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Bolshack Ulpheus!"

"Nande?"

Two black demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Nolan's dragon, crushing it until it blew up. The boy gave Subaru an angry look as the black-haired boy began his turn.

"I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and summon Volg Thunder!"

A red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword appeared behind Subaru as cards from Nolan's deck went to the graveyard. The cards were Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, Shooting Exedrive, DNA Spark and Jet R.E, Brave Vizier.

"Then with Raiden Hole's second effect, I destroy Cebu Aquman Jr and summon Thunder Tiger as well!" Subaru said and a black-armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes appeared as well and slashed Cocco Lupia with its claws, killing it. "Thunder Tiger gives -2000 to your Cocco Lupia."

"I see. Well, this isn't over yet! I summon Cocco Lupia and Twin Slash Dragon!" Nolan said.

"On the contrary, I think it's pretty much over. Psychic Link!"

Both of Subaru's psychic creatures united and became a giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword.

"Meet Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!" Subaru exclaimed and the creature roared.

"F-fantastic! A Psychic Link creature!" Nolan exclaimed. "I never knew you used one."

"Oh, you're in for much more, pal. I summon Thunder Blade, Raging Beast and destroy Twin Slash Dragon!"

"Yay, go for it, Suby!" Edo exclaimed.

"Kick his butt!" Rad added.

"Ike, Leon Diez, attack!" Subaru ordered and had the top 3 cards of his deck to his graveyard, the cards being: Miracle Re Born, Terror Pit and Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse. "Since a darkness hunter was put into the graveyard by Leon Diez's effect, Leon Diez makes all your creatures get -1000 power!"

"Oh no." Nolan said as his Cocco Lupia got destroyed.

"Double break his shields, Leon Diez!" Subaru shouted and the lion jumped towards Nolan and slashed both of his shields with its sharp claws. "Then Volg Tiger, attack and discard a card from his hand!"

"Ugh!" Nolan exclaimed as he discarded Ral Sleeper, Light Divine Dragon. "This is so not good!"

"With Volg Tiger's effect, I revive Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse and discard your other card as well! Ike, Volg Tiger, double break his shields!"

"This isn't over yet! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Maxval and Kitarou! Then I summon Amaneth, Spirit of Shinto!"

"Nice job, but it will take you more than that to defeat me, Nolan! I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Amaneth! Then I summon Cebu Aquman Jr from my graveyard!"

Subaru revealed the top 3 cards of his deck, which were Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero, Aqua Surfer and Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons. He took Romanoff and Ballom to his hand since they were darkness cards and left Aqua Surfer to go to the graveyard.

"Ike, Thunder Blade, break his final shield!" Subaru commanded and the tiger demon used both its purple swords and slashed Nolan's last shield to pieces.

"Oh great, the card I wanted the least to be in my shields." Nolan said and stared at Bolshack Ulpheus. "Oh well, I guess it's over."

"Indeed it is." Subaru said and put his hand on his linked card. "Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast…"

Meanwhile, at Tabitha and Tobey, tension was flowing into the air. The witch was having her patience tested by the indecisive Tobey, so she decided it was time to act.

"Tobey, listen closely, I want you to turn your head up and look at me."

"Y-yes, Tabitha-sama…" Tobey said and raised his head.

"Good. Now I want you to take out your deck and challenge me to a duel."

"What? I can't, Tabitha-sama!"

"DO IT! You're with the chosen duelists, so I'm your enemy now!"

"N-no, I can't…"

"What's the matter, Tobey?" Tabitha asked as she pulled out her deck. "It's simple. All you have to do is to look into your pockets for your dueling deck and use it to face me in a duel."

"I can't, Tabitha-sama, I CAN'T!" Tobey said and suddenly yelled as loud as he could.

"Perfect." Tabitha spoke in her mind.

"Tabitha-sama… I'm all yours. I'm your loyal minion till the end, no matter what." Tobey spoke with a conformed voice.

"And you better not forget it." the witch replied with a cold voice. "Now let's go, we've got a tournament to win!"

Tabitha opened a portal and invited Tobey to enter it first. The boy looked back at the chosen duelists for a moment and then turned to the portal. Closing his eyes, he slowly walked into the portal and disappeared. The witch then clapped her hands once and made the portal disappear.

Back at the duel, silence fell upon everyone. The four chosen duelists and Nolan were all waiting for Subaru to make his final move and finish their duel. But just as he was about to tap his Volg Tiger card, Subaru suddenly spoke to them:

"Hah, you guys really thought I would do it?"

"Huh?" the others exclaimed.

"I don't wanna hurt you, Nolan. You gave me an awesome duel and I thank you for that." Subaru spoke with a friendly voice.

"Haha, good ol' Suby, always friendly to those who made him have fun in a duel." Edo laughed.

"Uh, thanks, I think?" Nolan replied as he watched Subaru's creatures disappear.

"So why did you want to duel us?" Rad asked.

"Oh, I was just lost and was looking for directions, tee hee."

"Where are you going?" Sora asked.

"I'm looking for the building where the Duel Masters tournament is going to be take place."

"Oh, you mean that building?" Tsugumi said and pointed to a giant building which was located a few streets away from them and could be seen by anyone.

"Hehe, yeah…" Nolan said and sweated. "Oh well, I better be going."

"Wait! Will we ever meet again?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah, in the tournament, and then we can have our rematch!" Nolan said and made the peace sign while walking away.

"Hehe, see ya there then!"

But just as Nolan disappeared out of their sight, the chosen duelists heard hand claps behind them. They all turned and were shocked to see that Tobey was gone and that a blonde witch dressed in black clothes appeared out of a dark alley.

"Oh no, I don't believe it!" Subaru exclaimed as his eyes widened.

"So it's true… Tabitha did come back!" Rad said.

"Right you are, chosen fire duelist, I have returned and I'm stronger than ever!" Tabitha spoke to them with an over-confident voice.

"But how could you? You died into the lava!"

"So you have thought, Subaru Geki, but you should've known by now that I'm made of smoke and mirrors." Tabitha said while giving Subaru a malevolent grin. "So the tragedy begins once again. Heh, very well then, we'll see each other in the tournament."

"Bring it on! We'll tear you to pieces!" Edo said.

"Yeah, as long as we're united, you don't stand a chance!" Sora added.

"If so, then you should hurry to sign up before they get 32 contestants. Or else you might not end up in the tournament, chosen losers. But heed my word, many foes await you at the tournament, and the psychic hunts we had this summer will seem like child's play when compared to facing them."

All of a sudden, Tabitha disappeared, leaving the chosen duelists questioning her warnings. But just as they were about to speak to each other, they heard some footsteps approaching them from the other direction. They turned their backs and saw that a tall boy with black hair long to his feet and red eyes was approaching them while holding both his hands in his red jacket.

"Oh my God!" Tsugumi exclaimed. "It's…"

"Kokujo-kun!" Subaru added.

Meanwhile, a few feet away from the tournament building, in a dark alley, Tabitha was slowly wandering between the dark and tall buildings. Her eyes were glowing through the darkness with a bright red light. Darkness was coming out of her body, reminding her that she had promised to unleash it upon the world once she'd win the tournament. As she passed two old beggars, the darkness engulfed them and made them disappear along with their screams of agony. Finally, Tabitha stopped in front of an old and abandoned house wherein she could see Dani at the window, counting the specks of dust.

The witch entered the house without making noise. Dani greeted her and told her that Tobey, Eddy and Hanna were all asleep in their rooms. The witch nodded back to him and sat on the couch while turning on the TV. A tall brown-haired man with brown eyes, a white T shirt, a blue jacket with flames and orange pants was talking into a microphone about the Duel Masters tournament. Excited people could've been seen entering the building, their eagerness to see epic duels being great. But Tabitha laughed, one month had passed, and she was reborn and stronger than ever.


	107. Two friends' duel

Silence fell upon the chosen duelists as they watched Kokujo slowly approach them. Once he was right in front of them, he gave them his usual maniacal grin, but none could react due to the shock of not seeing him after such a long time.

"YAHAHAHAHA, it's so great to be back!" Kokujo laughed.

"K-K-K-Kokujo-kun, it's really you!" Subaru exclaimed.

"The one and only." Kokujo smirked to the chosen darkness duelist while taking a bite from a slice of cake.

"It's him alright." Sora said, sweating.

"So, Kokujo, where have you been all this time?" Rad asked.

"Duh, to Disneyland!" Edo intervened.

"Tsh, where I've been is none of your business." Kokujo replied coldly. "Now what matters is that I've signed up for the tournament and that YOU should do the same before 32 duelists are found!"

"Oh right, the tournament! Let's go, guys!" Tsugumi said and began to run towards the building, soon to be followed by the other chosen duelists and Kokujo.

At Tabitha's house, life seemed to have finally infiltrated the once abandoned building. Dani and Eddy were helping Tobey get used to being on the evil side once again through some duels in the living room. Upstairs, in the room from the bottom of the corridor, a girl with long blue hair was lying naked on a bed, being covered only by a white sheet. She slowly opened her blue eyes and saw that she was lying in an old room which was decorated similarly to the first years of the 21st century, except that it lacked a TV and a computer. But what made her curious was the fact that everything was pretty dusty, including her sheets. Suddenly, the door opened and she quickly turned her sight to it with fear. A blonde woman dressed in black witch clothes entered the room and slowly closed the door.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Hanna."

The girl shyly looked at the witch and tried saying something, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. The girl united her lips and looked at the floor for as the witch approached her.

"Is everything ok? Do you remember who I am, Hanna?"

"Tabitha-sama… is that really you?" the girl asked.

"Indeed it is." the witch replied as she put her hand on Hanna's forehead. "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

"Don't worry about me, Tabitha-sama, I'm alright. I just want to know… where am I?"

"Oh, it's a long story, Hanna."

"The last thing I remember is trying to destroy Devil Diabolos Zeta, but then a laser beam hit me and Lunarzberg and everything went blank."

"Oh no, she remembers!" Tabitha spoke in her mind, worried.

"Can I know what happened afterwards, Tabitha-sama? And also how did I end up here?" Hanna demanded.

"Ok, I'll tell you everything."

Meanwhile, at the tournament building, everything was going normally during the signing up procedure. That was until the chosen duelists rushed inside, making a lot of noise.

"WAIT, WE ALSO WANNA JOIN!" Edo yelled.

"DON'T CLOSE UP! WE'RE HERE!" Sora yelled as well.

"Um, guys the signing up isn't over…" Tsugumi remarked, embarrassed.

"Heh, pathetic." Kokujo silently laughed for himself while standing in a corner with both his arms crossed.

The chosen duelists all sat in line while a few people laughed at their entrance. Now that they were waiting, they could analyze the place they were in. The room was large, had walls made of glasses, a blue metallic floor and 4 cash registers at which the contestants could sign up. However, contrary to their use, no cash was required, as the tournament was free.

All of a sudden, the building began to shake and everyone panicked. A giant pyramid descended from the heavens and slowly landed in the parking lot, destroying every possible vehicle, from rocket to flying saucer. Then a beam appeared from the pyramid and two figures descended from it. One was wearing a purple clown suit, had a T scepter in his hand, a hat the size of a fish bowl on his head and was riding a roller chair. The other figure was dressed in a blue royal uniform and had long blonde hair and a blue W mark on his forehead.

"Toto, did you crush all the rockets again?"

"Look at the bright side, White-sama, the little electric bicycle wasn't crushed."

The two entered the building and calmly took their places in the line. However, White turned his head to Kokujo and gave him a menacing stare. The Black Death returned the favor with a maniacal grin.

After a few more minutes of waiting, most people got bored and began to talk to one another. Kokujo also decided to leave his corner and go see what the chosen duelists were up to. But just as he reached them, his guts rumbled and he put his hand on his stomach while saying:

"Gosh, I'm starting to get hungry."

"I say tacos!" Toto suddenly intervened.

"With ice cream on!" Edo added.

"And big extra molten cheese!" both Toto and Edo said at the same time.

Then both Edo and Toto looked at each other with surprise and in the next moment they both said:

"Haha, I like the way you think!"

"Is it just me or Edo's found himself a new friend?" Sora whispered to Rad.

"Kinda weird since the only one to endure him is Subaru." Rad whispered back.

Back at Tabitha's house, the witch and Hanna finally descended from upstairs, the blue-haired girl now wearing a dark green purple dress and large black shoes. Dani, Tobey and Eddy all stared with amazement at the girl which had been revived by their master.

"Gentlemen, I bring you Hanna!" Tabitha said.

"Nice to see you're back… Hanna." Tobey shyly spoke.

"Eddy happy that Hanna alive."

"Nah, can't say I missed ya." Dani said, but then he got kicked in the head by Tabitha. "Ouch! Ouch! Ok, nice to see ya, Hanna…"

"I'm glad to see that all of you are safe and sound as well." Hanna said and gave the three boys a smile. "Now, Tabitha-sama, what is your next plan?"

"I've signed us all up for the Duel Masters tournament. In the next few hours' time we are going to duel, and once we win this contest, we will gain absolute power!" Tabitha said and clenched her right fist. "Nothing will stand in my way again, not even the chosen duelists!"

"What? But, Tabitha-sama, why must we fight the chosen duelists? Can't you put aside your petty arguments with them and just conquer the world?"

"You're a fool, Hanna! The chosen duelists have stood in my way for far too long! The only way to make sure they won't become an obstacle is by eliminating them in this tournament once and for all!"

"Haven't you learned anything from what happened during the Zeta Wars?" Hanna said and made Tabitha remember the losses she had suffered during that war.

"That's enough, Hanna! As long as you are under my command, you will do as you're told. You will duel in the tournament and face the chosen duelists if necessary. I will not allow some 'friendship' which belongs to the past stand between you and your oath to me!" Tabitha said with a determined voice.

"I understand, Tabitha-sama…"

Hanna laid down her head as Tabitha walked to the couch and turned on the TV. The simple thought that she'd have to face off her old friends in a duel was enough to make her wish she stood dead. Whatever happened, she knew that she would have a dark future while she was serving under Tabitha. But an oath was an oath, so she decided to obey her master's orders for the time being. The girl woke up from her thoughts and joined the three boys in the kitchen so that they could have some duels.

Meanwhile, in a darker corner of the city, Shagrath was helping Rezo walk to a small place where he could rest. The wounds that Tabitha had inflicted upon him had severely damaged him and he could barely move his limbs. The Red Priest was helped by Shagrath to stand down on a metallic crate.

"Are you feeling better?" Shagrath asked.

"Not… at all…" Rezo barely spoke. "Did we… get signed up for the…"

"Tournament? No worries, Hitler is taking care of that."

"Tabitha… she will pay for this humiliation…"

Rezo slowly put both his arms on his chest and made them glow with a bright blue aura which was making his wounds heal faster. Seeing that his role was finished, Shagrath lay against a wall and watched how the Red Priest was licking his scars.

An hour had passed since everyone had signed up for the tournament. The contestants were all kindly asked to sit on the mechanical seats which appeared from the floor and were required to wait until the tournament host would arrive. All of a sudden, the lights in their room went out and their chairs suddenly moved fast with them, taking them to a large arena which was shaped like a stadium. The almost all the seats were taken and the whole crowd looked wild. A tall brown-haired man with brown eyes, a white T shirt, a blue jacket with flames and orange pants appeared by a podium and spoke into a microphone:

"Welcome, everyone, to the first Duel Masters tournament organized in our city!"

A long cheer from the crowd followed his words.

"I know you all are excited to see some fresh and awesome duels, so let's welcome our contestants!" the man said and pointed to the duelists sitting on chairs. "Wait a minute… some of our contestants are missing!"

"They're not missing, you imbecile!" Hitler yelled and got up from his chair. "They're on their way to the tournament, so you just wait!"

"However, if the contestant does not arrive, then he or she will be disqualified and their opponent will be declared the winner."

"Typical." Zakira's ghost whispered to Hitler's ear.

"Now let's see what duels has our super intelligent computer planned!" the host said and clicked a button.

A giant computer monitor descended from the ceiling and its screen shined with a blue light while showing the names of the contestants. The names began to change, almost as if they were mixed up, and after a minute a large list appeared on the computer. The list showed the following duels:

Edo VS Subaru

Dani VS Ricco

Kei VS Rad

Tobey VS Toto

Diamoon VS Sora

Eddy VS Shagrath

Overy VS Tsugumi

Baku VS Hanna

Hakuoh VS Kokujo

Hiro VS Nolan

Hitler VS White

Subham VS Zakira

Azkeel VS Wally

Spunky VS Tigra

Omega VS Tabitha

Arthur Reed VS Rezo

Everyone began to look at each other, trying to find out who would be their opponent, but both Subaru and Edo stared at the floor with sweat falling on their skin and worried looks on their faces.

"From the looks of it, our first duel is… EDO VS SUBARU!" the host announced.

Both Edo and Subaru swallowed slowly and looked at each other with the same worried faces.

"The rest of the contestants may go into the crowd and await their turn. But the ones which must now duel are invited to come to the dueling table." the host continued.

The two chosen duelists walked to the stairs which led to the dueling table. They climbed it, both thinking of the worst outcome of their duel. Once they reached the top, Subaru silently murmured to his friend:

"Edo-kun…"

"Suby…" Edo responded.

"I guess this is it, huh?" Subaru said while putting his deck on the table. "Not exactly what I had in mind."

The audience applauded both contestants as Edo took his deck out from his pockets.

"This is making me kind of nervous, it already feels like the finals." Edo spoke in his mind while putting the deck on the table."

"Here goes nothing." Subaru said while deploying his shields.

"Poor guys, must be hard for them." Sora said while sitting down next to Rad, Tsugumi and Nolan.

"Heh, this will be interesting." Nolan stated while crossing his hands.

"Boys…" Tsugumi spoke worried, as she watched how her lover and his best friend were about to engage into a fierce duel.

"GO, SUBARU! CRUSH EDO!" Rad cheered as loudly as he could.

"But I don't want to!" Subaru replied.

"Kh, with this hand it isn't looking too promising." Edo said while putting Crystal Axe next to Aqua Surfer in his mana zone.

"The mighty Crystal Axe is already in the mana zone. This must be a very unlucky start!" the host commented as Subaru drew his next card.

"I can't go too hard on you, Edo-kun…" Subaru said.

"It's alright, go ahead." Edo said with a sad smile.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it."

Subaru's Jenny made Edo discard Aqua Jet. The brown-haired boy got even more worried by his loss. He drew his next card, Aqua Attack, which was useless to him at that point, so he charged mana with it and ended.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma." Subaru said and put a multicolored card on the table.

"Haha, Suby is winning!" Rad spoke with satisfaction.

"As expected, this Edo guy doesn't seem too tough." Nolan replied. "He can't compare to those Hunters that Subaru used against me."

"Oh, you should see Edo in bed." Sora said to them while getting hearts in her eyes.

"Eh? What's her problem?"

"Excuse her, Nolan, she's just obsessed with her fantasy yaoi pairing: Subaru X Edo." Tsugumi said while sweating.

"WHAT? Now that's disgusting…"

"My turn, I summon Jiro Ribbity." Edo said.

"I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse." Subaru said and made Edo show him the two cards from his hand: Crystal Axe and Crystal Super Paladin. "Discard Crystal Super Paladin!"

"Hehe, not bad, Suby, not bad at all." Edo said while putting the card to his graveyard.

"Th-thanks, Edo-kun."

"I charge mana and end. Guess I'll try to get more mana, hehe."

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru said and revealed his top 3 cards, which were another Cebu Aquman Jr and two Aqua Surfers. "WHAT THE?"

Subaru's, Edo's and Rad's eyes widened as the three revealed cards went to Subaru's graveyard since they weren't darkness cards.

"Oh my, is the bad luck on both sides now?" the host asked.

Edo simply did his turn by charging mana and ending once again. However, after Subaru put his sixth card into the mana zone, he gave Edo a slick smile and said:

"Actually, luck just struck me now!"

Subaru showed a 6 mana darkness spell card which glowed with a bright purple light, causing the table to crack in two. Then the duelists' shields and creatures materialized.

"What an incredible power! He's turned this duel into a kaijudo duel!" the host exclaimed.

"I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and summon Volg Thunder!" Subaru said and a red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword appeared behind him and roared. "With Volg Thunder's effect I'll put the top cards of your deck to your graveyard until two creatures arrive in it that way."

The top cards which fell into Edo's graveyard were DNA Spark, Streaming Shaper, Aqua Jet and Aqua Super Emeral.

"Then with Raiden Hole's second effect I destroy Kitarou and summon Thunder Tiger!" Subaru continued and the purple ghostly hunter behind him blew up and got replaced with a black-armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes appeared in its place and roared. "With Thunder Tiger's effect I destroy Jiro Ribbity! It's your turn."

"Hehe, haha, brilliant!" Edo exclaimed with a jolly face.

"Actually, it is." Subaru replied with a more relaxed voice.

"Now let's see here. I summon Aqua Super Emeral, but I won't use its effect. Turn end."

"Then it's time to Psychic Link! Arise, Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!"

Both of Subaru's psychic creatures united and became a giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword.

"Go, Volg Tiger, attack and discard the card from his hand!" Subaru shouted as the tiger aimed its sword at Edo's shields and made him discard his last card, which was Crystal Axe. "Then, with Volg Tiger's effect, I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru continued and revealed the top 3 cards from his deck, which were: Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet and Miracle Re Born. "I take them all to my hand. Now, Volg Tiger, double break his shields!"

Edo took cover as the demonic tiger slashed two of his shields with its sword. He waited for the shield shards to unite into two cards, and once they did, he took them in his hand and nodded to Subaru, informing him that there were no shield triggers.

"Cebu Aquman Jr, break another shield!"

"Block the attack, Aqua Super Emeral!" Edo ordered and both their creatures got destroyed. "Haha, great done, Suby! Now let's see what I've got!"

Edo tapped 7 cards in his mana zone and showed a water card as a shark-like liquid people creature with a blue armor and yellow dragon wings, which was also riding a crystal surfboard appeared behind Edo.

"I summon Aqua Naruto Surfer, send Maxval back to his hand and Volg Tiger back to the hyperspatial zone!" Edo ordered and the creature made two spiraled waves appear from both of its hands and attack Subaru's creatures, though Volg Tiger separated, Volg Thunder being the one that remained in the battle zone.

"Awesome, Edo-kun!" Subaru exclaimed. "Now how about I make an epic comeback as well? I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!"

Edo discarded DNA Spark from his hand as soon as Jenny appeared alongside Subaru's other creatures.

"Ikuze, Volg Thunder, double break his shields!" Subaru ordered and the dragon slashed two of Edo's shields with its blue sword. "Cebu Aquman Jr, break his final shield!"

All spirits went high as the small alien went through Edo's last shield. The shield shards slowly floated around him, covering his face from the public and from his opponent. The whole arena fell silent, waiting for the shield to regenerate into a card, and when it did, the card shined with a bright blue light as Edo showed it to Subaru, saying:

"But not so fast there! Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer! Return Maxval!"

"Heh, as expected." Subaru commented while taking the card to his hand.

"A-aren't those two overdoing this with a kaijudo duel?" Rad said, sweating.

"And now I summon another Aqua Naruto Surfer, return Jenny and Volg!" Edo said, and then he tapped his other Aqua Naruto Surfer card. "My first Aqua Naruto Surfer, destroy Cebu Aquman!"

"A comeback right there!" the host shouted.

"Now, Aqua Surfer, break his shield!" Edo ordered.

"Good one, Edo-kun!" Subaru complimented his friend. "The comeback you did was badass! I have no words."

"Thanks, pal!"

"Edo cleared his whole field!" Sora stated.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Drilling Squito and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!" Subaru said and made Edo show him the cards from his hand once again, the cards being two Saint Mecha Mamocannons and a Crystal Super Paladin. "Discard Crystal Super Paladin!"

"You're not the only one with blockers, Suby! I summon Saint Mecha Mamocannon and Aqua Cascade!"

"Ok, I gotta admit, I'm getting excited." Rad confessed.

"Alright, Naruto Surfer, do your thing!" Edo said and one of his Naruto Surfers rode through Subaru's shields, breaking one. "Then, second Naruto Surfer, take down another one!" Edo continued and the other Naruto Surfer simply made a wave of water go through Subaru's shields, breaking one more.

"Edo is starting to put pressure on Subaru." the host said.

"Hahaha, it's actually awesome to get your shields broken. All those shield shards hitting your body give you lots of energy." Subaru laughed.

"Haha, I had lots of that!" Edo laughed as well. "And more where that came from!"

"Thank you, Edo-kun, for this wonderful match!"

"Same to you, Suby! Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"For the love of it, I won't block." Subaru said and watched yet another shield of his get broken into pieces.

"Are they nuts? SUBARU, FINISH HIM! DON'T LET HIM WIN!" Rad yelled.

"And it ain't over just ye- Wait a minute, Suby, this WAS a great duel?"

"Unfortunately, Edo-kun, YES!"

"Hehe, he's gonna pull off something awesome." Edo thought.

Subaru's hand glowed with a bright purple aura as he placed a shining card upon his Drilling Squito card while shouting:

"SHINKA! DRILLING SQUITO, BECOME BALLOM HUNTER, LORD OF DEMONS!"

The small red bug got suddenly broke into pieces, allowing a purple light to appear in order to create a figure which was a little bigger than the giant computer monitor. The creature was a red-winged and yellow-skinned goat-demon which was wielding a long and sharp purple sword.

"Amazing! You didn't let me break your shields for the love of it, you let me break your shields in order to pull that move off!" Edo said, shocked by the grandeur of Ballom Hunter.

"To be honest, yes. Ballom Hunter was in the shield that Aqua Surfer broke." Subaru replied.

Ballom Hunter roared so loudly that the whole building shook. Then he released waves of darkness which caught Subaru's Cebu Aquman and Maxval and Edo's Aqua Surfer and Saint Mecha Mamocannon, destroying them. The two Aqua Naruto Surfers screeched at Ballom Hunter in response.

"I guess this is it, huh, Edo-kun?"

"Hehe, far from, Suby!"

"Huh?"

"The duel ain't over till the todomeda is made, and I'm still totally into this match."

"He's right. Aqua Cascade is a Hunter and he was spared from Ballom Hunter's effect." the host said. "With that, he's still in the game."

"Ballom Hunter, direct attack!" Subaru said and tapped the card.

"Block it, Aqua Cascade!" Edo replied while tapping his card as well.

Ballom Hunter aimed for Edo, but Aqua Cascade appeared in front of it and blocked its attack. However, Ballom Hunter's sword was stronger than the two blades of Aqua Cascade, and the small water creature got destroyed.

"Those two really go all out. Subaru with his Balloms, Edo with his Snipers, only now they're in Hunter form." Sora remarked.

"I summon Saint Mecha Mamocannon!" Edo said and then sweated a bit while tapping one of his water card. "Alright, here goes nothing! Aqua Naruto Surfer, break his final shield!"

"Shieldo trigger hasdoh!" Subaru said while showing the card. "Hades Death Gate! Destroy Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

A black gate appeared behind Subaru and opened, revealing many black demonic hands. Those hands stretched to Edo's untapped Naruto Surfer and crushed it in a matter of seconds. Then the hands retreated into the gate and an Aqua Surfer came out of it.

"Then I revive Aqua Surfer and send Mamocannon to your hand!" Subaru said and then wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Now that was exciting!"

"B-beautiful use of the water cards at the end, Suby!" Edo exclaimed.

"Awesome pwnage with the Naruto Surfers, Edo-kun!"

The remaining Aqua Naruto Surfer screeched so loudly that the whole crowd had to cover their ears.

"He takes the compliment, hehe, but awesome return with Ballom Hunter!"

Ballom Hunter roared even louder than Aqua Naruto Surfer's screech, causing the building to shake once again.

"So what should I do now, Edo-kun?"

"Now come on, Suby, get this over with! I'm waiting! Let's finish this duel like men! WITH A BLOW!"

"But that's crazy!" the host tried to intervene.

"As you wish, Edo-kun! BALLOM HUNTER, TODOMEDA!" Subaru ordered and Ballom Hunter aimed its sword at Edo.

"This is gonna hurt!" Edo thought.

But just as Ballom Hunter was about to hit Edo with the sword, Aqua Naruto Surfer quickly created a blue aura which protected Edo from the impact and he just got blasted away due to the sword's pressure. The brown-haired boy screamed while falling and he got a hard landing on the metallic floor. The whole arena got silent all of a sudden, but in a few moments, Edo's voice resounded, saying:

"…I'm okay!"

"AND THE WINNER IS SUBARU!" the host shouted in the microphone.

The whole audience gave them a large round of applause, but Subaru ignored his reward and ran to Edo to help him up.

"Are you alright?"

"Hehe, thanks Suby. Guess I hurt my back a little." Edo said while getting up.

"That was…" Rad murmured while fainting on his seat.

"Looks like Rad was the one who got down and not Edo." Sora giggled.

"Haha, it was totally awesome!" Subaru said.

"Awesome? AWESOME? Awesome doesn't even describe it!" Edo said. "I-it was… Ballomsurfertastic!"

"Though I regret one thing, Edo-kun, and that's that you won't be by my side in the tournament. I wished to duel in this tournament, knowing that somewhere was my friend as well, waiting to face me in the last rounds."

"Oh, I totally forgot about the tourney while we were in the duel. Hmm, I got it!"

Edo took out his deck once again and searched it. He took out one of his Aqua Naruto Surfer cards and handed it to Subaru while saying:

"This way we'll both continue."

"Eh? Take it back, it's your trump card!" Subaru said and tried to offer the card back to its owner.

"No, no, it's yours for the tourney to keep!" Edo insisted. "As long as Naruto Surfer is in your deck, my kaijudo will also be there."

"Edo-kun… thank you!" Subaru spoke while suddenly hugging Edo. "You're the best friend I could ever wish to have!"

"Oh, Suby…" Edo replied while hugging him even harder. "I KNOW YOU'LL DO IT! WIN THIS TOURNAMENT FOR BOTH OF US!"

Meanwhile, outside the tournament building, a red portal appeared out of nowhere. Out of that portal came Tabitha which was soon followed by Hanna, Dani, Tobey and Eddy. The witch grinned while watching the tall, imposing building.

"Hehehe, get your decks ready, boys, for we'll crush every fool in this tournament!"


	108. Triple swarm

"Alright then, let's get on to our next match!" the tournament host said while pointing to the computer monitor. "It's Dani VS Ricco!"

As the things were getting ready for the next duel, Subaru helped Edo climb to the places where their friends were sitting. Once there, Sora got up from the three seats on which she was resting, revealing that she had kept two seats for them.

"Great duel you two put up!" Sora complimented them.

"We really went at it." Edo replied while smiling to her.

"Yeah, we both had a lot of fun." Subaru said while sitting down on his seat. "Now let's see who's next."

"If I knew who those two guys were, I'd be a little more excited." Nolan said while looking at the two names from the computer screen.

"Oh, Nolan, nice to see you again, buddy!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Heh, wasn't as long as you expected, huh?"

A boy climbed up the stairs to one of the two dueling tables, but his opponent did not show up. The host waited a few minutes and then he said:

"It seems like mister Dani hasn't shown up. In this case, we'll have to…"

"Hold your horses, Dani is right here!" an old woman's voice resounded from the contestant entrance.

Everyone turned their views to the entrance and saw a blonde woman dressed in a black witch suit enter the arena, soon being followed by a blue-haired girl with a dark green dress, a short teen with long black hair and metallic claws on his hands, a white-haired boy dressed in a red student suit and a tall and almost bald boy who was dressed in a sailor suit and blue pants.

"Oh no, it's them!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Who are they?" Nolan asked.

"It's Tabitha!" Subaru added.

"And her cohorts." Sora said while pointing at them. "The small one is Dani, the one dressed in red is Tobey aka useless traitor, the tall one is Eddy and the girl is… oh my God, can it be?"

"But I thought she was dead!" Edo said before his jaw dropped.

"It's Hanna!" Tsugumi shouted.

"Ok, so which one of you is Dani?" the host asked.

"I am!" Dani said while running to the stairs. "Hahaha, it's time to get this party started!"

"That crazy midget is my opponent?" the other boy asked while watching Dani reach his dueling table.

"The name's Dani, punk!"

"And what's with those things on your hands? Are you a mutant panther or what?"

"Meh, you're just jealous you don't have a pair of these."

"Alright then, it's time for this match to begin!" the host shouted.

Dani and Ricco both deployed their shields and drew their cards, thus starting their duel. In their first turns they both charged mana. Now it was Dani's second turn. After charging mana, he showed a darkness card to Ricco and said:

"I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager!"

"I summon Cocco Gil Lupia!" Ricco said.

"Playing with aliens as well, huh? Well, you can't beat me in my own game! I summon Marauder Deis Drive!" Dani said and then he tapped both his cards, making his creatures rush towards Ricco. "Go, Zabi Fly and Deis Drive, break his shields!"

"Argh!" Ricco yelled as he tried to cover himself from the shield shards.

The crowd began to cheer, taking Dani's side.

"It seems like Dani is beginning the game in full offense!" the host remarked.

"Heh, Dani's rush is no match for this guy." Tabitha laughed while crossing her hands and pushing her back against a wall.

"Indeed it is, Tabitha-sama. That Ricco character will soon be wiped out." Tobey added.

"Go, Dani!" Eddy cheered.

Hanna wasn't even paying attention to the duel. She was looking at the crowd, searching for the chosen duelists, and all that time she was praying to not find them. The mere thought of having to face her friends was torturing her deep down inside her heart.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare and send Zabi Fly to your mana zone!" Ricco said. "Now it's my turn, I evolve Cocco Gil Lupia into Boleas, Bird of Fire. Go, Boleas, destroy Marauder Deis Drive!"

"It looks like Ricco is making his comeback!" the host said. "But wait, he forgot one thing!"

"Heh, Deis Drive's a slayer, so that means that Boleas goes down as well." Dani said and watched how both their creatures blew up while they were fighting. "I guess it's my turn. Thanks for the extra mana, I needed it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole and return Marauder Deis Drive to my hand. Then I summon Big Promo! Zabi Flower!"

"Huh? A psychic creature? Didn't expect a rusher like you to have one. Oh well, I summon Shobu Aini."

"Then it's fun time! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, destroy Shobu Aini and summon Deis Rigel, Persistent Flame!"

"Huh? Another psychic?"

"Heh, next turn it will all be over." Tabitha said with confidence.

"Those psychics will link next turn, right?" Tobey asked.

"Indeed they will, and once they do, that Ricco guy will be done for."

"I won't give up just yet!" Ricco said while showing two fire cards and putting them on his table, one on the other. "I summon Kooc Pollon and evolve him into Boleas, Bird of Fire! Go, Boleas, break his shield!"

Dani simply watched how Ricco's fire bird broke his shield into pieces. The small boy smiled when he saw the shield quickly regenerate into a fire card which glowed powerfully.

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Boleas!"

"Oh no!" Ricco said as his fire bird got crushed by the metallic red scrapper.

"Now it's time to show you what I'm really made of! Psychic Link!" Dani said as a giant sumo alien made of bones which was wearing a warrior armor appeared behind him. "Meet Hyper Overthrow, Nation's Strongest Sumo!"

"That thing… is huge!"

"I summon Marauder Deis Drive. Go, Hyper Overthrow and Deis Drive, break all of his shields!"

Ricco took cover once again as Dani's aliens brutally broke all of his shields. As he got surrounded by the shield shards, he remembered dueling with a boy and a girl of his age.

"_Gee, you're so lucky, Ricco!" the girl said._

"_Yeah, how do you always win so easily?" the boy asked._

"_Hehe, guys, it's not about winning. I play the game because I like to have fun, that's all."_

All of a sudden, Ricco woke up from his dreams as he said:

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Dani asked.

"I'm not dueling you now to win, I'm facing you in this tournament just to have fun! Cause that's what the game is all about: having fun!" Ricco said as he showed the shield trigger he got. "Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Hyper Overthrow!"

"Tsh, Big Promo! goes back to the hyperspatial zone, but Deis Rigel stays."

"Then it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and destroy Deis Rigel! Then I summon Zero Kaiser!"

A red lizard with a fire mane on its back and dark golden armor appeared behind Ricco as the crowd cheered.

"He's right, Suby, it doesn't matter who wins, all that matters is for the players to have fun!" Edo said.

"I guess that he enjoyed himself in this match, huh, Edo-kun?" Subaru replied.

"Haha, yeah. Wait, what do you mean by ENJOYED?"

Subaru pointed to Dani's table and Edo was shocked to see that Dani still had one more creature in the battle zone. Marauder Deis Drive was left unharmed.

"You had fun in this duel? Well I also had fun, and the fun consists in BEATING YOU UP!" Dani yelled while tapping the card. "Marauder Deis Drive, todomeda!"

The black-armored alien rushed through the air and before Ricco could see it, the alien hit him with the spikes from its right hand and threw him away, making him land on the metallic floor.

"AND THE WINNER IS DANI!" the host shouted.

The crowd began to applaud and seeing that made Dani's eyes get filled with tears. He took off one of his metal claws, wiped off those tears and then yelled as loud as he could:

"I DID IT! I WON MY FIRST DUEL! I'M THE BEST! I'M THE BEST DUELIST EVER! HAHAHA, ALL HAIL DANI!"

"Wow, he sure doesn't have an inferiority complex." Nolan said.

"That's just him: an annoying prick from start to finish." Sora replied.

Dani ran all the way back to Tabitha while admiring the cheering crowd. Once he reached her, he got applause from the witch as well.

"Bravo for the swift victory, Dani."

"Thanks a lot, Tabitha-sama! I did my best!"

"Heh, if we manage to have our whole team pass this round, it will be a piece of cake to win this tournament." Tabitha said while taking a drink from her glass of wine. "Now let's just stay in this corner and see what happens next."

"Now that was a rushy match, ain't that right?" the host commented, but nobody from the crowd got his joke. "Oh well, on to the next match: Kei VS Rad!"

"Alright!" Rad exclaimed while getting up from his seat. "It's time to show you wusses how a duels' done!"

"Haha, good luck, Rad!" Subaru said to the red-haired racer as he rushed down the stairs towards the arena.

Rad ran to the table almost as if he was running at an Olympic race. Even though he was a rocket racer, he proved to be in shape for running races as well. Once he reached it, his opponent was already there, with his shields deployed and his cards in his hand.

"Hehe, I was faster than you!" Kei laughed.

"Whatever you say, I'll still win this duel!" Rad replied while showing his deck. "Let's do this!"

Rad deployed his shields and drew five cards. With the simultaneous shout of 'Duel start!', the match began.

"I cast Faerie Life and get one more mana!" Rad said.

"I charge mana and end." Kei said.

"I cast Geo Bronze Magic!" Rad said and Eternal Meteor Kaiser went to his mana zone. "Heh, since I got a fire mana by this spell's effect, I'll also draw a card."

"Good move from Rad! He managed to gain a card in his mana zone and a card in his hand at the same time!" the host remarked.

"Nice, but it still won't save you from your impending doom. I summon Cocco Lupia!" Kei said and a red fire bird appeared behind him and chirped.

"Oh really? That's what you think, pal. I summon Gaial Zero!"

A red dragon with large horns and fire spikes on its back appeared behind Rad and roared.

"That dragon doesn't scare me a tiny bit. I summon Bolshack NEX! With its effect I also summon Mach Lupia from my deck. Now all my Dragons are speed attackers! Go, Bolshack NEX, double break his shields!"

Kei's dragon flew through the arena and aimed its fists at Rad's shields, managing to smash two of them into pieces. However, one of them quickly regenerated into a card which Rad used immediately as he got it into his hand:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Mach Lupia and Cocco Lupia!"

"Argh, you got lucky." Kei said.

"Lucky, you say? Well then, you'll surely hate my luck now! I cast Hyperspatial Gaial Hole and summon Gaial Kaiser!" Rad said while a metallic red dragon which was weilding two fire swords appeared behind him. "Go, Gaial Zero, double break his shields, and with Gaial Zero's effect you will reveal those shields to me and I'll summon psychic creatures from my hyperspatial zone which cost less than the cards in your shields."

The two cards which Kei revealed were Spear Lupia and Bolmeteus Steel Dragon. They allowed Rad to summon Dragonic Pippi and Boost, Crimson Lord. Afterwards, Gaial Zero broke two of Kei's shields.

"A-amazing, Rad managed to summon 3 psychic creatures in just one turn!" the host exclaimed as the crowd cheered for the red-haired boy.

"This isn't over yet! I summon Chitta Peloru and evolve it into Valkyrie Lupia, Sky Lord Dragon-mech! With its effect I'll take a Dragon from my deck to my hand." Kei said while searching the cards from his deck and selecting a light/fire one. "Swordflash Galaxy, Super Champ goes to my hand! Go, Bolshack NEX, destroy Gaial Zero!"

Bolshack NEX roared and flew towards Gaial Zero, but Rad's dragon tried to retreat. However, NEX was faster than it and grabbed his tail. Afterwards, Bolshack NEX spat fire upon Gaial Zero, making the creature disappear while roaring in agony.

"Epic…" Subaru said, amazed.

"Heh, that's nothing compared to what Rad is going to do next." Nolan replied while putting a sly smile on his face. "This duel's fate has already been decided since Rad's last turn."

"I guess it's time to own the zone! Psychic Link!" Rad exclaimed and his three psychic creatures united and formed a red metallic dragon which was almost as big as the whole arena.

"W-what is that thing?" Kei asked while sweating.

"This is Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord!"

"Fantastic! Rad had summoned one of the strongest fire psychic creatures that this game has ever known!" the host said. "Let's see if Kei will be able to survive that."

"I also summon Bolbalzak X!" Rad said and then tapped his psychic creature card. "Ike, Gaial King Dragon, destroy all of his creatures and break all of his shields!"

The giant dragon leaned its head towards Kei's shields and with just a blast from its fiery mouth all of Kei's shields and creatures were gone. But just as Rad was about to make the final attack, Kei showed him a card from his shields while saying:

"Don't celebrate yet! Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark! I tap Bolbalzak X and get another shield!"

"Good comeback from Kei's side! Now let's see how he'll deal with Rad's Dragons!" the host brought it up.

"Sadly, I can't deal with those things, but I won't give up until I used all my cards!" Kei said while showing Rad a fire card. "I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon! Go, Genji Double Cross, double break his shields!"

Genji appeared out of nowhere and used both of its cross-like swords to slash two of Rad's shields to pieces, leaving him just with one last shield.

"Nice one, but I'm afraid that the game's over for you. Gaial King Dragon, break his last shield and destroy Genji!" Rad said and Gaial King Dragon fired once again from its mouth and caused severe damage of Kei's side. "It's over – Bolbalzak X, todomeda!"

Bolbalzak swung one of its fire swords and hit Kei with it, throwing him into the air and making him land on the floor with a few burns.

"THE WINNER IS RAD!" the host announced.

"YAHOO! GO, RAD!" Edo cheered.

"Why are you supporting him? He wanted you be defeated while you were dueling." Nolan said.

"Nah, that's just him, but that doesn't mean he ain't awesome!"

"Weird guys you chosen duelists are…"

As Rad walked back to his seat while being cheered by the crowd, the host looked to the computer screen to see who was up next. Once most of the cheering ceased, he took his microphone and said:

"Alright, folks, our next contestants to offer us a thrilling match are Tobey and Toto the clown!"

"YEAH, GO TOTO!" Edo cheered even louder than before.

"You barely even know that guy…" Nolan said while sweating.

"When our eyes met, it was like a manly moment of being one! That's right! Me and Toto are one!"

"…Then what are you and Subaru?"

"Boyfriends?" Sora intervened in their discussion.

"Me and Suby are a soul! Filled with jelly butter and ice cream!"

"Oh why did I even ask?" Nolan said while facepalming.

Tobey climbed the stairs to his dueling table while getting cheered from behind by Dani and Eddy. Once he reached the dueling table, he put his deck on it and began to prepare his cards for the duel while waiting for his opponent to come.

All of a sudden, clown music resounded in the arena and fireworks with colorful paper blew in the air. Through the storm of colors, Toto appeared on his wheelchair, all of this happening while he was laughing maniacally. But once he reached the stairs, his wheelchair stopped.

"Ca, I can't climb those stairs with this thing." Toto said and then he pressed a red button on the wheelchair, turning on the jets from its lower side.

"What… is this thing?" Tobey asked, disgusted of the clown.

"CACACACACA, it's show time!" Toto said as he landed at the table.

"So… this is my challenge? Tsh, this will be easy."

As Toto prepared his cards for the duel, Tabitha and Dani commented on Tobey's situation.

"I sure hope Tobey proves he is strong enough to still fight for me."

"I fear that the chosen duelists made him weaker, Tabitha-sama."

"We shall see, Dani, we shall see."

Back at the duel, Toto tapped Energy Stream and Chief de Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light while showing a light/water card to Tobey and saying:

"I summon El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King!"

"I charge mana and end." Tobey said while placing Hanzou, Menacing Phantom in his mana zone right next to Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void.

"I summon Osmosis, Bullet Soul Skull Hunter!"

"Heh, perfect! I summon Drain Worm, the Parasite and give -1000 to Osmosis, destroying it!"

"Ca! You'll pay for that, and not with money! I summon another El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King!"

"What can you do with money, anyway? Anyway, I summon Space Crawler!" Tobey said and revealed 2 top cards of his deck, Bloody Squito and Drain Worm, the Parasite. "Bloody Squito goes to the bottom of my deck, Drain Worm goes to my hand."

"Much more than you'd ever do in your lifetime, kid!" Toto replied while charging mana.

"If you say so, you creep…"

The next card that Tobey drew was Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade. He stared a bit at the card and spoke in his mind:

"Hm, Genius Janit's ability activates also when my opponent blocks. Let's try some experimenting."

Tobey then tapped his darkness card and said to his opponent:

"Drain Worm, break his shield!"

"Hm, I let it." Toto said while watching his shield break. "My turn, I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation."

"Let's try this then! I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole and summon Rumble, Temporal Sage! Go, Drain Worm, break another shield!"

"I think it's time to get serious. I cast Energy Stream, draw 2 cards and summon a third El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King! My first El Kaiou, destroy Drain Worm!"

"Toto has got an army of blockers, but let's see if Tobey will be able to break through it!" the host said.

"Heh, it's fun time! I choose… Bloody Squito!" Tobey said while revealing the bottom card of his deck, that being Bloody Squito, then he spoke sarcastically. "Heh, this must be my lucky day."

"Hax, I call it hax!" Toto complained.

"Call it whatever you want, because you're going back to the circus! AWAKEN, RUMBLE LECTER!"

Rubmle Lecter materialized behind Tobey, its appearance bringing fear to the crowd and Toto. Tobey then tapped 7 mana and placed a card on his Space Crawler while saying:

"Evolution, I summon Super Startdash Revive, Crystalline Shadow and revive Drain Worm, the Parasite!"

"Amazing, Tobey made a spectacular comeback!" the host exclaimed.

"Go, Rumble Lecter, triple break his shields!"

"Block the attack, El Kaiou!" Toto said and his creature went in front of Rumble Lecter and immediately got crushed by it.

"Super Startdash Reviver, double break his shields!" Tobey ordered while tapping his rainbow card.

"Ca, got'cha! Ninja strike 4, I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade and return Drain Worm to your hand!"

"Heh, that won't stop Startdash from breaking your shields."

Toto let Super Startdash Reviver break his shields only to get more cards in hand. The clown then charged mana and showed a rainbow card to Tobey while saying:

"I summon War Attack Ace Machine Tolnaidar!"

"Your blockers don't scare me a bit, Toto, and I think it's time to make myself clear!" Tobey said while putting two cards on his table. "I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade and return Murmur to your hand! Then I evolve Genius Janit into Startdash Reviver, the Crystalline Shadow!"

"Tobey has pulled out both his Startdash Revivers! Let's see how Toto will be able to stop them!" the host commented.

"Go, Rumble Lecter, break his final shield!"

The demon ran towards Toto and the scared clown hid under the table, waiting for the creature to smash his final shield to pieces. When Toto got up, the shards had united into a card which floated right in front of him. The clown smiled and showed the card to his opponent while saying:

"CAACACACACACA, shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark! Tap all of his creatures!"

"No!" Tobey shouted as both his Startdash Revivers got tapped.

"Then I gain one more shield by DNA Spark's effect! Nice try kid, but you're no match for me, the great Toto!" Toto said and then summoned two more creatures. "I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation and Optimus, Eternal Victory Deis! Go, Tolnaidar, destroy Super Startdash Reviver! El Kaiou, take down Startdash Reviver!"

"Argh! Curse you!"

"See? See? You're NOTHING compared to me! CAACACACACA!"

Tobey drew his next card, but he had no luck at all. The two cards in his hand were Drain Worm, the Parasite and Horrid Worm. And Rumble Lecter wasn't enough for him to win the game because of the army of blockers that Toto had. In a fit of rage, Tobey yelled as loud as he could:

"DAMN YOU TO HELL, CLOWN! RUMBLE LECTER, BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELD NOW!"

"Ca! So be it!" Toto said and allowed the creature to smash his final shield. "CAACACACA, shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Rumble Lecter back to his hand!"

"Grr, I release him and he becomes Rumble, Temporal Sage."

"Then it's my turn, Galaxy Vortex Evolution! I evolve Tolnaidar and both my El Kaious into Super Divine Star Mercury Gigablizzard!"

Suddenly, a snowstorm appeared in the arena as a huge Phoenix creature materialized behind Toto. Tobey made a step back while trembling with fear.

"Go, Gigablizzard, triple break his shields!" Toto ordered and the phoenix made a snow attack which destroy three of Tobey's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Optimus!" Tobey said, but his Terror Pit card didn't shine, neither the demonic hands didn't come.

"Cacaca, so you think! I use Gigablizzard's meteorburn, send Tolnaidar to the graveyard and negate the effect of your spell!"

"Oh no, this can't be!"

"Cacacacacaaa, go, Optimus, break his final shields!"

Tobey took cover as the blue robot fired its lasers upon his last two shields, destroying them.

"Argh, sh-shield trigger, I-I c-cast… Terror Pit…" Tobey hardly spoke.

"In your dreams, boy. Meteorburn, I send El Kaiou to the graveyard and negate your spell once again. CAAACACACACACA, it's over!" Toto laughed as he tapped his last card. "Aqua Surfer, finish him off, todomeda!"

The blue surfer soared through the cold air and hit Tobey with its surfboard, knocking him off the podium. The boy and his cards landed exactly at the place where Tabitha and her minions were standing. The snowstorm and the creatures disappeared as the host declared the winner:

"VICTOR OF THIS DUEL IS TOTO!"

The crowd cheered the clown as he laughed insanely once again. Tobey opened his eyes and saw the cold stare of Tabitha fall upon him.

"T-Tabitha-sama…"

"You fail me yet again, Tobey. I expected more of you, but I guess that your time with the chosen duelists really made you weak."

Meanwhile, outside the tournament building Shagrath and Rezo came out of a dark alley, this time Rezo being able to walk on his own. They stopped in front of the entrance and Rezo grinned evilly while watching the mighty building.

"Hahaha, get ready, Proof of Duelmaster, for you shall be mine once again!" Rezo said.


	109. Natural duels

"Moving on to our next duel, we have: Diamoon VS Sora!" the host announced.

"Alright, go, Sora!" Rad cheered as Sora got up from her seat and headed to the dueling table.

"We know you can do it, Sora-chan!" Tsugumi added.

While Sora was climbing down the stairs, Tabitha suddenly got distracted as she felt a strange force approaching the arena. The witch walked away from her minions, causing Dani to quickly react:

"Tabitha-sama, where are you going?"

"I've got some business to take care of. You stay there and watch the duels!" Tabitha said, but then she also spoke in her mind. "And stay in the only place where you can be safe."

"Tabitha-sama… something's wrong, I can tell by her face." Hanna said.

"Well, she ordered us to stay here, so I guess she can handle whatever is the matter." Dani replied.

Tabitha walked out of the arena and wandered through the building's corridors. In the witch's mind there was only one thing, and that was the fight that she had with Rezo once she had come back to life. She felt that the strange force was something as strong as the Red Priest, and if that force was actually him, then everyone inside that building was in great trouble. Once she switched to right in another corridor, she saw that two strange figures were slowly approaching her. The witch could recognize from that great distance that they were surrounded by powerful auras of evil.

"It's them!" Tabitha thought as she could see the two figures better the more the approached her.

Back at the arena, Sora had reached the dueling table and was waiting for her opponent. But then, another snowstorm filled the arena, this one being even stronger than the one made by Toto's Gigablizzard. Then, out of nowhere, a girl appeared by the side of the opposing dueling table. The girl had pale skin, white hair, blue eyes and a gray dress. Her cold stare was enough to freeze any warm heart. Her dress had small remains of ice on it, revealing that she was behind the snowstorm.

"Who… no, what are you?" Sora asked.

"My name is Diamoon, and I am what is called a Queen of Snow." the girl replied with a cold and menacing voice. "I have come to this tournament to get my hands on the Proof of Duelmaster and use it to turn this whole world into my own Ice Kingdom! No longer will I rule upon you only during winter time! Once I get the Proof, I will rule forevermore upon this wasted planet!"

"And you said Tabitha was the bad one?" Nolan said, sarcastically.

"Well, Tabitha ain't good news either." Rad replied.

"From the looks of it, we'll have more than one enemy in this tournament." Subaru stated.

"Let's just hope that Sora-chan can defeat this… whatever she is." Tsugumi said.

While Sora took out her deck from her pockets and made it glow with its green aura through the snowstorm, Diamoon simply made a rectangular block of ice appear in her palm, and when that block cracked open, a deck came out of it.

"Let's do this!" Sora said while deploying her shields. "Duel start!"

Meanwhile, at the other side of the building, Tabitha had come face to face with the two strange figures, aka Shagrath and Rezo, the Red Priest.

"Rezo, what a surprise to see you here."

"The pleasure's all mine, Tabitha."

"Wasn't the beating I gave you a few hours ago clear enough? Your place isn't here, now go back to hell where you belong!"

"Oh, I beg to differ, Tabitha, my place is right here! Once I get my hands on the Proof, nobody, not even you, will stop me!" Rezo said and made a smoke of darkness surround his scepter and turn it into a spear of darkness. "Now, my 'dear' mentor, care for a rematch?"

"That power… How did he get so strong after I damaged him in this morning?" Tabitha thought, and then she spoke to Rezo. "I'd love to, but I've got to hurry now. A tournament awaits me, and I have a Proof to win. Heed my word, Rezo, stay away from this tournament if you know what's good for you."

All of a sudden, Tabitha disappeared from the corridor, leaving Rezo to stare at the empty air with a grin on his face.

"Hehe, don't you think I didn't see the fear in your eyes, Tabitha. Now that I know that even you are afraid of me, this tournament will be mine!"

Back at the arena, the duel between Sora and Diamoon had begun. After both charged mana in their first turns, Sora was the first to make a real move.

"I summon Dreaming Moon Knife! With his effect I'll put Natural Snare into my mana zone."

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it to gain a mana!" Diamoon said. "Hah, how pathetic, you prefer losing a card from your hand just to get some mana?"

"Of course, this way I'll be able to finish you off! I summon Apache Hyaho!" Sora said and then put a card from her hyperspatial zone to her battle zone. "With his effect, I summon Bishamon Kid! Ike, Dreaming Moon Knife, break her shield!"

Diamoon smiled as she watched Sora's creature pierce one of her shields with its spear. The Queen of Snow stretched her hand as the shield shards united into a card. She took it in her hand and showed to her opponent. Sora could barely see what was because of the snowstorm. However, she could distinguish a green light.

"Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life and get one more card in my mana zone!" Diamoon said. "Now it's my turn, Mana Evolution! I summon Diamond Cascade! Go, Diamond Cascade, destroy Dreaming Moon Knife! Hahaha, care to give up, mortal?"

"This duel… has just begun!" Sora replied while showing a fire spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and summon Immortal Boost, Crimson Lord! Apache Hyaho, break another shield!"

"Heh, shield trigger, I cast another Faerie Life."

All of a sudden, the snowstorm cleared around Diamoon's dueling table, revealing her cards. She now had 6 cards in her mana zone and Diamond Cascade tapped on her battle zone. Also, she had 3 cards in her hand.

"Let me show you how I will defeat you with just 3 cards!" Diamoon said and a green aura surrounded all the cards in her hand.

"Oh no, what is this?" Sora asked while making a step back.

"I summon Peach Princess, Fearless Faerie! With her effect, I'll have the next creature I summon cost 2 mana less. Then I cast Faerie Gift and have the next creature I summon cost 3 mana less."

"She has 2 untapped mana… and her next creature will cost 5 mana less. What could she possibly summon?" Sora asked in her mind.

"Behold!" Diamoon said while slowly lifting in the air with her right hand a 7 mana 15000 power evolution creature card. "I evolve Peach Princess into… Aldebaran, the Earth Breaker!"

All of a sudden, a giant horned monster in a red and green armor appeared behind, Diamoon. Luckily for the public, the snowstorm wasn't letting them see the creature, but Sora had the misfortune of being face to face with it.

"Aldebaran…" Sora murmured with fear as the creature stared down at her.

"Hehehe, your time's up! Diamond Cascade, destroy Apache Hyaho! Aldebaran, triple break her shields!" Diamoon ordered and Aldebaran roared loudly and fired a bright beam from its left hand, taking down the 3 middle shields of Sora's.

"That power… how can I possibly withstand it?" Sora spoke in her mind, but then the image of the apprentice came in her mind. "Master… I won't let you down! Not now!"

Sora's shields regenerated and came into her hand. The green-haired girl showed one of them to Diamoon while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit!"

"Hah, that thing won't help you with anything!" Diamoon laughed.

"Think again! Psychic Link! Bishamon Kid and Immortal Boost become Explosive Dash! Masashi Cromson Sabre!" Sora said and a two-headed giant white tiger dressed in golden armor with flames surrounding the upper side of its body and which was wielding two golden swords with six sharp green daggers attached to their blades appeared behind her. "Then I summon Iron Arm Tribe! Go, Explosive Dash!, break her last shields!"

The creature roared and rushed towards Diamoon, then took a jump in the air and slashed three of her shields with both of its swords. Sora then put her fingers on the creature she got as shield trigger and said:

"Princess Cub, todome…"

"Not so fast there!" Diamoon said while showing Sora a spell which she got from her shields. "Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare! Send Princess Cub to your mana zone!"

"Oh no!" Sora exclaimed while the card under her fingers disappeared and reappeared on her mana zone.

"It's time to make you experience the cold feeling of defeat! Mana Evolution, I summon another Diamond Cascade! Aldebaran, break her final shields!"

Sora took cover as Aldebaran fired another beam from its left hand and destroyed her last two shields. She took one of the cards she got from her shields and quickly showed it to Diamoon while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send Diamond Cascade to your mana zone!"

"Heh, is that all?" Diamoon asked, bored.

"Yeah…" Sora replied, disappointed.

"Pathetic, and you call yourself the chosen nature duelist? You're a disgrace to nature users! Diamond Cascade, todomeda!"

All of a sudden Diamond Cascade materialized in front of Sora, waved both its hands and created a white energy ball out of which many ice spears came out and hit the green-haired girl, throwing the girl back and making her land on the frozen floor. The snowstorm suddenly disappeared and Diamoon gave the host a cold stare.

"W-w-winner is… DIAMOON!" the host said, scared.

"Good." Diamoon said to him and then disappeared.

"Sora-chan!" Tsugumi exclaimed while running to the arena.

"God, I hope that creep didn't hurt her!" Rad added while joining Tsugumi.

"Shouldn't you join them?" Nolan asked while watching Subaru knocking on Edo's head.

"I'd love to, but his head froze during the duel and someone's got to help him." Subaru replied.

When Rad and Tsugumi reached the arena, Tsugumi tried to wake Sora up while Rad went to the dueling table to gather up the girl's cards.

"Sora-chan, speak to me! Are you alright?" Tsugumi shouted while shaking Sora's cold body.

"I-I'm okay… Tsugumi-chan." Sora said while slowly opening her eyes. "I could really use some hot herbal tea."

"Hehe, thank goodness you're alright!"

After Rad and Tsugumi helped Sora exit the arena, Tabitha reappeared to her minions, who were all trembling due to the still low temperature.

"T-Tabitha-sama, you should've seen it! It was a really chilling duel!" Dani said.

"And that Diamoon creep defeated Sora!" Tobey added.

"Defeated Sora, you say?" Tabitha asked, but then she looked at the entrance to the arena and changed her voice tone to a more worried one. "Uh oh, here comes trouble."

All of a sudden, two figures came out of the entrance. The crowd was stunned when they saw the two creepy men enter. Particularly, the chosen duelists were beyond shocked when they saw Rezo, the Red Priest, in flesh and bones.

"I-impossible!" Subaru exclaimed.

"But we… I mean Kokujo killed him way back!" Rad said while picturing that moment in his mind.

"So I guess you know this guy?" Nolan asked.

"It's a long story." Tsugumi replied.

"The next duel is between Eddy and Shagrath!" the host announced through the microphone.

"Heh, good luck, Shag." Rezo whispered to Shagrath and walked to the corner where Hitler was watching the duels.

Eddy walked to the dueling table with a deck in his big hands, all while being cheered from behind by Dani and Tobey. As he climbed the stairs, he felt that his body's weight was making the podium shake, but he didn't care. Once he reached his dueling table, he could see that his opponent had already set his cards. Shagrath, however, was a little intimidated by Eddy's height and muscles, but he was relieved when he remembered that Rezo told him Eddy was a retard.

"Are you ready to go down, you big gorilla?" Shagrath said, trying to intimidate Eddy.

"Eddy no gorilla! Eddy angry! Eddy hurt puny opponent bad!"

"Uh oh, I made it angry. I think I'm in trouble now." Shagrath thought.

Both players deployed their shields and began their duel.

"Eddy summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie! Eddy destroy Jasmine and Eddy get one more mana."

"I summon Dark Mare, the Debilitating Shadow!" Shagrath said.

"Eddy summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and Eddy get one more mana!"

"I summon Western Barrel, Shadow of Riots, now choose a card in your hand and discard it!"

"Eddy discard Hyperspatial Red Green Hole."

"Go, Dark Mare, break his shield!"

"Eddy turn! Eddy cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole! Eddy destroy Western Barrel and Eddy summon Zabi Komusubi Flower and Geo Ohzeki Hamlet! Eddy suicide Dark Mea with Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"Wonderful move from mister Eddy! He destroyed both of Shagrath's creatures AND summoned two psychic creatures in just one turn!" the host commented.

"This doesn't look too good. Grr, I'll show him!" Shagrath spoke in his mind and then showed a card from his hand to Eddy while saying. "I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse! Discard the last card from your hand!"

"Eddy discard Hyperspatial Shooting Hole."

"Heh, soon I'll finish you off, you mindless buffoon!" Shagrath laughed.

"Eddy no mindless buffoon! Eddy Eddy! Eddy make you pay!" Eddy said while his hand glowed with a bright green light as he drew his next card. "Eddy cast Hyperspatial Gotsusan Hole and Eddy summon Gil Yokozuna Fuji!"

"Heh, it will be over soon." Tabitha said while drinking from her glass of wine.

"How come, Tabitha-sama?" Dani asked.

"Eddy will psychic link his 3 creatures soon, and then Shagrath won't stand a chance!"

Spirits were running high in the arena. Tension could be felt in the air. Shagrath was cornered and he knew it. Sweat was falling on his skin and his fears from the beginning of the duel that Eddy would give him a tough time were justified. However, he didn't want to give up, for he was Shagrath, the messenger of hell, and he couldn't lose to a mentally disabled human. The demon drew his next card and then smiled evilly. He placed it on his Kitarou card and said:

"Evolution, Kitarou, become Frost Specter, Shadow of Age! Go, Frost Specter, break his shield!"

The old-looking ghost appeared in front of Eddy and slashed one of his shields with its bone-like hand, its sharp fingers taking it down. Eddy took the card to his hand and showed it back at Shagrath while saying:

"Eddy got shield trigger, Eddy cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and Eddy destroy Frost Specter!"

"Why you…" Shagrath murmured as the metallic red scrapper appeared out of nowhere and crushed his ghost.

"Now Eddy's turn! Eddy Psychic Link his creatures and Eddy summon Unryu Izu Deis, Great Yokozuna!"

Tabitha's psychic creatures jumped into the air and united into a giant fat purple dragon with spikes, green vines, jaws and fire on its head.

"W-w-what is that thing?" Shagrath mumbled with fear.

"Eddy has summoned Unryu Izu Deis, Great Yokozuna! This psychic creature has 20000 power and is a quadruple breaker!" the host said.

"In other words, Shagrath's doomed." Tabitha said to her minions.

"I wouldn't wanna be in that guy's place." Dani said while staring at the beast.

"Eddy attack with Unryu Izu Deis and Eddy quadruple break Shagrath shields!"

The dragon used its vines and took out 4 of Shagrath's shields, leaving him surrounded by their floating shards. As the shards slowly united into 4 cards, Shagrath was praying to the King of Hell to get some good shield triggers. When he got the cards in his hand, he cursed in his mind and then said:

"Sh-shield trigger, I summon… Death Circle, the Explosive Shadow."

"O, looks like Shagrath doesn't have luck at shield triggers." the host poured salt on Shagrath's wound.

"My turn, I summon two Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed! Death Circle, break his shield!"

"That fool just made a terrible mistake!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"And what would that be?" Tobey asked.

"You see, Unryu Izu Deis forces the opponent's blockers to block while he's in the battle zone, and to make things worse for the opponent, he also untaps after he wins a battle!"

"Hoho, that Shaggy fool won't know what hit him!" Dani laughed.

"Eddy attack with Unryu Izu Deis!" Eddy said and then simply crossed his hands and watched the action.

Before Shagrath could react, his first Gray Balloon card tapped involuntarily and the ghost went and tried to block the dragon's way, but got destroyed. Then Unryu Izu Deis attacked once again and the same thing happened to Shagrath's second Gray Balloon. Next on the creature's list was Death Circle, which he crushed with ease. And finally, Eddy's psychic creature smashed Shagrath's last shield.

"It looks like this isn't mister Shagrath's lucky day!" the host joked.

Shagrath stared at Eddy with anger and a black aura surrounded him. The demon quickly showed two cards which he put on his table, one of the other, while saying:

"I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation and evolve it into Jack Viper, Shadow of Doom! GO, JACK VIPER, BREAK HIS SHIELD!"

The purple serpent-like ghost flew with the trajectory of an S and went through Eddy's shield, breaking it. Now the tall boy had one last shield left. But that didn't matter, for the duel was over.

"Eddy todomeda you with Unryu Izu Deis, Great Yokozuna!"

The dragon gave Shagrath a direct punch, throwing him all the way to the corner where Rezo and Hitler were standing. Rezo had to use his powers to slow him down and let him have a nicer landing. Hitler rushed to the hurt Shagrath to help him, whereas Rezo gave Tabitha a stare of hate. Tabitha responded to that stare with a smile of satisfaction and spoke in her mind:

"Hehehe, your minion has failed miserably Rezo! If that's how 'strong' your team is, then you won't pose as much of a threat as I first thought!"

Tabitha then looked at her minions and how they greeted the victorious Eddy back in their circle. The witch finished her glass of wine and pushed her back against the wall once again, reflecting upon the next step of her plans.


	110. A friendship of the past?

"Alright, folks, our next match is: Overy VS Tsugumi!" the host announced.

When the crowd heard Tsugumi's name, they cheered excessively, for they couldn't forget the one girl that helped them at the revolution to escape Mutsuhito's wrath.

"Good luck, Tsugumi!" Subaru said and patted the girl's back.

"Thanks." Tsugumi responded to her lover while smiling.

The chosen light duelist got up from her seat and rushed to her dueling table while having an ocean of applauses resound behind her. Once she reached it, she saw that on the other side, her opponent was a blonde boy dressed in a silver suit. For a moment she had the impression that her opponent was Hakuoh, but that faded once she saw his face.

"So you must be the chosen light duelist." the boy remarked.

"And you Overy. Nice meeting you." Tsugumi replied while taking out her deck. "Now let's do this!"

In the next moment, ten shields rose in the air, five belonging to each duelist, thus beginning their duel.

"I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation!" Tsugumi said.

"I cast Faerie Life!" Overy said.

"I summon Endra Pappi!"

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it to get one more mana. Then I summon Sanfist, the Savage Vizier!"

"I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and draw a card thanks to Endra Pappi!"

"I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards, then I summon El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King!"

"Woah, in just a few turns both their battle zones got filled with creatures! It seems like none of them are joking around!" the host commented.

"Tsugumi-chan's got a nice start, but I wonder of she'll be able to pull this duel to the finish. After all, that guy shouldn't be underestimated." Sora said.

"Relax, everything will be fine. Tsugumi's been in worse situations than that. I guarantee you, she'll be able to pull something off." Subaru replied.

At Rezo's corner, his team was apathetically watching the duel, whereas at Tabitha's corner, while Dani, Tobey and Eddy weren't even paying attention to the duel, Hanna and Tabitha were both watching it carefully, Hanna wanting to see how her former friend had evolved and Tabitha wishing to realize how strong Tsugumi had become, for she sensed that the blonde girl had changed since their last duel.

It was Tsugumi's turn. The girl drew a card, placed Galaxy Shot – HELL into her mana zone and showed a light spell to her opponent while saying:

"I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and tap El Kaiou. Then I summon Chandelier, Light Weapon and Merriane, Apostle of the Alps! And since Murmur gives +3000 power to all my blockers, go, Ultimus, destroy El Kaiou!"

"Nice move there, but your blockers won't be able to hold me for too long!" Overy replied and showed a rainbow civilization card. "I summon Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and draw a card!"

"I summon Yodel Weiss, the Prophet and bring out Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon!" Tsugumi said as she put a third psychic card into her battle zone.

"I guess it's time to get down to serious business." Overy said while placing a shining card upon his Lord Reis card. "I evolve Lord Reis into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits!"

A golden robotic angel with white wings appeared behind Overy. The boy gave Tsugumi a sly smile as he tapped the card while saying:

"Go, Alcadeias, double break her shields!"

The angel fired light beams from both its hands and those beams pierced through the girl's shields. However, she didn't look the least intimidated. When her shields began to regenerate, a bright light suddenly came from her dueling table, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap all your creatures!" Tsugumi said and a yellow and blue light with the shape of a DNA descended from the ceiling and fell upon Overy's table, tapping his Sanfist. "Now it's time to Psychic Link!"

All of a sudden, Tsugumi's psychic creatures got surrounded by a golden aura and united into one. When the aura disappeared, Overy saw a giant blue robotic dragon in a golden armor which was holding a blue energy sword which was surrounded by a yellow lightning.

"What is that thing?" Overy asked while sweating.

"That, my friend, is Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie." Tsugumi replied smiling and placed a card upon her Ultimus one. "Since you like this guy, I think I'll also use him. I evolve Ultimus into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits!"

Another robotic angel appeared in the arena, this time on Tsugumi's side, proudly facing off Overy's.

"That can't be, she also has it!" Overy thought.

"Go, Crazy Carnival!" Tsugumi said while tapping the card. "Quadruple break his shields!"

The dragon rose its sword in the air and with a move filled with grace typical of the light civilization, the creature slashed four of Overy's shields. The crowd got wild, they being amazed by the majesty of Tsugumi's moves. However, Overy wasn't impressed, he was terrified. He had never seen such a powerful creature before and feared that it would be too much for him. However, with the cards he got from his shields, he wouldn't give up just yet. Overy showed one of the cards to Tsugumi and said:

"This game can be played in two, you know! Shield trigger, DNA Spark, tap all of her creatures!"

Another yellow and blue light with the shape of a DNA appeared, this time tapping Tsugumi's Murmur, Endra Pappi, Alcadeias and Yodel Weiss.

"Hehe, I bet you didn't expect that!" Overy laughed.

"And I also think you didn't expect this!" Tsugumi replied while untapping Crazy Carnival! and Yodel Weiss and also getting two more shields.

"What? But how?"

"Crazy Carnival! lets me untap all of my Hunters at the end of my turn, and for each light Hunter untapped this way I get one more shield."

"Tsugumi has managed to cause severe damage on Overy's side and also regenerate her own shields. Her psychic creature is truly something!" the host remarked.

"Tabitha-sama, why didn't you say anything about this duel so far?" Hanna asked.

"Heh, what is there to say? This duel was Tsugumi's ever since she casted Hyperspatial Shiny Hole." Tabitha replied while making a new glass of wine appear in her left hand. "Now it is only a matter of time until she gives the final blow."

Overy's panic slowly turned into anger. The simple thought of losing his first match in the tournament was hurting him so badly that it didn't matter how much he admired some of Tsugumi's cards. The boy quickly tapped 6 mana and showed a water card while saying:

"I'm not going to give up just yet! I summon Aqua Surfer and send Crazy Carnival! back to your hand!"

"Heh, you'd wish." Tsugumi replied while discarding Leonidas, White Knight Spirit from her hand. "When Crazy Carnival! leaves the battle zone, I may discard one card and keep the creature instead. "

"Grr, Alcadeias, double break her shields!" Overy ordered and the angel flew straight at Tsugumi's shields.

"Your anger is blinding your mind. That's not how a light duelist plays. Anyway, block the attack, Crazy Carnival!"

All of a sudden, Crazy Carnival! pierced Alcadeias' body with its lightning sword, making the angel blow up. Overy's eyes widened when he saw that even his trump card was easily dealt with by Tsugumi's psychic creature. But his real shock came once he saw Tsugumi cast another spell.

"I cast DNA Spark and tap all your creatures!" Tsugumi said and Overy watched helplessly how his Sanfist and Aqua Surfer got tapped. "Alcadeias, break his final shield!"

Tsugumi's golden angel pointed its right hand at Overy's last shield and fired a bright yellow beam which tore it to pieces. Towards the boy's disappointment, it wasn't a shield trigger. He looked with a sad face at the girl, but was surprised that she gave him a benevolent smile and said:

"Great duel, Overy, I really enjoyed it!"

"Tsugumi…" Overy murmured and then spoke to her. "Same here, it was an honor dueling you!"

The boy then nodded to her while sweating with fear. He knew that the final blow would be a painful one, but he decided that he would face his defeat with a shred of dignity.

"Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie, todomeda!" Tsugumi ordered.

The dragon swung its sword and hit Overy, throwing him a few feet away. Tsugumi then packed up her cards and turned to the crowd who gave her a row of applause. The blonde girl bowed respectfully in front of the crowd and afterwards walked away from the dueling table.

"And the winner is TSUGUMI!" the host shouted.

"Told you that she'd win!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Go, Tsugumi-chan!" Sora added.

"What can I say? Great use of light Hunters!" Nolan commented.

"And now moving on to our next duel, we have Baku VS Hanna!" the host announced.

Hanna suddenly got stunned, but it wasn't because of the duel. The girl knew that she would have to at least cross eyes with Tsugumi, and then what would happen? Would Tsugumi still think of her as her friend? Or was everything belonging to the past? Before Hanna could decide what to do, Tabitha suddenly pushed her into the arena while saying:

"What are you waiting for? Get out there and show what a strong duelist you've become while being under me!"

"Y-yes, Tabitha-sama…" Hanna shyly replied and slowly approached the dueling table.

However, the girl didn't realize that Tsugumi wasn't walking out of the arena anymore and stopped right at the bottom of the stairs of her dueling table. With or without Hanna's will, they would still meet. After a few more steps, both girls were face to face. That was it, the blue-haired girl couldn't ignore the chosen light duelist anymore. Hanna rose up her head, revealing her fearful face. Tsugumi simply responded with a smile and said:

"Hanna-san, is it really you?"

"Y-yes, Tabitha-sama… revived me." Hanna said with a lowered voice.

"That's great news! Me and the guys missed you a lot!" Tsugumi said and was about to hug her, but Hanna pushed her away.

"Get over it, Tsugumi! Our friendship belongs to the past, I now am Tabitha-sama's loyal servant!"

"H-Hanna… No, you're wrong! It doesn't have to be like this!"

"I know, Tsugumi, but since Tabitha is watching us, I can't say anything else. Forgive me, but I have to act as your enemy for some time." Hanna spoke in her mind and then pushed the blonde girl away while saying. "Do you mind? You're in my way, chosen duelist!"

Tsugumi got saddened as she watched her former friend climb the stairs to her dueling table. Tabitha, however, laughed with satisfaction and spoke to herself, allowing her minions to hear her as well:

"Great job, Hanna! Now you've proven your loyalty!"

Once Hanna reached her dueling table, she saw a circle of water floating in the air. On that circle, a strange man was surfing with a brand new skateboard of the future 100% made of water. The man had scaled white towards blue skin, spiky hair, and a face and tail which looked like those of a fish.

"…What are you?" Hanna asked, disgusted.

"I'm a fish man and my name's Baku!" the fishy duelist said while jumping off his skateboard and grabbing it in his hands while making the water disappear.

"Where did you get that thing?"

"Oh, the skateboard? I bought it from a mentally disabled beggar for 5 space cents. Much better than buying it from a local store for 10 space cents."

"Oh well, it's time to duel!" Hanna said while taking out her deck.

"You're on!" Baku replied while taking out his deck as well.

The two rose their shields, drew their cards and began their match.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Baku said, then drew two cards and discarded Aqua Surfer.

"I summon Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow!" Hanna said.

"I summon Aqua Sonicwave and return Deis Melnia to your hand!"

"Playing tough, eh? I can also play this kind of game – I summon Silver Shovel! I send Aqua Sonicwave and Silver Shovel to our mana zones."

"I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards, then I summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow!"

"I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil and Self-Destructing Gil Poser! I destroy Gil Poser and Melnia, then draw a card thanks to Zabi Trash Train!"

"It seems like both duelists are going for control! Let's see who will be able to own the zone first!" the host said.

"Tabitha-sama, Hanna's deck structure is pretty weird. From the looks of it, she's using both Aliens and Hunters." Tobey said.

"Heh, don't you worry a bit. I trust Hanna's deck-building skills." Tabitha said and took a drink from her glass of wine. "She should be just fine."

It was Baku's turn. The fish man drew his next card, placed it in the mana zone and then said to his opponent:

"Hahaha, it's time to summon my trump card! I cast Inferno Sign and summon Aqua Surfer from my graveyard! Go, Aqua Surfer, send Zabi Trash Train back to her hand!"

All of a sudden, a wave of water appeared out of nowhere behind Baku. On it was riding a blue surfer made of water. The surfer jumped off the wave and hit Hanna's train-like creature, making it disappear. Afterwards, Aqua Surfer jumped back on Baku's side.

"If that's your trump card, you'll have a long way to go until you defeat me! I summon Zabimeteus Samurai BLACK!" Hanna said and a robotic dragon with black metal armor and sharp blue claws appeared behind Hanna and roared at the fish man and his Aqua Surfer.

"Interesting use of giant creatures, but you see, girl, the smaller ones are much more convenient. I summon Death Circle, the Explosive Shadow and destroy Death Circle and your Zabimeteus!" Baku said and put his card in the graveyard while watching Hanna's dragon blow up. "Then I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll. Aqua Surfer, break her shield!"

"Heh, thanks for giving cards to my empty hand." Hanna thought while watching Aqua Surfer fly through her shield, then she spoke to her opponent. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe and get one more mana!"

"What? No huge creatures to smash me? You're starting to disappoint me, girl! I cast Energy Stream, draw 2 cards and summon two Melnia, the Aqua Shadow! Aqua Surfer, break her shield! Jenny, break another shield!"

Hanna smiled as she observed Baku's creatures take down two of her shields. The girl stood relaxed as the shield shards which surrounded her slowly united into two cards which she took into her hand.

"Perfect, exactly what I needed!" Hanna thought while quickly charging mana. "My turn, I evolve Iron Arm Tribe into Great Hercules, Giant Insect!"

"Nice move from Hanna! Great Hercules allows her to summon a Hunter which costs equal or less than the cards in her mana zone. However, the 10 cards in Hanna's mana zone are 2 Aqua Surfers, 1 Terror Pit, 1 Silver Shovel and 6 Aliens!" the host remarked.

"That problem can be easily solved!" Hanna said while showing the last card from her hand to Baku. "I summon Pudding Pudding, the Eternal!"

Suddenly, a princess dressed in a white dress and long black boots, with long pink hair and which was holding an umbrella in its left hand appeared behind Hanna.

"Hah, you gotta be kidding me! That little thing is what you needed?" Baku laughed.

"Yes! Pudding Pudding makes all the Aliens in my mana zone, graveyard and battle zone get Hunter added to their current race, and all the Hunters in my mana zone graveyard and battle zone get Alien added to their current race. In other words…"

"All the Aliens from Hanna's mana zone are also Hunters!" the host exclaimed. "This means that she will be able to summon whatever she likes with Great Hercules!"

"Uh oh…" Baku said, sweating.

"Ike, Great Hercules, attack!" Hanna said, and then she also took a fire card from her mana zone and placed it on her battle zone. "With his effect, I summon GILL Supergalactic Dragon! With his effect, I destroy your Aqua Surfer, Jenny, and both your Melnias! Then for each destroyed creature you lose a shield!"

A dragon dressed in golden armor which was wielding four sharp laser cannons appeared behind Hanna, between Great Hercules and Pudding Pudding. The dragon aimed one of its cannons towards Baku's creatures and fired a laser which took all 4 of them out. Then the dragon aimed another cannon at Baku's shields and took 4 of them out as easy as with the creatures. Baku stared at his graveyard disappointed as he saw that the cards which fell into it were Unicorn Fish, Spiral Gate, Corile and Aqua Surfer.

"Go, Great Hercules, break his final shield!" Hanna ordered.

"Shield trigger, I cast Shadowflash Revival Spiral and send GILL Supergalactic Dragon back to your hand!" Baku said. "Now it's my turn, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Great Hercules as well!"

"It's time to go back into the ocean, fishy! Pudding Pudding, todomeda!"

The princess jumped into the air and used its umbrella to hit Baku. The hit was so strong that it threw Baku and his cards out of the window and made him land back into the sea.

"The winner is HANNA!" the host shouted and the crowd cheered.

As the blue-haired girl walked back to her team, Tsugumi watched her with worry and then spoke to her friends:

"Guys, don't you find Hanna's behavior kind of strange?"

"Waddaya talking about? She's the same nice maid I always knew!" Edo said, but in the next moment got knocked in the head by Sora.

"She's not a maid anymore, you idiot!" Sora said angrily.

"What did she say to you, Tsugumi?" Subaru asked.

"When I greeted her, she looked like she was about to burst in tears and hug me, but she quickly reverted to her old cruel self. She said that what happened two months ago belongs to the past and that she is now our enemy."

"Though you did say she looked like she was about to burst into tears. If that's right, then maybe she's not really your enemy. I think you should keep an eye on her." Nolan advised.

"We will, but first we must make sure that Tabitha doesn't try anything fishy." Rad said.

"Why does the word 'fishy' seems so pun-intended?" Edo asked, but got punched in the head by Rad as well.

"Shut up, moron!" Rad said to him with a bored voice.

"Why me?" Edo cried.

Meanwhile, Hanna was greeted by her team with cheers, to which she responded with modest thanks. Afterwards, the blue-haired girl sat relaxed against the wall and looked at the crowd. She spotted the chosen duelists and felt a small pang in her heart.

"Guys… I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, but I've got to make sure that Tabitha doesn't hurt any of you again! So for now… I'll stay by her side."

Hanna was awakened from her thoughts by the voice of the host which excitedly announced the next match:

"THE NEXT DUEL IS BETWEEN HAKUOH AND KOKUJO!"

Everyone in the crowd was surprised in a pleasant way. Cheers and applauses immediately filled the arena, for they knew that a duel between those two was a match which would never be forgotten easily. Tabitha put a grin on her face after finishing the wine and said with a satisfied voice:

"Heh, this is going to be interesting!"


	111. Angel VS Demon

From a corner of the first row of seats in which the public sat got up a blonde boy whose hair was caught in a ponytail, the light making his white uniform shine even brighter.

"Good luck, Hakuoh-sama!" Wally wished his teacher.

"Yeah, make sure you defeat that Kokujo!" Spunky added.

"Thanks, boys." Hakuoh calmly replied and headed to the table.

All the girls, except for Sora, cheered as loud as they could when they saw Hakuoh graciously walking in the arena. However, Nolan noticed something strange, and that was that Tsugumi was between the girls who were maniacally cheering Hakuoh up, whereas Subaru was sitting calmly on his seat.

"Um, dude, you know Tsugumi's nuts over another guy, right?" Nolan asked.

"Heh, the usual Hakuoh crush, it happened before, but I got the cure for it." Subaru simply said while crossing his arms.

"You do?"

"Yes, and she'll get it tonight when we're in bed."

In the next moment, Nolan's jaw dropped and his eyes widened while sweat was falling on his head.

"Man, to think these guys saved the world… as weird as they are." Nolan spoke in his mind.

Then, after Hakuoh sat at his table, a strange figure in a white and sleeveless trench coat descended on the stairs of the place where the public was sitting. People looked at him and saw that he had long black hair to his feet, a red T shirt and black pants.

"Hey, it's that guy from the commercials!" a boy whispered to another.

"The 'Good looking evil genius drinks' one?" the other asked.

"Yeah, that one."

Kokujo ignored both the fact that people were discussing behind his back and that nobody was cheering for him. However, he didn't notice the fact that the chosen duelists were also in the public and that some of them were actually concerned about him.

"Hey, guys, do you know what's happened to Kokujo-kun?" Subaru asked.

"I don't know. It's weird that he doesn't want to spend time with us." Rad replied.

"Maybe he doesn't like you guys anymore?" Nolan suggested.

"Maybe, but I'll have a serious chat with him afterwards!" Subaru said.

"Good luck with that." both Rad and Nolan said in unison while sweating.

Finally, Kokujo walked the podium's stairs and reached his dueling table. He looked Hakuoh in the eye, the blonde boy giving him a look of happiness, now that both brothers were finally reunited after everything that happened in the past 100 years, but the Black Death responded with a passive stare of hate.

"Let's do this!" Kokujo shouted and rose his shields.

Hakuoh nodded to him and moved his right hand in the air, making five shields rise up in the air as well. Their duel had thus begun. Enthusiasm and excitement filled every corner of the arena as everyone watched every single move both duelists were doing. Kokujo began by placing Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight in his mana zone tapped. Hakuoh placed Aqua Surfer in his mana zone. Kokujo put DNA Spark in his mana zone and both cards tapped themselves as he put Zabi Fly, the Pillager into the battle zone. Even if Kokujo made the first real move in the game, Hakuoh stood patient. He simply added Super Spark to his mana zone and ended his turn.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll." Kokujo finally spoke, making Hakuoh discard Ulpheus, Dragonic Spirit. "Zabi Fly, break his shield!"

The plane flew through Hakuoh's shield, its motor amplifying the noise which was already caused by the sound of the shield breaking. Hakuoh stood still and watched how each shard went past him, none of them even touching his body.

"What? He didn't even react?" Dani exclaimed.

"He is experienced with kaijudo duels. That simple move that Kokujo did was a walk in the park for him." Tabitha said.

As the shield shards finally began to unite, Kokujo spoke to his opponent with a rather angered voice:

"These last 100 years have made you rusty."

"Is it so, dear brother?" Hakuoh responded with a smile while also tapping 3 cards in his mana zone. "I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card!"

"My turn, I cast Bone Dance Charger! I get two cards in my graveyard and one more mana." Kokujo said to Hakuoh while grinning evilly.

All of a sudden, silence fell upon them once again. Both Kokujo and Hakuoh got surrounded by purple and yellow auras, revealing that they were about to unleash their powers. Between them, they could also see the eternal rivals: Ballom and Alcadeias sitting behind them, facing each other into an eternal struggle. It didn't matter whether they were the originals, or Dorballom and Alphadios, or Ballom Emperor and King Alcadeias, or even Ballom Hunter and Gaga Alcadeias. What mattered was that they were two arch enemies and that their battle had to finish with only one winner.

As more turns passed, the duel became more intense. The battle zone was getting more populated, but few aggressive moves were made, making the duel rather monotonous.

"I summon Gaga Petrova, Light Spirit and Gaga Pikarian!" Hakuoh said.

"Heh, he'll draw another card, but that won't change his fate." Kokujo thought and then turned to the public to see who else was present.

He first noticed the chosen duelists and then sighed with relief, being glad that they had made it in the tournament at last. Afterwards, he saw Tabitha and her minions in a corner and was surprised to notice new faces there. But his real shock came when he looked in another corner and saw Rezo, the Red Priest watching him. Opposed to others, Rezo wasn't paying attention to the duel as much as he paid attention to Kokujo.

"Rezo… The bastard's alive!" Kokujo thought.

"Get ready, Black Death, I'll soon have my revenge!" Rezo spoke in his mind.

"Do your turn already!" Hakuoh demanded, waking Kokujo up from his thoughts.

"Fine, but you asked for it!" Kokujo said while turning back to his table and showing the card he was holding in his hand. "I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! I destroy Zabi Fly, discard a card from your hand, draw a card thanks to Zabi Trash Train and you'll have to destroy one of your creatures."

"Heh, I destroy Gaga Pikarian." Hakuoh said while also discarding Energy Stream.

"Great move from Kokujo! With his 3 Alien creatures, he managed to regain control of the zone!" the host commented while Hakuoh was charging mana and putting creatures into the battle zone.

"Gaga Petrova, Cebu Aquman Jr, break his shields!" Hakuoh ordered and one of his creatures fired a light beam upon one of Kokujo's shields, whereas the other simply jumped towards one of them and hit it with both its puny circular hands, both of them breaking two of his shields.

"Thanks for the shields, it's what I needed to bring you down!" Kokujo said, making Hakuoh curious. "I cast Bone Dance Charger! Then, using Ashliger's effect, I evolve Bega into Zabi Libra, Lord of Demons for only 3 mana! And then… I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!"

"Huh? But how?" Dani asked.

"Yeah, Auzesu costs 6 mana, whereas Ashliger reduces its cost by 2, making it cost 4. And Kokujo has only 3 untapped mana left!" Tobey remarked.

"You're right, but you two forgot that Auzesu has Sympathy: Angel Command and Demon Command. That means that his cost gets reduced by 1 for each Angel Command or Demon Command that Kokujo has in the battle zone." Tabitha replied to both of them.

"So, in other words, Zabi Olzekia and Zabi Libra contributed to Auzesu's summoning as well." Hanna said.

A yellow and green robotic demon which was lying on a pot, had an eye on its chest and was wielding a scythe-like sword appeared behind Kokujo as the evil genius laughed. Hakuoh made a step back with fear as he realized that he made a mistake when he attacked with both his creatures, rendering them tapped and vulnerable to Auzesu. Kokujo tapped Zabi Olzekia while Tabitha spoke to her minions:

"Now, with Auzesu's effect, he'll destroy Hakuoh's tapped creatures when he attacks with his other Demon Commands."

"That… is truly something…" Dani replied, stunned.

"Zabi Olzekia, attack Gaga Petrova!" Kokujo ordered.

"Now, with Auzesu's effect, Cebu Aquman Jr will also fall. And to make it worse for Hakuoh, the hell has just begun." Tabitha said.

Everyone watched how Auzesu slashed the little Cebu Aquman Jr with its sword and how Zabi Olzekia did the same to Gaga Petrova. Since Hakuoh didn't have any blockers on the battle zone, he couldn't prevent that from happening.

"Zabi Libra, Zabi Trash Train, Ashliger, break his shields!" Kokujo ordered.

Under the shocked eyes of the desperate fangirls, Hakuoh's shields went down one by one, until he was left standing with none. Kokujo laughed maniacally, revealing his sharp teeth. Hakuoh tried not to panic as he waited for the shield shards to become the cards he needed.

"YAHAHAHAHAHAHA, how do you like that, 'brother'?" Kokujo asked while the spirits calmed down a little and Hakuoh got the cards from his shields in his hand. "Can you do better than me?"

"Yes!" Hakuoh replied. "Shield trigger, I cast two Heaven's Gate and summon two HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and two Milzam, Spirit of Miracles!"

"Wonderful comeback indeed! Hakuoh has managed to summon 4 creatures… in his opponent's turn!" the host exclaimed.

"Also, shield trigger, I cast Super Spark and tap Auzesu!" Hakuoh said and a bright light descended from the ceiling upon Kokujo's Auzesu card, tapping it. "Now it's my turn, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Zabi Trash Train to your hand! Milzam, destroy Auzesu! My other Milzam, destroy Zabi Libra! HEIKE Double Cross, destroy Ashliger, and my other HEIKE Double Cross, destroy Zabi Olzekia!"

Kokujo simply grinned as he watched Hakuoh's Angel Commands take down all of his creatures. Even though he was in disadvantage, the excitement which he got from the duel was getting the best of him.

"You're left without any creatures in your battle zone. What are you going to do now, brother?" Hakuoh asked with a rather sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Hah, even if you've wiped out my whole field, I'll still defeat you!" Kokujo replied with confidence. "My turn, I cast Terror Pit and destroy one of your Milzams. Then, G Zero, I summon two Bloody Shadows, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards. Then I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law. Milzam, double break his shields!"

Kokujo took cover as Hakuoh's Angel Command fired two lasers which pierced through his shields. To his bad luck, he didn't get any shield trigger.

"Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!"

The two cards flew off their tables and landed into their owners' graveyards. Kokujo drew his next card, looked at it for a moment and then turned to Hakuoh while saying:

"I think it's time to get serious! I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager and Olzekia, General of Decapitation!"

Kokujo's Olzekia card glowed with a bright purple light and the black demonic general with two swords which was depicted in it materialized behind him.

"When I summon Olzekia, I'll destroy a creature of mine and two of yours. I destroy Zabi Fly!" Kokujo said and also made Hakuoh discard Hyperspatial Shiny Hole from his hand.

"I destroy Ultimus and one HEIKE. But with Ultimus' effect, I take Heaven's Gate from my deck to my hand!" Hakuoh said, then browsed his deck and added that certain card to his hand.

All of a sudden, a bright light came from Hakuoh's table, announcing Kokujo that something big was about to happen. The blonde boy then tapped 8 cards in his mana zone and said:

"Evolution!"

"There's only one 8 mana cost creature that he could summon in this situation!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"There's no way it's that creature!" Nolan exclaimed as well while watching Hakuoh place the card on his battle zone.

"HEIKE Double Cross, become Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Servant Spirits!" Hakuoh said.

The light coming from Hakuoh's table got even brighter as a giant golden robotic angel with white wings, dark purple cape and a black head with sharp teeth and a red X on it appeared behind the blonde boy.

"F-f-fantastic!" Dani mumbled.

"However, this is not the end of the duel." Tobey said.

"Gaga Alcadeias does not allow Kokujo to cast any spells as long as he doesn't have an Alien in the battle zone. And from the looks of it, he won't be casting any spells anytime soon." Tabitha remarked and then took a drink from her glass of wine.

"Kokujo-kun's in deep trouble!" Subaru exclaimed.

"With two powerful Angel Commands by his side, Hakuoh is sure to win this." Rad said.

"Yeah, since Gaga Alcadeias won't let Kokujo use spells, his shield triggers are history." Edo added.

"It's time to end this!" Hakuoh said and tapped one of his cards. "Milzam, break his final shields!"

Kokujo took cover as the angel fired its lasers upon him once again. Once the shields were gone and the attack was over, he got up and looked at the two cards he received in his hand. Towards his shock, those cards were Terror Pit and DNA Spark.

"Hahaha, you got any shield triggers, my dear brother? Well, if they're spells, Gaga Alcadeias won't let you cast them!" Hakuoh said with a triumphant voice.

Kokujo stared at Hakuoh with anger and also growled. It seemed that his defeat was at hand. How humiliating it would've been if he was finished off by his brother in front of everyone at the tournament arena. He would never have the courage of going out in public again.

"Oh well, I guess it's time to end this. Gaga Alcadeias, todomeda!" Hakuoh ordered.

"Heh, block!" Kokujo simply replied.

"What? Kokujo has only Olzekia in his battle zone, what could he possibly use to block?" Dani asked.

"You fool, look better at his battle zone!" Tabitha replied.

Everyone then noticed that Kokujo actually had two creatures in the battle zone, not one, and those were Olzekia, General of Decapitation and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight.

"Where did that Bloody Shadow come from?" Dani asked.

"When he casted Terror Pit and took down one of Hakuoh's Milzams, Kokujo summoned two Bloody Shadows. One of them got destroyed when it blocked Aqua Surfer, but the other stood there unharmed." Tabitha said and drank a bit from her glass of wine. "It's not my fault that you guys pay attention only to the big creatures."

Gaga Alcadeias fired a bright beam from its left hand, but then Bloody Shadow appeared in front of Kokujo and took the attack, blowing up in a matter of seconds. Hakuoh got upset, but Kokujo put a grin on his face while tapping his 10 mana. Hakuoh's anger turned into fear when he saw Kokujo rise in the air an evolution creature card.

"Evolution!" Kokujo said and placed the card on his last creature in the battle zone. "Olzekia, become Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord!"

The card glowed with a bright light whose color could not be distinguished. All of a sudden, a blue skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white. The demon was wearing a golden armor with blue paint, similar to the one that Alcadeias was wearing. The demon's head was that of Ballom, but the armor's helmet belonged to that of Alcadeias.

"Ballcadeias…" Hakuoh murmured as he remembered how he defeated Subaru back at the school while using that card. "How ironic… you out of all creatures…"

Ballcadeias fired a purple beam from its body and made Gaga Alcadeias and Milzam blow up. Afterwards, the creature used all of its hands to create a giant purple laser ball while Kokujo tapped the card and said:

"Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord, todomeda!"

Ballcadeias fired the laser ball upon Hakuoh, and the next thing that happened was an explosion. When everything was over, everyone saw that Hakuoh was lying on the floor with a few burns and his cards on his body, whereas Kokujo was standing up with Ballcadeias behind him. The Black Death simply packed up his cards as Ballcadeias vanished into thin air. Afterwards, Kokujo walked down the stairs and exited the arena.

"W-w-winner is Kokujo!" the host barely declared due to the shock.

Wally and Spunky rushed inside the arena to help Hakuoh up, disappointing the crowd of fangirls. But while most of the public was saddened that Hakuoh had lost, the chosen duelists where all happy that their friend Kokujo had won the duel.

"Alright, Kokujo still has it!" Rad declared.

"I knew he could do it!" Sora added.

"He really is a good looking evil genius!" Edo stated and afterwards took a drink from Kokujo's 'Good looking evil genius drink'.

"I'm so glad that Kokujo-san managed to win this one." Tsugumi said.

"Well, well, it looks like the Hakuoh crush has been cured earlier." Nolan said to Subaru.

"Yeah, but just to be sure, I'll still give her my cure tonight." Subaru replied to Nolan while putting a perverted smile on his face.

"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" Nolan thought.

Kokujo climbed the stairs of the public's rows, passing with carelessness each person which viewed the duel. He heard lots of insults from the fangirls, and more gossiping from boys, but he didn't pay any attention to them. Once he passed the chosen duelists, he gave them a short look but then turned his head away and kept climbing.

"Kokujo-kun… something's definitely wrong with him!" Subaru said and got up from his seat.

"And what do you think that you might solve?" Nolan asked.

"I just have to talk with him, something's just not right here!"

Subaru had trouble in getting out of his row, as there are ten more people sitting on their chairs before he could reach the stairs. And when he finally reached them, he saw that Kokujo was already at the top and disappeared. Still, the chosen darkness duelist did not give up. He climbed the stairs as fast as he could, for he would not let Kokujo get away so easily.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's group, her minions were all amazed by the duel which the two masters of light and darkness had.

"It was… AWESOME!" Dani yelled.

"Indeed, it was one of those entertaining duels that you rarely catch." Tobey commented.

"Eddy watch Kokujo and Hakuoh duel. Eddy had fun."

"It seems like Hakuoh-san and Kokujo-san really put up a good duel, right?" Hanna asked her master.

"Indeed they have." Tabitha replied after finishing her glass of wine. "This duel was a true confrontation between light and darkness. But I'm afraid that it was also a prediction of this tournament's fate."

"Huh? How come, Tabitha-sama?"

"Darkness won in this duel, and it will also win in this tournament. Mark my words, Hanna, this is a bad omen for this contest's conclusion."

"I understand, Tabitha-sama…"

"Hehehe, anyway, this duel was so exciting that my desire to defeat someone in a kaijudo duel has grown to epic proportions! If those foolish mortals in the public think that this duel was something, hohoho, wait till they see what I'll do when my turn comes!"

"I have a bad feeling about this, Tabitha-sama…"


	112. All good things come in threes

"The next match is between Hiro and Nolan!" the host announced.

"Oh, my turn's finally come?" Nolan asked while getting up from his seat.

"Indeed, now go and make us proud!" Tsugumi said, making the boy blush.

"Ok, I'll give my best!" Nolan replied and ran out of their row.

"Good luck, Nolan!" Sora cheered.

Nolan climbed down the stairs to the arena, and once he was there, he headed to the podium's stairs. After he climbed them, he reached the dueling table, but in the same time remembered that that was only half of the table, as the full table was tore in two due to Subaru's and Edo's duel. Just the simple thought of him playing a kaijudo duel in front of so many made him feel warm inside. However, he ceased daydreaming when he saw his opponent reach the other dueling table as well. His opponent was a short brown-eyed and brown-haired boy who wore blue jeans, a red T shirt and a black hat.

"I'm guessing that you're my opponent." Nolan said.

"Indeed I am. Now let's get started, shall we?" the short boy suggested and took out his deck.

Meanwhile, at a higher level of the building, Subaru was wandering in the corridors all by himself.

"Kokujo-kun, where are you? It's me, Subaru!" the boy shouted, but got no response. "Oh God, where could he have gone to?"

A few feet away from him, on a balcony, Kokujo was resting on the floor with a leaf in his mouth and his eyes gazing at the sky.

Back at the arena, the duel between Hiro and Nolan had begun.

"I cast Faerie Life." Hiro said and got one more card in his mana zone.

"I summon Dragon Flare Egg." Nolan said and a yellow egg appeared behind him, floating in the air. "You better not fail me this time, Egg!"

"I summon Iron Arm Tribe." Hiro said and got yet another card in his mana zone.

"Ok, it's all or nothing!" Nolan thought while he placed the top card of his deck to the graveyard, which was Eternal Meteor Kaiser. "Woah, this must be my lucky day!"

The egg suddenly cracked open and a huge blue dragon with bat wings and a fire sword came out of it.

"I destroy Dragon Flare Egg and summon Eternal Meteor Kaiser!" Nolan said and the dragon behind him roared.

"I-impossible!" Hiro exclaimed and made a step back.

"Nolan has managed to summon Eternal Meteor Kaiser by his 4th turn! Eternal Meteor Kaiser makes all of his creatures speed attackers and also forces Hiro to put his creatures into the battle zone tapped. Now that's a great move!"

"Heh, he truly has a fire spirit!" Rad said.

"That Hiro guy doesn't have a chance now." Sora added.

"Though we shouldn't underestimate his opponent, and he shouldn't as well. After all the game isn't over, it just turned towards Nolan's favor." Tsugumi commented.

"I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law… and end." Nolan said, making most of the people watching him surprised.

"But why isn't he attacking?" Dani asked.

"Why should he? To hit a Natural Snare?" Tabitha ironically replied. "With Eternal Meteor Kaiser he now has field advantage, why waste such a good opportunity? After all, almost anything that Hiro will summon, Eternal Meteor Kaiser will simply wipe out."

Hiro drew his next card and to his disappointment he saw that it was Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon. If he summoned it, Eternal Meteor Kaiser would take it down in Nolan's turn, so he decided that he would use his spell cards instead.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards. Then I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana." Hiro said.

"I cast Hyperspatial Samurai Hole!" Nolan said and made Hiro's Iron Arm Tribe blow up and its card fall into Hiro's mana zone. "Now I summon Bolmeteus "Young Samurai" Dragon, Temporal Samurai!"

A red robotic dragon appeared from a hole in the ceiling, landing right next to Eternal Meteor Kaiser.

"And since Eternal Meteor Kaiser makes all my creatures speed attackers… it's time to attack!" Nolan said while tapping his cards. "Eternal Meteor Kaiser, double break his shields! Then, Bolmeteus, break his shield!"

Hiro took cover as Nolan's dragons used their swords and broke 3 of his shields. However, as he looked at the cards in his shields, he smiled back at his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Eternal Meteor Kaiser to your hand!"

"Heh, nice one." Nolan complimented.

"Then it's my turn, I summon Aqua Cascade and evolve it into Crystal Super Paladin!" Hiro said and a blue crystal centaur with four hands, two wielding shields and two wielding swords appeared behind him. Edo then woke up from his sleep when he heard the words 'Crystal Super Paladin'.

"Wow, another dude uses water! Go, Hiro!" Edo cheered.

"You idiot, you should be cheering our friend Nolan!" Rad said and punched Edo in the head, making him go back to sleep.

"When Crystal Paladin is summoned, I may send one of your psychic creatures back to the hyperspatial zone. Bounce Bolmeteus "Young Samurai" Dragon!" Hiro said and pointed to the robotic dragon, which was soon hit by Paladin's sword and disappeared.

"Hiro has managed to pull a comeback! Let's see where this will lead to!" the host said.

"Go, Crystal Super Paladin, send his Ultimus back and double break his shields! Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

Nolan took cover as Hiro's water creatures broke his shields, Crystal Super Paladin slicing two of them and Aqua Surfer simply breaking one with its surfboard. Towards his bad luck, he didn't get any shield triggers. However, he still had a few aces up his sleeve.

"I summon Dragon Flare Egg and Super Go On Pippi!" Nolan said and another yellow egg appeared behind him along with fire bird which had sunglasses on its forehead.

"Heh, it's over! I summon Aqua Cascade and Genji Boy! Go, Crystal Super Paladin, break his final shields!" Hiro ordered and the centaur used both its swords and slashed Nolan's shields in the form of an X. "It's over!"

Meanwhile, after lots of searching, Subaru finally saw Kokujo resting in a balcony. The chosen darkness duelist quickly rushed to him, and once Kokujo heard his footsteps, he simply opened his left eye like a lazy cat and watched him run. Once he reached him, Kokujo asked with the same laziness:

"What do you want?"

"Kokujo-kun, we need to talk!" Subaru said with a serious voice.

Back at the duel, as everyone was waiting for Hiro to make the final blow on Nolan, the tan-skinned boy smiled to his opponent as the shield shards united into two cards, one of them glowing with a bright light.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark!" Nolan said and a bright light with the form of a DNA descended from the ceiling and tapped all of Hiro's creatures while a new shield appeared above Nolan's table.

"No worries, next turn you're finished." Hiro replied.

"So you think!"

In the next moment, Nolan's egg cracked open and a Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon came out of it. Then he placed a light and fire card on it while saying:

"Head out into battle, JetBlaze Admiral!" Nolan shouted. "I summon Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon!"

The samurai dragon got surrounded by a bright aura and turned into a huge angelic dragon with fire wings, golden armor and a golden sword with a sharp blue laser blade. Nolan then showed a fire card to his opponent while saying:

"With Bolshack Ulpheus' effect, I cast Galaxy Shot – HELL! Destroy Crystal Super Paladin and Aqua Surfer, then put your last shields to your graveyard!"

"Oh no!" Hiro exclaimed as his water creatures blew up and his shields got disintegrated, the shield cards landing to his graveyard being Hyperspatial Red Green Hole and Aqua Surfer. "Oh well, I guess this is the end of the line for me. Good game!"

Nolan nodded in response and then tapped the rainbow card while saying:

"Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon, todomeda!"

The angelic dragon aimed its golden sword and attacked Hiro with it, blasting him away and giving him a hard landing on the metallic floor.

"And the winner is Nolan!" the host announced.

At the balcony, Kokujo got up and wiped off the few bits of dust from his white trench coat. Then he turned his back at Subaru, looking at the city, and said:

"Ok, I'm listening, what's so important?"

"Kokujo-kun… where were you in the last year? Why are you avoiding us, your own friends? Why have you changed?" Subaru asked with pain in his voice.

"HeheheYAHAHAHA!" Kokujo laughed and turned to Subaru. "You really want to know, huh? Very well, I'll tell, but you'll regret it."

Back at the arena, the host looked at the computer screen and announced the next duel:

"Next match we'll have is… Hitler VS White!"

Upon hearing this, Rezo patted Hitler's shoulder and wished him good luck. The middle-aged man nodded in response and walked to the dueling table. Due to his bad reputation, most people from the crowd booed him. In anger, Hitler turned at them and began to rant:

"You ungrateful brats! If it wouldn't be for me, you'd be ruled by the Jews!"

"Hey Hitler, enough with the history class, let's duel!" White shouted to him while putting his deck on the table.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hitler replied and proceeded to his table.

After a few minutes, Hitler finally climbed the stairs and reached his table. He then took out a deck from his 20th century black pants' pockets and put it on the dueling table. He then deployed his shields and drew five cards, thus beginning the duel.

"I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight." White said.

"I summon Jet Drill, Advanced Soldier. Heh, if I had soldiers like him in my army, I would've never lost the war." Hitler ranted.

"I cast Magic Shot – Glory Gate!" White said, ignoring Hitler's rant, and revealing the top 3 cards of his deck: Yurius, Spirit of Thunder, Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg and Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit. "Arcadia Egg goes to my hand! Then I use Knight Magic since Bloody Shadow is a Knight." White continued and revealed another top 3 cards: Heaven's Gate, Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor. "Perfect! Nero Gryphis goes to my hand!"

"White has managed to get two Knight cards in his hand during just one turn!" the host commented.

"I summon Simian Warrior Grash." Hitler said.

"I cast Jealousy Bell!" White said and discarded Terror Pit, then made Hitler discard both cards from his hand: Dark Reversal and Gigazoul.

"Hitler's left with no cards in hand! Whatever shall he do?" the host commented.

"I'll stick my gun up your ass if you don't stop making stupid comments, you imbecile!" Hitler shouted at the host.

"Y-yes, sir!"

"I'm der Furher!"

"I mean… yes, der Furher!"

"Now that's more like it." Hitler said and turned back to his table. "Now it's my turn, I summon Rothus, the Traveler! I destroy Rothus and your Bloody Shadow."

"Heh, is that all you got?" White laughed.

"Think again! Whenever one of my Armorloids is destroyed, Grash's effect makes you choose one card in your mana zone and put it to your graveyard!"

White took Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint from his mana zone and placed it in his graveyard.

"Then, with Jet Drill's effect, you'll also have to put a card from your mana zone to the bottom of your deck!" Hitler continued.

"What? Why you…" White said while putting Bega, Decaying Vizier to the bottom of his deck.

"Simian Warrior Grash, Jet Drill, break his shields!"

White watched with an apathetic expression on his face how Hitler's creatures took down two of his shields. Once he got the cards into his hand, he charged mana and said:

"I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and end."

"I cast Corpse Charger and return Rothus, the Traveler to my hand." Hitler said, and then he tapped one of his creatures. "Simian Warrior Grash, break his shield!"

"Not so fast, Hitler! Shield trigger, I cast Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg! Destroy Jet Drill!"

"Fool, you'll have to put one more card from your mana zone to your graveyard!"

White put Murmur, Apostle of the Formation to his graveyard, but then he also showed to Hitler a card from his hand while saying:

"Now with Arcadia Egg's effect I summon Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor!"

A purple robotic angel appeared behind White as Hitler made a step back while sweating and asked:

"But… how?"

"When Magic Shot – Glory Gate is in my graveyard, Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg allows me to summon Nero Gryphis from my hand for no cost." White explained. "Now it's time to payback time – I cast Magic Shot – Glory Gate and also use Knight Magic!"

The first top 3 cards of White's deck were Gaius, Mystic Light Emperor, Super Spark and Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor. White chose Nero Gryphis and put the other 2 cards to the bottom of his deck. Then the next top cards cards were Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia, Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and Jealousy Bell. White chose Bloody Shadow and put the other 2 to the bottom of his deck.

"Now Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Nero Gryphis, double break his shields!" White ordered and the angel waved both its hands, created a purple energy ball and released it upon two of Hitler's shields, taking them down.

"Not so fast! Shield trigger, I summon Gigabalza!" Hitler said and made White discard Heaven's Gate. "Now it's time for you to feel the power of Der Furher! Evolution! Gigabalza, become Phantasmal Horror Gigazabal!"

A dark purple three-headed Chimera appeared behind Hitler and roared at White.

"Behold the power of the third Reich! All hail Adolf Hitler!" Hitler shouted as he tapped the card. "Gigazabal, destroy Nero Gryphis!"

The Chimera fired lasers from all its three heads and managed to destroy Nero Gryphis. However, White gave Hitler a sly smile as he showed a card to him:

"When one of my Knights is destroyed, Nero Gryphis allows me to cast a light or darkness spell with the cost of 6 or less and with shield trigger for free! I cast… Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg! I destroy Simian Warrior Grash and summon Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor!"

Just as the smoke created by Gigazabal's lasers faded away, yet another purple robotic angel appeared behind White. Seeing this, Hitler clenched his fists and yelled as loud as he could:

"FUUUUUUUCK!"

"Now it's my turn, I charge mana and attack with Nero Gryphis, double break his shields!" White ordered and the angel created another purple energy ball which it released upon Hitler's shields.

"Shield trigger, I summon Sky Soldier Wingraios! With his effect, I destroy Wingraios and you'll have to destroy one of your creatures as well." Hitler said.

"Heh, I destroy Bloody Shadow and cast Terror Pit with the effect of my Nero Gryphis, destroy Gigazabal!"

Hitler's eyes widened as he saw two demonic hands appear out of a black smoke and grab Gigazabal. The hands pulled the creature into the smoke and made it blow up into pieces. Hitler drew his next card and was disappointed to see that it was Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper. With White's creature passing 5000 power, that card was useless. He placed it in his mana zone and put Gigazoul into his battle zone while saying:

"Only a 3000 powered creature in my battle zone… I'm fucked!"

"I summon Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint." White said and took Bloody Shadow to his hand from his graveyard. "Ike, Nero Gryphis, break his final shield!"

Hitler took cover as the angel fired yet another purple ball and took his last shield down. He then drew his next card and looked at White with anger while saying:

"Adolf Hitler never gives up! I didn't surrender in front of the Russians, nor will I surrender to you! I summon two Gigaslugs! Gigazoul, break his shield!"

"Heh, I let it pass." White replied with a sly smile on his face as he watched the creature break one of his shields to pieces. "Thanks, old man, you gave me the card I needed to win! Shield trigger, I cast Super Spark! Tap all of his creatures!"

"Oh no!" Hitler shouted as he saw both his Gigaslugs getting tapped.

"Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor, todomeda!"

That was the last thing that Hitler remembered. When the middle-aged man opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor while Rezo and Shagrath were standing up near him.

"W-what happened?" Hitler asked.

"You lost against White." Shagrath said.

"Dammit! Fegelein's curses haunt me even beyond the grave… Fegelein!" Hitler shouted and hit the floor with his right fist. "FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN!"

"Loser…" Rezo spoke in his mind and then turned to Zakira. "It's your turn to duel, shouldn't you be going?"

"Right away!" Zakira's ghost replied and turned into a black cloud of smoke which headed for one of the dueling tables.

Meanwhile, in the corridors, Subaru was heading back to the arena all by himself, but all he could think about was what Kokujo had said to him.

"_I spent the last year inside the secret headquarters of THEM. Their leader, Tigra, forced me to duel each and every one of their members, until I brought down all of them, except for her."_

"_Huh? She defeated you?" Subaru asked._

"_Hahaha, no, she didn't even duel me." Kokujo replied. "However, she said that she has important plans with me. When she was convinced that I was worthy, she handed Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord to me and released me once I was healed. She told me to go back to you guys and sign you up for the tournament."_

"_Huh? But why would she care about us?"_

"_She wants to use you guys as her tools. She intends for you to wipe out most of the duelists from the tournament so that when she'll come to duel, she'll have only you guys and a few others to wipe out. You do most of the dirty work and she takes the ultimate prize."_

"_But why is she after the Proof, Kokujo-kun?"_

"_That I don't know yet, but all I can tell you is that Tigra… is Zakira's daughter."_

"_WHAT? She is the daughter of that bastard whom we've defeated 100 years ago?"_

"_Yes, and she also said that THEM are a cult-like organization created by her which follow Zakira and wish to continue his legacy."_

"_Then, Kokujo-kun, don't you think that maybe she's after the Proof so that she could continue Zakira's evil plans? If so, then we should be ready to finish her when she comes!"_

"_No, she's way too strong. That's why I've been avoiding you guys, because I wanted to have some time alone and cook up a good plan against her. Now, Subaru, if you don't mind, I want to be left alone."_

"_I understand, Kokujo-kun."_

The flashback ended as Subaru reached the arena. When he opened the door, he saw that the next duel was about to begin. The first contestant had already climbed to his dueling table and was being introduced by the host:

"At the left table we have… Shubham!"

The lights fell on a black-haired boy dressed in a black T-shirt with Metallica style designing in silver, at the shoulder parts he had the darkness civilization logo on the right and a strange symbol on the left which belonged to his clan. He also wore deep blue jeans and black sneakers with silver lines.

"Oh no, not this dude!" a boy whispered to another.

"What's wrong with him?" the other asked.

"I've seen him yesterday. I was hanging out in the park with two of my friends and he came. He challenged the strongest of us to a duel and he defeated him so easily that when I picked up his deck and gave it to him, he tossed it away and yelled that he was quitting Duel Masters."

"My God… so this guy isn't messing around here."

"Not at all! I just feel sorry for the poor soul who has to face him."

Subaru overheard the two as he was descending the stairs to the row where his friends were. But he didn't intervene to tell them who was Shubham's opponent and how strong he was because he knew that it would have no affect on the outcome.

Then, all of a sudden, a black smoke appeared on the table of Shubham's opponent. The black-haired boy widened his eyes as the smoke slowly took the shape of a tall muscular man with long hair.

"Who are you?" the boy demanded.

"I… am Zakira." the ghost said.

"Heh, the legendary Zakira who caused chaos upon our world 100 years ago? And now you're a ghost? This is going to be interesting!"

Shubham put his deck on the table and deployed his shields. But Zakira made a small portion of his black smoke fall on his table and when that smoke cleared it revealed five a deck and five shields, Zakira already holding five cards in his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm not cheating." Zakira said.

"Even if you were, you still wouldn't win." Shubham replied.

And so the duel had begun. Shubham decided to take the lead and charged mana first. Zakira did the same move and then his turn began once again.

"I summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow." Shubham said.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." Zakira said, then drew 2 cards and discarded Phantom Spear Zircon.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Melnia, break his shield!"

The watery ghost aimed for Zakira's middle shield and slashed it, making its shards fly straight at the ghost. The shards went through the black smoke and then unite into a card which Zakira took in his hand.

"So you really are a ghost." Shubham said while grinning.

"And you… will be dead!" Zakira replied. "I summon Ezorad, Electro-Fuuma."

"Don't count on it, pal! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

Shubham revealed the top 3 cards of his deck which were Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General, Terror Pit and Hades Death Gate. Because they were darkness cards, he took them all to his hand.

"Melnia, break another shield!" Shubham ordered and the ghost shattered yet another shield of Zakira's to pieces.

"Shield trigger, I cast Primal Scream!" Zakira said and put 4 cards to his graveyard, those being Terror Pit, Worm Gorwaski, Masked Insect, Dark Reversal and Bolshack NEX. "I take Worm Gorwaski to my hand. Now it's my turn, Grave Evolution, I evolve Phantom Spear Zircon into Worm Gorwaski, Masked Insect! Go, Worm Gorwaski, destroy Melnia!"

Shubham didn't block with Maxval and let both creatures get destroyed, even if that meant that he had to discard Jenny, the Dismantling Puppet.

"Heh, you'll need more than that to stop me! I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy my Zabi Olzekia and your Ezorad! Go, Cebu Aquman Jr, break his shield!"

"Heh, shield trigger… I cast Inferno Sign!" Zakira said and made a red-armored dragon appeared behind him. "I summon Bolshack NEX! With its effect, I summon Cocco Lupia from my deck. Are you ready to see hell, boy?"

"I've always seen hell, Zakira, but it was I the one who created it." Shubham spoke, overconfident.

"Tough talk from someone who's about to lose. Grave Evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death! Then Ultimate Evolution, I evolve Death March into Sunshine NEX, the Enlightened!"

Suddenly, a red dragon with two heads, four feet and golden armor appeared behind Zakira and roared at Shubham, but the boy seemed least intimidated. With every new creature that Zakira summoned, the boy was even more determined to fight back.

"Go, Sunshine NEX, double break his shields!" Zakira ordered and the dragon fired a fire ball from one of its heads and took down two of Shubham's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Bolshack NEX!" Shubham said and a black gate appeared behind him, its doors opening and revealing many demonic black hands which grabbed Zakira's Dragon and pulled it inside, killing it. "Then I revive Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy it."

"I destroy Sunshine NEX, but I also discard Hades Death Gate from my hand to keep it in the battle zone."

"Fine then, Zakira, if it's the hard way you want it, then so be it! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Cocco Lupia! Then I summon Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier and destroy Sunshine NEX!"

A demon dressed in a red-caped golden armor, which was wielding two two-headed scythes with blue energy blades, and which was also riding a skeletal horse appeared out of a black hole from the ceiling and landed right behind Shubham.

"I discard Terror Pit and save Sunshine NEX once again." Zakira said, then he drew a card and charged mana. "I end."

"Tsh, if it would not be for that last card in his hand, this game would be mine now!" Shubham thought. "It's time to end this! I evolve Maxval into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! With its effect I summon another Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier! Go, Zabi Implosion, break his final shields!"

The demon fired two beams from the mouths from its hands and broke Zakira's final shields. However, one of them quickly turned into a card which shined with a purple light and stood in front of Zakira, revealing itself to Shubham.

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit, destroy the first Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier." Zakira said and two demonic hands grabbed Shubham's Ganveet, crushing it. "Now it's time to show you what REAL HELL IS!"

A bright red light came from the black smoke of Zakira's ethereal body as the card from which the light was coming placed itself upon Zakira's remaining creature.

"Ultimate Evolution MAX – Sunshine NEX, become ROMANOFF KAISER NEX, THE SUPER ENLIGHTENED!" Zakira yelled.

A giant golden dragon wielding four long swords and four laser guns appeared into the room and the two dueling tables got surrounded by fire. While sweating with worry, Shubham still could not take off the maniacal smile off his face. The excitement of his duel had reached its maximum and now it was time for the final showdown.

"When summoned, Romanoff Kaiser NEX destroys two of your creatures and two of your mana cards!" Zakira said and Shubham's Zabi Implosion and Black Ganveet blew up, then the Cebu Aquman Jr and Hyperspatial Gallows Hole went from his mana zone to the graveyard. "Now it's time to end this! Romanoff Kaiser NEX, BREAK ALL OF HIS SHIELDS!"

The dragon roared loudly and made the whole building shake and its windows crack. Then the creature used its swords and slashed Shubham's last three shields. The boy made a few steps back as he got surrounded by the shield shards, but his excitement never faded away. Once things calmed down, Zakira calmly asked his opponent:

"So, giving up yet?"

"Not yet! Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Romanoff Kaiser NEX!" Shubham said and the same demonic hands which took down his Ganveet appeared and took care of Zakira's creature as well, thus making the fires around them disappear.

"Hahaha, you fool! Once Kaiser NEX is destroyed, I may summon from my deck an Armored Dragon or a creature with Romanoff in it! I summon Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero!" Zakira said and a horned knight-like creature with red cape and two large laser guns appeared behind him and roared.

"HeheheheheHAHAHAHAHA!" Shubham laughed back at Zakira with more energy than him.

"What's so funny?"

"You, my dear friend, are the fool around here, 'cause you just gave me the thing I needed to win! Shield trigger, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Romanoff Zero!"

"What the…" Zakira murmured as the black gate appeared once again and consumed his horned knight. "This can't be!"

"Oh, but it is! And now I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General!" Shubham said and the black demon with two swords appeared behind him. "It's over, ghosty! Zabi Olzekia, show him what hell really is, todomeda!"

The demon jumped into the air and aimed for Zakira's spirit, but the ghost quickly surrounded its deck with the black smoke and disappeared just as Zabi Olzekia slashed the air in which it lied.

"Tsh, he got away." Shubham spoke in his mind.

"Winner of the duel is… Shubham!" the host declared.

Meanwhile, outside of the building, a girl dressed in a big golden armor with spikes was approaching the location where the tournament was taking place.


	113. Arrival of THEM

Now that he had won his match, Shubham put his hands in his pants' pockets and walked back to his seat. While he was climbing the stairs, he came face to face with Subaru, who was still stunned after seeing how badly he defeated Zakira. The boy looked up to him, revealing his malefic grin.

"So you must be Subaru, the chosen darkness duelist." Shubham said.

"And how do you know about me?" Subaru asked, keeping his guard up.

"I've heard about the chosen duelists and how you guys have saved the world so many times. This must mean that you guys are really powerful."

"I won't speak about our power, but I'll tell you that we're just doing our duty."

"Oh is that so? I've also heard that the mighty Kokujo Kyoshiro, aka the Black Death, is helping you guys."

Subaru stood stunned when he heard that Shubham knew about Kokujo as well. The black-haired boy passed the chosen duelist and climbed to his seat while leaving him a final message:

"Tell Kokujo that I, Shubham Das, challenge him to a duel! And if he wants to keep his Black Death title, he should respond to my challenge!"

Subaru stood frozen on the stairs for a few moments, still not believing that that monstrous duelist knew so much about him and his friends. Just from how Shubham had easily taken care of Zakira's ghost Subaru was getting chills run down his spine. And to just picture him facing Kokujo was just giving Subaru more worries. The boy woke up from his thoughts as the host announced the next duel:

"And now we have Azkeel VS Wally!"

Out of the entrance to the arena came a duelist wearing a white robe and gray mask with blue tones on its eyes. Tabitha widened her eyes and her jaw dropped as she watched the duelist walk to his dueling table.

"Impossible!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"What's wrong, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"It's a… THEM member!"

"A what?" Dani asked.

"This is going to ruin everything!" Tabitha thought and then looked in the public, catching a glimpse of a golden armored person standing at the last level. "Tigra!"

Meanwhile, Wally got up from his seat, leaving Spunky to take care of Hakuoh all by himself. The teen then headed for his dueling table, ready to face his opponent.

"That boy…" Tabitha spoke in her mind while looking at Wally. "He has that card! Hehehe, this is going to be better than I thought! However, having him working for me wouldn't hurt."

All of a sudden, two dark beams came out of Tabitha's eyes and entered Wally's, turning them from white to black and having their color turn to hellish red.

"Arise, my servant! And go take care of Tigra's minion!" Tabitha telepathically ordered Wally.

"Yes, master!" Wally murmured and climbed the stairs to his dueling table.

Now that the two duelists were face to face, none of them said anything to the other. They both set their cards and began their duel. But little did the crowd know that the duel wasn't Azkeel VS Wally, but it was actually Tigra VS Tabitha. With Tigra's training, Azkeel was truly a powerful duelist, but Tabitha was the one manipulating Wally, thus making both duelists equal.

"I summon Bloody Squito." Azkeel said and a red bug-like creature appeared behind him.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Wally said and made Azkeel discard Inaba Geeze, the Explosive.

"Heh, nice start, but you won't be able to defeat me! I summon Cocco Lupia!"

"I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser." Wally ignored Azkeel. "I destroy Gil Poser and Cocco Lupia."

"Wonderful start from Wally's side! He managed to take down both one of Azkeel's creatures and cards in hand!" the host said.

"What a showoff! I'll show you what a 'wonderful' duel is! I cast Primal Scream!" Azkeel said and put the top cards cards of his to the graveyard, which were Alexander the 3rd, Emperor of the Demonic Eye, Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole and Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God. "Mad Romanoff goes back to my hand!"

"Interesting move, but I'm afraid that it's nothing compared to what I've got cooking for you." Wally said. "I summon Deis Chicken Racer, Evil Battler."

"Oh really? Well check this out! Mad Deck Evolution!"

The top 3 cards of Azkeel's deck got into the air and revealed themselves. They were Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast, Hyperspatial Vice Hole and Terror Pit. Azkeel put the spells to his graveyard and evolved Dark Division into Mad Romanoff.

"Hehehe, go, Mad Romanoff!" Azkeel said while also putting Dark Division to his graveyard. "Meteorburn! I cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole from my mana zone and summon White TENMTH Kaiser!"

A white dragon with 6 wings and 3 pairs of hands which also had 2 mouths on its chest appeared behind Azkeel. Wally grinned maniacally when he saw it and did not show Azkeel any signs of fear, not even after Mad Romanoff broke his shield. Then a purple light came from Wally's side as the shield regenerated into a card which the boy showed to his opponent.

"Shield trigger, I cast Hades Death Gate! Destroy TENMTH Kaiser!" Wally said and Azkeel's creature suddenly blew up. "Then I revive Self-Destructing Gil Poser!"

"Nice move, but my psychic will be back!" Azkeel promised.

"Think again! I evolve Deis Chicken Racer into Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!"

A red-winged dragon with black skin which had spikes appeared behind Wally and roared loudly. The dragon jumped towards Azkeel as Wally tapped its card and said:

"Double break his shields, Shachihoko Kaiser!"

Azkeel let Wally's creature break his shields. After the attack was over, he showed one of the cards from his shields to Wally while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Gil Poser!"

"Heh." Wally laughed and smiled as he watched the metallic red scrapper squash his train creature. "Now that one of my non-psychic creatures got destroyed, Unified Shachihoko Kaiser allows me to summon a fire, light or darkness psychic creature with cost 7 or less!"

"What?" Azkeel reacted as he saw a red dragon with 3 pairs of hands and 3 sharp mouths on its body in which 3 fire balls were glowing appear behind Wally.

"I summon Red ABYTHEN Kaiser!" Wally announced.

"Impossible… you also use them?" Azkeel spoke with fear for a moment, but his courage quickly returned. "So what if you use them? I'll still defeat you!"

"I don't remember answering your question."

"Shut up, you're soon done for! I cast Hyperspatial Vice Hole!"

Wally revealed the 2 cards from his hand, aka Zaby Hydra, Evil Planet Lord and Hades Death Gate. Azkeel made Wally discard Hades Death Gate and then made a dark purple dragon with pairs of wings and mouths that couldn't even be counted appear behind him. Still, Azkeel was disturbed by the fact that Wally did not show at least one small sign of being scared. The only duelist Azkeel had faced before and did now show fear to him was Tigra. Ever Kokujo trembled when he saw Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon linked by him, but the Black Death was lucky to have gotten a Death March in order to finish him just in time. But what was wrong with this boy? He did not show the slightest sign of fearing Azkeel's mighty GOLDEN Dragon, and to make it worse, he was also using Azkeel's trump card.

"I summon Black WILLOW Kaiser and end!" Azkeel said.

"Then it's my turn." Wally said, then drew a card and placed Zabi Hydra in his mana zone while showing the other card to his opponent. "I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole, return Jenny to my hand and then summon Black WILLOW Kaiser!"

Another purple dragon appeared behind Wally, right next to the red one, and made Azkeel make a step back while sweating under his mask. Still, he decided that he would not let Wally beat him at his own game, so with that encouragement, he drew his next card.

"My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shachihoko Hole and summon White TENMTH Kaiser!" Azkeel said and the white dragon reappeared in his battle zone, this time by the purple dragon's side. "Hah, told you he'd be back!"

"But not for long." Wally calmly said. "I summon Rothus, the Traveler and destroy Rothus."

"I destroy Bloody Squito."

"Heh, now arise, White TENMTH Kaiser!"

Yet another white dragon appeared, this time by Wally's side. The dueling arena began to get crowded, but that didn't seem to be a problem for the two.

"How did you summon it?" Azkeel asked.

"Unified Shachihoko Kaiser let me summon it since Rothus got destroyed." Wally camly replied.

"Grr, this isn't over! I summon Bloody Squito! Go, WILLOW Kaiser and TENMTH Kaiser, break all of his shields!"

Wally took cover as Azkeel's creatures attacked him and put an end to all of his shields, but then one of his shields turned into a shining card which showed itself to Azkeel.

"Shield trigger, I cast DNA Spark!" Wally said and tapped his opponent's Bloody Squito while another shield appeared above his dueling table. "I guess it's my turn. PSYCHIC LINK!"

Wally's three dragons got surrounded by a yellow, purple and red aura and united into one. When the auras disappeared, everyone saw an enormous golden dragon with 9 mouths, 3 having black energy balls inside, 3 having fire balls and 3 having light balls inside. The dragon also had long wings and two golden horns on its head.

"Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon!" Wally shouted.

"But that's… my creature…" Azkeel commented.

"Amazing! Wally has pulled out Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon, the strongest Duel Masters creature up to date!" the host exclaimed. "There's no way Azkeel can stop him now!"

"Go, Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon, break all of his shields!"

Wally's card tapped by itself and the boy also received DNA Spark, Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Hades Death Gate back to his hand and watched all of Azkeel's creatures blow up and all of his shields get broken by GOLDEN Dragon's attack. Towards Azkeel's bad luck, the cards in his shields were Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, Beginning Romanoff, Lord of the Demonic Eye and Alien Father. Now he was completely at the mercy of Wally.

"This is it! Finish him off!" Tabitha telepathically ordered Wally.

"Unified Shachihoko Kaiser…" Wally said while putting his fingers on the card.

"Hurry, Azkeel, get out of there!" Tigra telepathically ordered Azkeel.

"Yes, Tigra-sama!" Azkeel responded to his master and packed up his cards quickly.

"TODOMEDA!" Wally shouted.

The creature fired a laser beam upon Azkeel, but he had finished packing up his cards and quickly jumped from the dueling table, avoiding the attack. Then he shamefully ran out of the arena as the host spoke in the microphone:

"And the winner is Wally!"

Everyone cheered the victor as Tabitha snapped her fingers and made Wally go back to normal with only the memory of defeating Azkeel. Now that he wasn't under the witch's control anymore, he headed to Spunky and Hakuoh, who warmly greeted him.

"Tabitha-sama, why did you bother to control him when he could've won anyway?" Hanna asked.

"Because, my dear Hanna, I was dueling alongside him during the match. I was the one deciding each and every move of his." Tabitha responded.

"But why would you be so interested in his victory?"

"Because I will not allow Tigra and her THEM members interfere with my plans, that's why! And besides, a secret minion never hurts."

"The next match is Spunky VS Tigra!" the host announced.

"Good luck, pal!" Wally wished his friend.

Spunky nodded to him and rushed to the dueling table with his deck in his hands. Meanwhile, some harsh footsteps could've been heard from the stairs. Everyone's attention was drawn to them and they saw how Tigra was slowly descending to the arena. Most of the common people were amazed by the girl's imposing presence and felt that she was a powerful duelist. Once she passed the Subaru who was still standing on the stairs, she made the boy feel a strange chill, almost as if she was reeking of an otherworldly darkness and was trying to absorb him in it. He knew from that very instant that this girl represented trouble. The girl kept walking down the stairs until she reached the arena, and then she walked all the way to her dueling table. Meanwhile, Subaru walked back to the other chosen duelists and sat on his seat.

"Took you some time to come." Sora noticed.

"Yeah, I had some business to take care of." Subaru said.

"Hey Suby, did you bring me my soda?" Edo asked.

"Eh? But you never even said anything about a soda!"

"Hmph, what a 'best friend' you are. You didn't even buy me a soda."

Subaru sweated as he watched Edo complain for something he didn't even ask for, but luckily for the chosen darkness duelist, he managed to come up with a plan to escape that situation.

"I didn't buy the soda for your own good, Edo-kun!" Subaru stated.

"Huh? How come?" Edo curiously asked.

"Because if you drank soda, you would need to go to the bathroom, and then you'd miss all the action."

"Wow, you're right! Thank you, Suby, you're the greatest!"

"God, I don't know which is more retarded: Subaru's logic or Edo." Nolan spoke in his mind while sweating.

Once in front of the dueling table, Tigra calmly put her deck on the dueling table and set up the cards. She then rose her shields and spoke coldly to her opponent:

"Duel start!"

"Duel start!" Spunky replied and rose his five shields as well.

After they both charged mana in their first turns, Tigra was the first to make a real move.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." Tigra said, then drew 2 cards and discarded Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard.

"I summon Emeral." Spunky said and replaced one of his shields with a card from his hand.

"I summon Franz the 1st, the Ice Fang."

"I summon Kuragen."

Spunky then looked in his deck and picked a Twilight Sigma, the Super-Electric. He showed it to Tigra, shuffled his deck and then placed the card on the top of his deck. Afterwards, he tapped his Emeral card and said:

"Break her shield, Emeral!"

Tigra emotionlessly watched how Spunky's creature took down one of her shields. But then that shield turned into a card which showed itself to the opponent while the owner spoke:

"Shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign! Bring Cebu Algol to the battle zone!"

"Uh oh." Spunky murmured.

"Now with Cebu Algol's effect, I summon Thunder Tiger!" Tigra said and a black-armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes appeared behind her and roared loudly at its opponent. "Destroy Kuragen, Thunder Tiger!"

The tiger jumped from its place and caught Spunky's Cyber Lord in its paws, then it bit the small creature with its fangs, making it disappear. Afterwards, the tiger went back at its place, behind its master.

"Then, since Franz the 1st makes all my spells cost 1 mana less, I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Emeral!" Tigra said and then a red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword appeared behind him. "With Volg Thunder's effect, I put the top cards of my deck to the graveyard."

The cards which landed in Tigra's graveyard were Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Corile. The leader of THEM grinned and said to her opponent:

"I end my turn."

"Fantastic! Tigra has managed to summon two psychic creatures in just her fourth turn!" the host exclaimed.

"However, I'm not done with you yet!" Spunky said. "I summon Majestic Star, the Electro-Apocalyptic!"

"I think you should head home, boy, because this playground's about to turn into a war field! Psychic Link!" Tigra shouted and both of her psychic creatures united and became a giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword. "Meet my deadly weapon – Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!"

"A-amazing!" Spunky exclaimed.

"Wow, I didn't know that she also used it!" Tsugumi remarked.

"With this creature coming out so fast, the poor guy doesn't have a chance. All he can do is to stall for time." Nolan said, but then he noticed that Subaru seemed to have been taken over by utter shock. "Is something the matter, Subaru?"

But the long black-haired boy did not give him any response. He was too stunned to see that his own psychic creature was used by someone as powerful and Tigra. And the way she summoned it so fast seemed incredible to him. Now he knew that Kokujo was right, that girl was a danger to them.

Tigra majestically moved her hand on the Volg Tiger card and tapped it while smiling and saying:

"Volg Tiger, double break his shields and discard a card from his hand!"

The card which Spunky discarded was Twilight Sigma, the Super Electric.

"Perfect! I now revive Corile and send Majestic Star to the top of your deck!" Tigra said and then watched how her Volg Tiger slashed two of Spunky's shields with its sword.

"Darn, she aimed for my Emeral shield!" Spunky thought while taking the two cards in his hand and showing one of them to Tigra. "Shield trigger, I summon Cutie Heart!"

"Heh, is that all you can do, mortal?"

"No, I got one more ace up my sleeve! I summon Lovely Heart!"

"Hah, pathetic aces you have. Anyway, it's time to end this. Evolution! Corile, become Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons!"

A black demon with mouths instead of hands and chest appeared behind her and roared. Then, a Volg Thunder appeared in Tigra's battle zone, right next to her Volg Tiger.

"With Zabi Implosion's effect, I summon another Volg Thunder! Now I put my top cards to the graveyard." Tigra said and received Hyperspatial Blue Black Hole, Cebu Algol, the Electric-Vanguard and Jenny, the Suicide Doll in her graveyard. "Go, Volg Tiger, attack and discard!"

The card which Spunky discarded was Orochi, of the Hidden Blade. Tigra smiled as she put Cebu Algol into her battle zone and caused another Thunder Tiger to appear and destroy Spunky's Lovely Heart. Then she watched how her Volg Tiger slashed two more of Spunky's shields.

"Nothing can save you now, mortal! Zabi Implosion, break his final shield!" Tigra ordered and the demon fired lasers from all its mouths and took down Spunky's last shield.

"Heh, it ain't over yet! Shield trigger, I cast Super Spark! Tap all of her creatures!" Spunky said and a bright light descended from above and tapped all of Tigra's untapped creature cards.

"Hmph, I end for now." Tigra declared.

"Then it's my turn, I summon Butterfly Brandy, the Electro-Taiga and use its Rebirth Chain!" Spunky said and then crossed his fingers for a Marine Flower. "And the top card is…. Cherenko… Oh well, Cutie Heart, break her shield!"

"Hahaha!" Tigra laughed as she watched Spunky's creature fly through one of her shields. "If that's all you got, then you really didn't deserve to sign up for this tournament. It's nap time anyway! Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast, todomeda!"

The demon aimed its sword and with just one swing made Spunky fly away and hit the wall. Wally got up from his seat and rushed to his friend as Tigra calmly packed up her cards. Once the creatures disappeared, the host shouted in the microphone:

"And the winner is… TIGRA!"

The public applauded the girl as she slowly walked down the stairs. Though at Tabitha's corner, the witch was giving her a stare of hate.

"Looks like the bitch is back." Tabitha said to her minions.

"Don't think I didn't hear you, Tabitha!" Tigra telepathically spoke to the witch.

"You should've stood in your snake hole, Tigra, now you'll force me to finish what I've started 100 years ago." Tabitha replied through telepathy.

"Bring it on, my old rival, I'll be waiting."

With a smile on her face, Tigra turned her head away from Tabitha and walked the stairs while the witch took another drink from her glass of wine and kept staring at the golden-armored girl.


	114. End of the first round

_It happened 100 years ago. Tigra, who was a child back then, was with her father Zakira on a mission to find the Lunatic God DMC deck. Zakira intended to give it to his daughter in order to attract her more to the Darkness civilization. And they did find the deck. It was lying on a rocky pedestal in a deep cave. Unfortunately for them, something was standing in their way, and that was Tabitha Lenox. The witch intended to take the Lunatic Gods and use them for her own evil purposes. And since both sides wanted that deck, it all ended up with a duel between little Tigra and Tabitha._

"_I attack with Romanoff the 1st and cast Terror Pit!" Tigra said. "Destroy Mad Chester Romanoff, the Wicked God!"_

"_I destroy Mad, but Chester stays." Tabitha replied and a half of her God creature blew up._

"_Then, with Alexander the 3rd's effect, I cast another Terror Pit and destroy Chester Romanoff! Romanoff the 1st, break her final shields!"_

_Tabitha took cover as the horned knight fired a laser from one of its guns and took down her last two shields. As Tigra was about to tap her other Knight, Tabitha showed one of the cards from her shields and said:_

"_Shield trigger, I cast Grudge Gathering and destroy Alexander the 3rd!"_

"_Crap!" Tigra exclaimed as her red-armored Knight blew up behind her._

"_Hahaha, you really should've thought twice before sending your own child against me, Zakira!" Tabitha spoke to the blue-skinned man and then turned to the little girl. "And now it's time to end this – I summon Sir Virginia, Mystic Light Insect! With its effect I return Chaos Worm to my hand and then evolve Sir Virginia into it!"_

_A giant black worm with four feet, a pair of wings and a red and white mouth appeared behind Tabitha and fired a laser from its mouth upon Tigra's Romanoff the 1st, destroying it._

"_With Chaos Worm's effect, I destroy Romanoff the 1st! And now get ready for the worst experience of your life, little girl!" Tabitha said and placed another darkness card upon her Chaos Worm. "Evolve, Chaos Worm, into Darkness Romanoff, the Enlightened!"_

_A giant knight wearing a black armor with red cape and wielding four giant blue guns appeared behind Tabitha and roared. Tigra got shocked as she discarded Inferno Sign and Hide and Seek from her hand. _

"_Go, Darkness Romanoff, break her final shields!" Tabitha ordered and the Romanoff fired a laser from one of its guns and took down Tigra's last two shields._

"_Sh-shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast!" Tigra said, but looked disappointed at Tabitha's table because the witch had two Dark Divisions and she had only one Terror Pit in her shields._

"_Nice try, but I'm afraid that your time's up, girly! Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast, todomeda!" Tabitha ordered._

_Just as Tigra was about to get hit by the creature, Zakira ran to her and jumped on her, both falling on the ground and dodging the creature's attack. When Zakira got up, he watched with anger how the victorious Tabitha claimed her prize, the Lunatic Gods DMC._

"_Hahaha, see you some other time, Zakira!" Tabitha laughed and opened a portal through which she made her escape._

_When Zakira helped Tigra up, he noticed that her face got scarred by the shield shards when Darkness Romanoff broke her last two shields. Now the little girl had an X scar between her eyes. But that didn't warm Zakira's heart one tiny bit. When Tigra opened her eyes, Zakira coldly spoke to her:_

"_Tigra, you've disappointed me."_

"_I… I'm sorry, father…" the girl apologized with fear._

The flashback ended as Tigra opened her eyes and looked down at the arena. Everyone was waiting for the next duel to take place. The girl then felt a presence behind her, but she calmed down as she heard its voice:

"Tigra-sama, forgive me for failing you." Azkeel apologized and kneeled down. "I will accept any kind of punishment you'll inflict upon me."

"Punishment?" Tigra asked as she turned to Azkeel with a smile. "I won't punish you. I am not like my father to punish my minions at every failure."

"I understand, Tigra-sama. What are you orders now?"

"Go back to the headquarters and wait for me there. I will come back as well once this round finishes. Heh, and it should be pretty soon, considering that there are only two duels left."

"As you command, Tigra-sama!"

Azkeel disappeared in the shadows, leaving Tigra alone once again. The girl turned back to the arena and waited to see the next duel.

"The next duel is Omega VS Tabitha!" the host announced.

The crowd cheered as a small robot appeared from the entrance and walked to its dueling table. The robot had a small circular body made of yellow metal. Its arms and legs were retractable and were grey. The robot also had a sharp red shark fin on its head. Its eyes were shining with a white towards yellow light and it had its feet in two red shoes. Once he saw it, Toto's jaw dropped, making White curious.

"Is something the matter, Toto?" White asked.

"I know this robot, White-sama!" Toto declared. "He saved me a long time ago."

"Huh? Saved you? What happened, Toto?"

"Cacaca, while you were out looking for sandwiches… I fell off a cliff. But little Omega came out of nowhere and used its retractable limbs to save me. I never thought I'd see him again!"

"How did you fall off a cliff, Toto?"

"Cacaca, I chased a butterfly and couldn't catch it."

Omega was scared when it saw the large stairs it had to climb in order to reach the dueling table. But then the robot used its retractable legs and reached up to it in no time. Then the robot adjusted its height so it could duel and then set up its cards.

"Now where could Tabitha Lenox be?" the host said in a microphone.

"Right here!" a mean woman's voice shouted.

All the lights in the room went upon the corner where Tabitha and her minions were standing. The witch made a step in front and stared at everything around her. Everyone could notice that her eyes had suddenly turned red and that darkness was coming out of her black clothes. There was something about her that brought unease in everyone. It was clear that something bad was on the point of taking place. The witch threw off her hat and slowly walked to the stairs of her dueling table. The darkness which was coming out of her body floated behind her as she advanced, like the fires of a rocket's engine.

"I take back what I said, this woman's definitely going to cause us trouble!" Nolan said to Subaru.

"I'm telling you, Tabitha is not joking around and you shouldn't take her easy at all!" Subaru replied.

Once Tabitha reached her dueling table, her imposing image intimidated Omega a bit.

"Are you ready?" Tabitha coldly asked.

"Loading…. 40%, 75%, 100%. Loading completed. Computer Omega is not scared of menacing witch with creepy appearance." Omega replied.

"Tsh, then let's do it, Robocop! Duel start!"

The two rose their shields and thus began their match.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card." Tabitha said and a cat with blue fur on its right part of the body and red fur on the other appeared behind the witch and meowed.

"Processing… Loading… 60%, 100%. Loading completed. I summon Armored Machine Sarbolt." Omega said.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards."

"I summon Osmosis, Bullet Soul Skull Hunter. Beep beep!"

"Please don't malfunction until I destroy you, you piece of iron. I cast Hyperspatial Grip Blue Red Hole and summon Hydra Gilsaurus! Also, Grip Blue Red Hole's effect gives my creatures power attacker +2000 and the ability to not be blocked, so Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield!" Tabitha ordered and her cat got surrounded by a blue and red aura and ran towards Omega, then jumped in the air and used its sharp paws to slash one of its shields into pieces.

"Beep beep, shield trigger, I cast Hogan Blaster!" Omega said and its deck got shuffled by itself and then revealed Omegablack Z, Invincible Giant. "Loading… 70%, 100%. Loading completed. I evolve Armored Machine Sarbolt into Omegablack Z, Invincible Giant!"

A huge robot with faces belonging to certain animals such as parrots, tigers, pandas and whose head had the face of a human appeared behind little Omega and roared at Tabitha. Toto then got up from his wheelchair and cheered as loud as he could:

"CACACACACACA, GO OMEGA, BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT WITCH!"

"Beep beep, Toto…" Omega said and turned its optics to the clown for a moment. "Memory chip processing. Memory chip loading. 25%, 45%, 70%, 95%, 100%. Loading memory chip completed."

Then, in Omega's mechanical mind, the moment when he saved Toto was played in a video. From the clown's terrified face to the jokes and fun they had afterwards, Omega began to feel something he had never felt before, emotions.

"Toto saved me. I'll do the best to impress Toto!" Omega said and turned to Tabitha. "Beep beep, I summon Deis Bulldozer. Omegablack Z, double break her shields!"

The robot used its iron fists and took down two of Tabitha's shields. The witch stood still as the sharp shield shards surrounded her and then she put an evil grin on her face as the shards began to unite into two cards, one of which glowed with a purple light. The witch showed that card to Omega and said:

"Shield trigger, I summon Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure! I destroy Zabi Demona and summon Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel!"

"Tabitha now has two psychic creatures in her battle zone! What will Omega do to counter this?" the host commented.

"Nothing can counter my glorious psychic creatures!" Tabitha replied while showing a water spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole, draw a card and summon Gallows Cebu Kaiser!"

"Oh no, Tabitha's pulled out all of her three psychic creatures!" Subaru exclaimed.

"You mean the psychic creatures that she stole from us!" Rad added.

"Actually, didn't we steal them from her?" Sora asked.

"It doesn't matter, they should've been ours!"

"Guys, you're missing the point. Once Tabitha links up those psychic creatures, what will rise from their unification will make poor Omega regret the day he was programmed." Nolan said.

"Psychic creatures represent danger for my computer system. They've got to go!" Omega said and tapped 4 mana. "I summon Fuuma Balzoo. Send Gallows Cebu Kaiser back to the hyperspatial zone."

"Think again, fool!" Tabitha said while putting a water spell from her hand to the graveyard. "I discard Hot Spring – Invincible Time and Gallows Cebu Kaiser stays in the battle zone!"

"This is not good news! Omegablack Z, double break her shields, Deis Bulldozer, break her final shield!"

Tabitha watched how Omega's robots broke her last shields with their mechanical fists. The witch didn't seem the least intimidated. On the contrary, she was enjoying every last moment of it. The shields soon united and became three cards which she took in her hand. Then she showed one of them to Omega and said:

"Shield trigger, I summon Zabi Demona, destroy it and summon another Zabi Rigel! And now…"

"Oh no, she's going to do it!" Nolan exclaimed.

"Psychic Link!"

A powerful pink light filled the arena and everyone, except for Tabitha and Omega, covered their eyes. When they felt that the light was starting to fade away, they uncovered their eyes and were shocked to see a huge pink dragon with spiky armor and tentacles, long hands, legs and neck, and an ugly head with really sharp teeth.

"It's him!" Nolan spoke with fear. "One the Aliens which began the assault on the Hunter's home lands. It's…"

"Gallows Devil Dragon, Dead Sea Dragon!" Tabitha shouted while her eyes got even redder than before and she got surrounded by an aura of darkness. "While he is in the battle zone, you cannot summon creatures or cast spells without paying cost. In other words, you're done for, robot!"

"Error. This was not planned to happen. Must look for solution. Error 403: Access is denied." Omega mumbled.

"It's time to shut down your mainframe for good! I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and summon yet another Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel! Gallows Devil Dragon, attack and send Omegablack Z and Deis Bulldozer back to his hand! Now, triple break robo's shields!"

The dragon fired a purple beam from its mouth and took burnt down 3 of Omega's shields while also making the robot fall on its back.

"Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his final shield!" Tabitha ordered and the cat jumped and used its claws to take down Omega's final shield. "Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel, todomeda!"

The Alien made of bones jumped to attack and destroy little Omega, but just then, Toto clicked on a button from his scepter and made a huge magnet come out of his fish bowl-sized hat. The magnet attracted Omega's metal and pulled the robot to it just a moment before Zabi Rigel could break it apart. Once Omega saw that he was at safety by Toto's side, the robot blushed and said:

"Toto saved me. Omega happy."

"Ca, I had to do it, little buddy. After all, it's the least I could do for having you save me back then." Toto replied and smiled to the robot.

"And the winner is Tabitha!" the host said in the microphone.

Tabitha packed up her cards as her creatures vanished into thin air. Afterwards, the witch walked down the stairs and went back to her minions with the same grim appearance as before.

"Haha, you kicked metal head's ass, Tabitha-sama!" Dani cheered.

"One again I am astonished by the greatness of your duels!" Tobey added.

"Tabitha-sama won, Eddy happy!"

"You did a great job, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna said.

"Thank you all, but seriously it was nothing." Tabitha said and pushed her back against the wall while making a glass of wine appear in her left hand. "Now there's just one duel left and there's just one certain person that I haven't seen dueling yet."

"Now folks, get ready for the final match of this first round. After this match, you will be announced important details of the second round, but for now it's… Arthur Reed VS Rezo!" the host shouted.

Rezo got up from his corner and simply walked to the dueling table with his scepter in his left hand and his deck his right hand. Shagrath, Hitler and Zakira did not say a word, they just watched the Red Priest head for his dueling table. The chosen duelists looked with fear at him as they remembered the days when they had their hard battles against Rezo. Back then he seemed invincible. But then Kokujo came with his Ballom Monarch and proved the otherwise, thus making their enemy disappear forever. Now there he was, in the arena, heading to have his own duel in the tournament.

"How could this be possible? We killed him!" Rad said.

"Yeah, but remember Tabitha? We also killed her and she still came back." Tsugumi pointed out.

"She's right, it's only logical that Rezo, Tabitha's disciple, could have her revival powers as well." Subaru added.

"But why did he wait so much for his return?" Sora asked.

"Maybe he sought the perfect time for discounts in malls?" Edo suggested, but immediately got double punched in the head by Rad and Sora.

"This is SERIOUS talk here, you idiot!" both Rad and Sora yelled in unison at him.

"Don't tell me. Rezo is another one of your many enemies, right?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah." Subaru answered.

"Figures."

Rezo finished climbing the stairs to his dueling table and saw that his opponent was a friendly-looking boy dressed in jeans, white T-shirt and a long coat.

"Are you ready, boy?" Rezo said while showing his deck which was glowing with a bright red light.

"Always ready for a challenge!" Arthur optimistically replied and showed his deck as well.

"DUEL START!" both shouted and thus began their match.

Both charged mana and ended their first turns. Then Rezo put his second mana, tapped both cards in his mana zone and said:

"I summon Bloody Squito."

"I cast Faerie Life and one more card goes to my mana zone." Arthur said.

"I summon Dark Division, Demonic Eye Beast." Rezo said. "Now all my creatures with Romanoff in their name cost 1 mana less."

"I summon Cabalt, the Patroller! Now you'll have to show me your hand and I'll discard all fire and darkness spells."

The two cards from Rezo's hand flew from his fingers' grasp and revealed themselves while floating in the air. The cards were Primal Scream and Inaba Geeze, the Explosive. Due to Cabalt's effect Primal Scream fell to Rezo's graveyard, but Inaba Geeze went back to his hand.

"Tsh, tricks like that only work one with guys like me, kid." Rezo warned his opponent.

"No worries, I got plenty more where that came from." Arthur calmly replied.

Rezo drew his next card, then placed Inaba Geeze in his mana zone and said:

"Mad Deck Evolution!"

Rezo revealed the top 3 cards from his deck which were Terror Pit, Varz Romanoff, Lord of Demons and Bloody Squito. Rezo placed the last card from his hand upon Bloody Squito whereas the other two fell to his graveyard.

"I summon Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God!" Rezo said and then put the Bloody Squito under the card to the graveyard as well. "Meteorburn! Now, with Mad Romanoff's effect I cast Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike from my mana zone and destroy Cabalt! Mad Romanoff, break his shield! Dark Division, break another shield!"

Arthur took cover as Rezo's creatures attacked him and took out two of his shields. However, he decided he wouldn't let his guard down.

"Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life and gain one more card in my mana zone!" Arthur said. "Now it's my turn, I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

"What the?" Rezo spoke amazed as he saw the dragon dressed in samurai armor which was wielding two cross-like swords appear behind Arthur.

"Go, Genji, destroy Bloody Squito and take down his Dark Division!"

The dragon roared, then jumped in the air and slashed Rezo's Bloody Squito with one sword and Dark Division with the other, both blowing up. Now the Red Priest was left only with Mad Romanoff, 3 mana and no cards in hand.

"Great comeback from Arthur Reed!" the host remarked. "Now Rezo is pretty much blocked at this point."

"Hmph." Rezo murmured as he drew his next card and placed it in his mana zone. "Mad Romanoff, break another shield!"

"Haha, it's time for the real fun to begin!" Arthur said as he took the card from the shield to his hand. "Evolution! Genji Double Cross, become Uberdragon Sunburst NEX!"

A red dragon equipped with an enormous green armor which had many weapons in it appeared behind Arthur Reed. The boy smiled to Rezo and tapped the card while saying:

"Uberdragon Sunburst NEX, destroy Mad Romanoff!"

Rezo watched with anger how the Dragon easily took care of his Romanoff.

"Then untap! Go, Uberdragon Sunburst NEX, double break his shields!" Arthur ordered and Sunburst NEX fired two lasers from its weapons, causing Rezo to take cover as they pierced through his shields.

"Tsh, no shield triggers." Rezo murmured and drew his next card. "My turn, I charge mana and cast Volcano Charger!"

"Heh, you don't have anything to destroy with that spell's effect, but you're casting it because you're desperate for mana, right?"

"It's none of your concern, boy, now do your turn!"

"As you say, dear sir. But remember, you asked for it! I summon Bolshack NEX and then Cocco Lupia through Bolshack NEX's effect! Uberdragon Sunburst NEX, double break his shields!"

"Argh!" Rezo yelled as the Dragon took down two more of his shields with its lasers. "This is it, I'll make you pay! Shield trigger activate, I cast not one but two Terror Pits! Destroy Uberdragon Sunburst NEX and Bolshack NEX!"

"Huh?" Arthur reacted as he saw four black demonic hands grab both of his dragons and destroy them. "Not good."

"Now it's my turn! I chare mana and then… Grave Evolution, I evolve Bloody Squito into Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons!"

A horned dark blue demon wielding two laser swords appeared behind Rezo. The Red Priest smiled as the demon used one of its swords and killed Arthur's Cocco Lupia, then aimed its other at his last shields.

"When Varz Romanoff is summoned, I may destroy one of your creatures. Now, Varz Romanoff, break his final shields!" Rezo ordered and the demon slashed Arthur Reed's last two shields with its sword.

"Don't think it's over yet, Rezo! Shield trigger, I cast DNA Spark!" Arthur Reed said and a light descended from the ceiling, gifting him with a new shield. "Now that that's settled, it's time to bring out the big guys once again! I summon Bolbalzak X! With his effect, I untap all my mana. Now I summon Stardust NEX, Spiritual Dragon Knight! Bolbalzak X, break his final shield!"

Rezo watched how Arthur's Dragon slashed his final shield with its fire swords. But then a maniacal grin appeared on the Red Priest's face as the shield shards became the card which lied in that shield.

"HeheheHAHAHA, thanks a lot, fool!" Rezo said while showing the card. "Shield trigger, I cast Primal Scream!"

The top 4 cards which went to Rezo's graveyard were Super Hopeless Vortex, Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole, Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye and Beginning Romanoff, Lord of the Demonic Eye.

"Beginning Romanoff goes back to my hand! Now are you ready to see hell, boy?" Rezo said while showing the card from his hand. "Grave Galaxy Vortex, I evolve Bloody Squito, Dark Division and Romanoff the 1st into Beginning Romanoff, Lord of the Demonic Eye!"

A monstrous horned dragon wielding lots of guns appeared behind Rezo and gave Arthur Reed a terrifying roar.

"What is that?" Arthur Reed asked with fear.

"Your end, boy! Varz Romanoff, break his final shield!" Rezo ordered and the demon used both its swords to slash Arthur's last shield. "Beginning Romanoff, TODOMEDA!"

Beginning Romanoff fired its lasers upon Arthur Reed and a huge explosion followed. When the smoke cleared up, everyone saw Arthur Reed lying on the floor with his cards and Rezo, the Red Priest heading back to his allies.

"And the last winner is Rezo!" the host announced.

Most people from the crowd cheered, but those who knew Rezo were nothing but astonished at seeing how much his power had grown.

"I guess that it's clear now. Another battle against Rezo awaits us!" Rad said.

"Don't worry, we'll do our best to stop him!" Subaru replied.

"Yeah, and with Kokujo on our side, we will be able to face every challenge Rezo and his creeps bring us!" Tsugumi added.

Meanwhile, the host pressed some buttons on his computer and then showed a list on the large computer screen while speaking in the microphone:

"Ok, people, the ones going in the second round of the tournament are those who have their names on the list. Remember, the order doesn't show who will face who in the next round!"

The list contained the following names:

Subaru

Dani

Rad

Toto

Diamoon

Eddy

Tsugumi

Hanna

Kokujo

Nolan

White

Shubham

Wally

Tigra

Tabitha

Rezo

"The next round will be held in the same place as the first round and it starts next week!" the host continued. "And that's all for today, folks. I hope you've enjoyed the matches and I wish you all a good night!"

"That means that I've got a week to train you, Wally." Hakuoh joked as he opened his eyes and got up.

"Hakuoh-sama, you're alright!" Spunky and Wally exclaimed.

"Hehe, you bet I am. Now let's go back to the school, a long week awaits us."

After finishing the last drop from her glass of wine, Tabitha made the glass disappear and sighed. The witch then put on her black hat and said to her minions:

"Ok, guys, it's time to go home."

"Yes, Tabitha-sama!" the four replied.

Rezo, on the other hand, didn't say anything to his guys. He simply opened a portal and they all walked in it, after which it closed. White got up from his seat and spoke to Toto, who was helping Omega fix itself up:

"Toto, I hope the parking lot isn't crowded."

"I don't think that there are any other giant pyramids parked here, White-sama." Toto replied.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the building, at a balcony, Kokujo was sitting with the same leaf between his teeth and watching how the people from the public were going back home. Night had fallen and it was getting much colder. The Black Death also got amused when he saw that White and Toto got into arguments with other people because of Toto's pyramid. But Kokujo's smile faded as he felt a powerful presence behind him. He turned around and saw Tigra.

"You did well in your match against Hakuoh." Tigra complimented him.

"Tsh, I don't know, nor do I care how you did in your match." Kokujo replied.

"I won my match, but I thought that I should be the one telling you that Tabitha and Rezo had won their matches as well."

"Heh, that doesn't worry me a bit. In the end I'll win this tournament and get my hands on the Proof."

"We shall see, Kokujo, we shall see. But for now I wish you a good night."

All of a sudden, Tigra disappeared. Kokujo murmured something and then turned back to see what was happening down at the others. When he saw the chosen duelists and Nolan coming out of the building, he made a spectacular jump and landed right in front of them on both his feet.

"Woah!" Nolan reacted.

"Kokujo-kun, you're alright!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Heh, I sure am!" Kokujo replied. "Now how about we go back home?"

"Speaking of which… do you have any place to sleep at, Nolan?" Tsugumi asked.

"Hehe, no, I kind of left home without taking any money with me…" Nolan replied and blushed.

"Well then, you'll just have to come and sleep at our place!" Rad said.

"I wouldn't want to bother…"

"Oh, but we insist!"

And so, the chosen duelists and Kokujo went back home with their new friend. Whe they reached the UFO, they threw a party and enjoyed their time. They ate, dueled, played various games and had fun until they fell asleep. By midnight, only Kokujo and Subaru were up. As the chosen darkness duelist was trying to clean the living room, Kokujo was sitting by the window and watching the moon.

"Kokujo-kun, there's something I need to tell you." Subaru said with a worried voice.

"What's the matter?"

"Well, there's this guy called Shubham. He dueled in the tournament and took down Zakira's ghost. Then he met up with me and told me that he challenges you to a duel."

"Heh, let him come, I'll bring down anyone who dares to oppose me!" Kokujo spoke with confidence.

Meanwhile outside, Shubham was hiding between the bushes and looking at Kokujo and Subaru who were standing at the UFO's window.

"Hehehe, soon, Kokujo Kyoshiro, very soon." Subham murmured.


	115. The new Black Death?

The following week passed quickly for some but slowly for those who were excited for the second round of the tournament. When the day of the tournament finally came, the sun was still shining brightly upon the city even if there were autumn clouds which were trying to hide its rays.

At Kokujo's UFO, the place seemed to have been empty. But in one room, Subaru was still sleeping on his bed, barely covered by the sheets and hugging the pillow strongly. Through the window, the sun's light entered and hit his eyes, waking him up. The boy covered his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but then he felt that somebody was sitting by the bed. Thinking that it was Tsugumi, he stretched his hands, then got up and hugged the person while saying:

"Good morning, Tsugumi!"

"G-good morning as well?" Edo's voice resounded.

"Edo-kun!" Subaru exclaimed and let go of the brown-haired boy. "W-w-what are you doing here?"

"Everyone's left to the tournament. The second round should soon start, but since you were sleeping I decided to stay here and wait for you to wake up."

"And what about the tournament?"

"Don't worry, Tsugumi said she'll phone when your turn comes."

"Ah, okay. So what now, Edo-kun?"

"Well, since it's still morning, I took the freedom to make pancakes!" Edo said and showed Subaru a plate filled with four pancakes. "Wanna try one?"

In the next moment, the brown-haired boy threw the pancake at Subaru, having it land on his face. Luckily for him, it was cold.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Suby. I know I suck as a cook." Edo said after biting one of the pancakes.

"And apparently your targeting sucks as well." Subaru replied while taking off the pancake.

Meanwhile, Kokujo was walking on an empty street, heading towards the tournament building. His eyes were closed, his arms were in his pockets and his feet were slowly moving. A sly smile was lying on his face. Once he felt that the sun wasn't touching his face anymore, he opened his eyes. He found himself in an alley, between two large metallic buildings. Looking around himself, he saw that there were no people near. Then, turning his smile into a large grin, he said:

"You can come out now. I know you've been following me ever since I've left the UFO."

All of a sudden, an electric trash can which burned the trash which was thrown inside it was pushed on the ground, getting unplugged from its source. Then a dark figure came out, revealing itself as Shubham.

"Ah, Kokujo Kyoshiro, what a pleasure it is to meet you."

"The 'pleasure' is all mine. You must be the one Subaru was talking about."

"You mean the chosen darkness duelist? I guess he told you of my challenge."

"Tsh, if it's a duel you're after, I'll give you one!" Kokujo said and took out his deck. "It never hurts to put another pathetic soul out of its misery."

"We'll see, Black Death, we'll see." Shubham replied with the same evil smile on his face as he took out his deck. "DUEL START!"

Back at the UFO, Subaru dressed up in his usual pair of jeans and black T-shirt and got out of the room where Edo was waiting for him.

"So what do we do today?" Subaru asked.

"I got a great idea!" Edo exclaimed and pulled out a black notebook which he handed to his friend. "Take this notebook."

"Eh?"

"You'll drop it on the ground, I'll find it, then I'll write names on it and kill people, then you'll come and make me an offer to get your Shinigami powers, then I'll go on a killing spree to become the world's new God, then..."

"Woah, woah, this isn't Death Note!"

"C'mon, Suby, I didn't even get to the part with L's appearance!"

"Even so, look at me, I'm not a Shinigami!"

"Yes you are!"

"Eh?"

"You use darkness… and besides, you have the DEATH NOTE!"

"I don't really think this is gonna wo…"

"Here's an apple!" Edo said and threw an apple at Subaru's head. "Now gimme the note!"

Subaru's response to that was a big palm on his own face.

Meanwhile, at Kokujo and Shubham, their duel had begun.

"From the looks of it, you're also a kaijudo duelist." Kokujo said while placing Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit tapped in his mana zone. "And Subaru told me that you've managed to take down Zakira."

"Indeed I did, but he was easy to take care of. I only hope that you'll be much more of a challenge, Black Death." Shubham replied while placing Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General into his mana zone.

"Heh." Kokujo murmured, then drew a card and placed Terror Pit in his mana zone. "I summon… Zabi Fly, the Pillager. So what's with the whole challenge craze, huh? Couldn't you just wait for me to beat you in the tournament?"

"Do I look like I give a damn about the tournament? All I wish is to defeat you and get the title of Black Death for myself." Shubham said and then tapped Zabi Olzekia and Cebu Aquman Jr in his mana zone. "I summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow. Now that we're equal, let's see what you're really made of."

Back at the UFO, Edo was sitting in the living room with the Death Note on the table and the newspaper in his hands. While he was looking for some criminal names, Subaru suddenly came inside with a black kimono on and a plastic scythe.

"You call that a Shinigami suit? You look NOTHING like Ryuk!" Edo complained after seeing Subaru.

"That's the most Shinigami-ish thing I could find. And besides, what's the point in looking like Ryuk anyway?" Subaru asked, but then Edo took his hand and pulled him to the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"At least your face must look like Ryuk's!" Edo said and opened the kitchen's door.

Edo let go of Subaru and then went to a kitchen robot. He pressed a button and received a box filled with flour from it in a few moments. Afterwards, he walked to Subaru and said:

"If you don't have Ryuk's body, you should at least have his face!"

"Wait, Edo-kun, what are you doing?" Subaru asked while making a few steps back.

In the next moment, Edo opened the box and released all the flour.

At the duel between the two darkness duelists, it was Kokujo's turn.

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Kokujo said.

"Now the top two cards of your deck will go to the graveyard." Shubham commented.

"You're much smarter than you look." Kokujo replied while putting Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and Belbel, Reaper Doll to his graveyard.

"Oh, you now use Reapers too? This is going to be interesting." Shubham said.

"Zabi Fly, break his shield!"

Kokujo's plane-like creature flew towards Shubham and fired a laser from its belly, breaking one of Shubham's shields to tiny pieces. The boy calmly drew his next card, charged mana and said:

"My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Melnia, break his shield!"

The ghost made of water materialized in front of Kokujo and used the sword from its left hand to slash one of his shields. However, the shield quickly turned into a Terror Pit card which shined with a purple light and made Melnia disappear, both mentioned cards landing into their owners' graveyards.

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!" Kokujo said. "Zabi Fly, break another shield!"

The plane creature flew through one of Shubham's shields and broke it to pieces once again, this time one of its shards causing a small cut on his right cheek. Kokujo laughed evilly and then said:

"Yahahahaha, this is much easier than I thought! This kaijudo duel will be over in no time!"

"You shouldn't underestimate me, Kokujo." Shubham warned him, but Kokujo was the least intimidated.

An hour had passed since Edo and Subaru were doing their Death Note cosplay. Subaru's face was no fully white due to the flour which Edo had thrown upon him. Now he was polishing his scythe while Edo was still searching in the newspaper.

"So, Ed… I mean Light, how many wrongdoers did you kill so far?" Subaru asked.

"…Two." Edo replied with shame.

"What? You've been using the Death Note for an hour and you've only killed two?"

"They're so hard to find in these newspapers!" Edo cried.

"Maybe it would be easier if you weren't reading the newspapers upside down." Subaru said and turned the newspaper which Edo was holding upside down. "There, isn't it better?"

Edo blushed and browsed the newspaper once again. This time he managed to find more criminals and wrote all their names on the Death Note, so their number had increased from 2 to 5.

"Hehe, those were really all the crimes I could find." Edo said while sweating.

"The shit a Shinigami has to put up with." Subaru said while putting his palm on his face.

Back at the duel between Kokujo and Shubham, a few turns had passed and their mana cards increased, also their creatures were slowly replaced by others. Now it was Shubham's turn.

"I evolve Bell Hell De Jackson, Monstrous Reaper into Startdash Reviver, Crystalline Shadow!" Shubham said. "With its effect I revive Death March, Reaper of Death. Go, Startdash Reviver, double break his shields!"

Kokujo calmly watched how two of his shields were broken to pieces by Shubham's creature. Then, as the shield shards surrounded him, he simply took two of them into his right hand and the other shards came to them and united into two cards. Kokujo put one of the cards into his left hand and showed the other to Shubham while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark."

Shubham's Death March card got tapped and a third shield materialized in front of Kokujo. Then Kokujo placed a Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight tapped into his mana zone, that being his 7th mana. Afterwards, he tapped 5 of his mana cards, aka Auzesu, Terror Pit, Zabi Barrel, Bone Dance Charger and Olzekia, the only untapped card being Belbel, Reaper Doll. Then he showed a darkness card and said:

"I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation! Now I destroy Olzekia and you must choose two your creatures to destroy!"

"Heh, I destroy Startdash Reviver and Death March." Shubham murmured as he watched Kokujo's Olzekia and his own creatures blown up to smithereens.

"Now with Bell Hell De Gaul's effect, I'll shuffle my deck and reveal the top card for each creature of yours which got destroyed, and if that card is a non-evolution Demon Command, I may summon it for no cost!"

Kokujo's deck shuffled itself and revealed the top card which was Belbel, Reaper Doll. Since it wasn't a non-evolution Demon Command, it went to Kokujo's hand. Afterwards, the deck shuffled itself again and revealed Bega, Vizier of Shadow which had the same fate as Belbel.

"Bell Hell De Gaul, double break his shields!" Kokujo ordered.

"Block the attack, Maxval!" Shubham replied.

"Heh, now Bell Hell De Gaul's effect will trigger once more!"

Kokujo's deck got shuffled yet again and this time revealed Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit, which was a non-evolution Demon Command.

"Heh, I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit! Ashliger, break his shield!" Kokujo commanded and the two-headed liger roared and slashed one of Shubham's shields with its sharp paws.

"Is that all that you've got, Black Death?" Shubham asked.

"Not even the least, fool! Now it's time for a lesson of dueling."

"I'm listening."

"With Ashliger in the battle zone, all my Demon Commands cost 2 mana less, so this means that next turn I'll be able to summon even more. Also, Auzesu's effect destroys your tapped creatures whenever my Demon Commands attack. And to top it off, Bell Hell De Gaul's effect triggers whenever one of your creatures is destroyed and will offer me yet another Demon Command!" Kokujo explained. "And since you got only two shields left, in my next turn I will win the game. YAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You're a very strong kaijudo duelist, Kokujo. I must say, I'm really impressed!" Shubham complimented him.

"Hah, tell me something I don't know."

"Still, I will be the victor of this duel!"

Back at the UFO, Subaru and Edo were now sitting in front of a wall on which was a paper drawing of the Death Note character L.

"Hey, Light, how are you going to escape this situation?" Subaru asked.

"Patience, Ryuk, I've got the perfect plan." Edo whispered and then spoke to the L drawing. "So, L, now that Kira has been caught, what's your next plan?"

Obviously, the piece of paper could not say anything, but somehow Edo did hear something in his mind.

"What? You're going to test the 13 day rule?" Edo said with worry. "But L, if you…"

Once again there was silence, for Edo was hearing something in his mind once again.

"Ryuk!" Edo whispered.

"What is it?" Subaru asked.

"Take the Death Note and write down Watari's and L's real names. Finish them off quickly!"

Subaru walked away while Edo kept staring at the piece of paper. Then, after a few minutes, Subaru returned with the Death Note in his left hand and his scythe in the right hand.

"There, done." Subaru said and showed the Death Note to Edo.

"Why isn't he dead yet?" Edo whispered to Subaru.

Subaru then used the scythe and cut the piece of paper with the L drawing in two. That was when Edo began to burst in tears and scream:

"Ryuzaki! Hang in there! RYUZAKIIII!"

"Wow, Edo-kun's really getting into the character." Subaru thought. "Though, it's just a piece of paper. A hologram would've worked much better."

At the duel between Kokujo and Shubham, it was now Shubham's turn. However, Kokujo got angered by Shubham's words.

"You idiot, there's no way you can win now!" Kokujo stated.

"Don't be so sure about that, Black Death! You should know that this isn't the deck which I've used in the tournament." Shubham replied while showing two cards from his hand.

"What?" Kokujo asked.

"This deck was specifically designed… to destroy you! Now it's time for you to see what true hell is!" Shubham said while putting the cards unto his table. "Grave Evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death! Then Ultimate Evolution, I evolve Death March into Darkness Romanoff, the Enlightened!"

Suddenly, a giant knight wearing a black armor with red cape and wielding four giant blue guns appeared behind Shubham as he pointed at the three cards from Kokujo's hand.

"Darkness Romanoff, discard two cards from his hand!" Shubham ordered and the creature send a darkness beam towards Kokujo and made him lose Bega, Shadow Vizier and Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper from his hand. "Now, Darkness Romanoff, destroy Bell Hell De Gaul!"

The creature pointed its guns at Kokujo's demon made of bones and fired two lasers, piercing through its body and making it explode. Shubham laughed as hard as he could as his eyes turned red.

"This is it! I am now the new Black Death!" Shubham declared.

"Don't celebrate too soon, weirdo!" Kokujo said while putting Belbel, Reaper Doll into his mana zone. "Now it's my turn!"

The Ashliger card from Kokujo's table glowed with a bright light as the eight cards from Kokujo's mana zone tapped themselves. Then Kokujo put the card he just drew on his Auzesu card and an even brighter light came out of the card, so bright it was that the whole dark alley got lighted by it.

"What creature is that?" Shubham asked with fear as he backed away.

A blue-skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white. The demon which also wearing a golden armor with blue paint, appeared within the light and stared down upon Shubham. The creature's light engulfed Darkness Romanoff and made it disappear, afterwards it made Shubham's last two shields get crushed in a matter of seconds. Seeing that he could no longer win, the black-haired boy laughed maniacally as Kokujo gave him the final attack.

Meanwhile, at the UFO, Edo ran out of the vehicle with red stains on his clothes and his left hand holding his right shoulder. Sadness and despair could've easily been read on his face. As he ran for a few moments, he ended up by the stairs of the beach and lied down on them. Then he saw a shadow cover him and lift his head up to see Subaru sitting above him with the Death Note in his left hand and a pen in his right hand.

"Well, it was good while it lasted. We killed some boredom, didn't we?" Subaru said while writing down in the Death Note. "We did some various and interesting things…"

Once he was over, Subaru showed Edo the Death Note on which it was written 'Light Yagami'. In the next moment, Edo closed his eyes and fainted on the stairs.

"Ok, enough playing, let's go home." Subaru said and wiped off the flour from his face, but he did not receive any answer. "I said let's go home." Subaru continued and put two of his fingers on Edo's neck. "Your pulse is still there, that means that you're 100% alive. Enough fooling around, let's go home!"

Once again, Edo didn't answer to Subaru. Sighing, the chosen darkness duelist put the notebook and the pen in the kimono's pockets and then put Edo on his back and carried him all the way back to the UFO.

"He always gets too much into his character." Subaru thought. "At least we didn't destroy the city this time."

At the alley, the duel was finished. Shubham was lying defeated on the ground with his cards on his body. Kokujo had his deck packed and was holding it in his right hand while sitting on a trash can and staring down at him. When Shubham opened his eyes, he saw the image of the triumphant Kokujo sitting there and grinning victoriously at him.

"You… why are you still here?" Shubham asked.

"I want to have a little chat with you." Kokujo replied. "Tell me, what's your purpose of defeating me? I don't think it's all for just fun."

"You know what? You're right…"

Shubham began to pick his cards while staring at the ground with a sudden saddened face. That made Kokujo curious, so he asked him:

"So, are you going to tell me or not? You know, I don't have all day."

"Ok, I guess you deserve it, Black Death." Shubham replied. "It all started two years ago."

_Two years ago, during a cloudy night, a mother was running with her pre-teen child through the corridors of a castle. The boy was covered by black robes and had a filled rucksack on his back. Once they reached the exiting door of the castle, the mother said to her son:_

"_Go all the way down the cliff and then walk north towards the closest city you'll find. There's enough money for you to survive for a few months."_

"_But what will you do, mother?" the boy asked while taking his cloak off, revealing that he was a younger Shubham._

"_I will… go back and take care of Tabitha!" the woman replied with a sad voice. "She will pay for what she did to your father… and our clan!"_

"_No, you'll never survive!" Shubham insisted, but then his mother offered him two cards. "Huh? What are these?"_

"_This is an Ultimate Evolution creature, its name is Skull Moon, the Enlightened. And this is a psychic creature which goes by the name Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier."_

_As the boy took the two cards, the mother hugged him strongly and spoke to him while tears were falling from her eyes:_

"_I will miss you, my sweet little boy!"_

"_Mother…" Shubham murmured._

"_It's time for you to go! And remember - get back the three pieces of Gallows Devil Dragon to avenge our clan!" the woman said and pushed the boy outside of the castle. "The Future is yours!"_

_The castle's door closed but the young Shubham still stared at it with shock. After a few minutes, an explosion woke him up as he saw three beams, a red, a purple and a blue one rise out from the castle and spread in different directions. The red one went to the south, the purple one went to the east and the blue one went to the west. _

"_Those are… Hydra Gilsaurus, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel and Gallows Cebu Kaiser, my clan's treasures." Shubham murmured. "Oh no, that must mean…"_

"_Psychic Suva, the Awakening God, todomeda!" an old woman's voice shouted._

_Another explosion soon followed and the bleeding body of Shubham's mother landed right in front of the shocked boy's eyes. Then an old blonde woman with long curly hair and cold blue eyes, dressed in a black witch costume and hat appeared in front of him while laughing evilly._

"_Hahaha, they were all too easy! I may have lost those three psychic creatures, but at least I managed to test out my Lunatic Gods on somebody. Say, kid, do you want to be next?"_

_With a scream of terror, Shubham ran away from the castle as a lightning struck into the sky and let the rain begin. _

The flashback ended as Shubham finished packing up his deck and wiped the dust off his body. He got up and looked Kokujo in the eye while saying:

"The reason I wanted to duel you was to see if I was strong enough to take down the witch. But now it seems that I was wrong."

"Heh, so the only reason you wish for more power is to take down Tabitha?" Kokujo asked while raising an eyebrow.

"No, I also wish to get back what my clan had lost – Gallows Devil Dragon!" Shubham said and then fell on his knees. "Please, Kokujo, will you teach me the secrets of the darkness civilization? I swear I will do my best to learn!"

"Tsh, fine, if that's what you wish then I can't stop you." Kokujo said and began to walk away. "But for now we've got a tournament to attend, so let's go!"

"R-right behind you, Kokujo!"

With a smile of happiness on his face, Shubham followed his new friend towards the tournament. He may have lost the duel, he may have not become the new Black Death, but he had won a great treasure, a treasure which would help him accomplish his goals at last.


	116. Another day at the hot springs

The lights went out in the dueling arena and a single light fell upon the host of the tournament.

"Welcome everybody to the second round of the Duel Masters tournament!" the host spoke to the public and received a row of applauses and cheers. "I know that this past week you've all been eager to see more duels. So let us see the ones who shall face each other in this round!"

On the large computer screen the matches from the second round appeared. However, this time there were some words written above each two matches.

"Ok everybody, in the second round there will be two matches per day so that this round will last until the weekend." the host explained.

On the screen there were the following matches:

DAY 1:

Dani VS Rezo

Eddy VS Rad

DAY 2:

Diamoon VS Tsugumi

Hanna VS Wally

DAY 3:

Subaru VS Toto

Kokujo VS White

DAY 4:

Shubham VS Tigra

Nolan VS Tabitha

"Now that you've seen the matches, let's get on to our first duel! It's Dani VS Rezo!" the host exclaimed.

The crowd cheered as Rezo, the Red Priest calmly walked to his dueling table. Meanwhile, at a corner of the arena, Tobey and Eddy were cheering Dani who was heading to the dueling table whereas Hanna was sitting against the wall and thinking. A flashback suddenly came in her mind:

"_But, Tabitha-sama, why are you leaving today when the second round starts?" Hanna asked._

"_Because I have to get some relaxation and the ticket was for this day. Don't you worry, Hanna, I will return tomorrow." Tabitha replied while stepping outside of the house with two bags in her hands._

The flashback ended as Hanna murmured to herself:

"Why in the world would Tabitha-sama want to go to hot springs when we are all facing troubles in the tournament?"

"Go, Dani, you can defeat the Red Priest!" Tobey cheered.

"Rezo loser, Dani winner!" Eddy cheered as well.

"Heh, this guy will be a piece of cake!" Dani thought while taking out his deck.

Meanwhile, Kokujo and Shubham had reached the tournament arena and saw the duels on the large computer screen. When he saw that he'd face White, Kokujo put a grin on his face and looked around. He saw White sitting all alone on a chair and waiting for the match to begin.

"That's weird, I wonder where Toto is." Kokujo said.

A few hundreds of kilometers away, at the Fijimura hot springs, Toto's pyramid landed on the parking lot, destroying once again all the other vehicles in it. Then a door opened and a mechanical ladder descended from the pyramid. Subaru, Edo, Toto and Omega went down the stairs, Subaru and Edo having two large rucksacks on their backs.

"Seriously, Toto, what kind of driving is that?" Subaru spoke frustrated. "You almost had us killed with that high speed of yours!"

"Woo hoo, Toto's the coolest driver in the Universe!" Edo cheered.

"Ca, you said it, partner!" Toto replied and hi fived with Edo.

"God, why couldn't we just take the train?"

"Relax Subaru, that's why Toto brought us here. I couldn't ask for a better taxi."

"Cacaca, it was a pleasure bringing you two here." Toto replied. "Now remember, tomorrow morning I'm coming to take you back. Oh and Edo, I'm free tomorrow night after the tournament for another round of video games."

"You got it!" Edo said while he and Subaru jumped off the stairs.

"Have fun!" Toto said and waved his hand to the two.

Subaru and Edo headed to find a hotel while Toto and Omega went back inside the pyramid and took off. As they were walking on the street, the two friends were having a chat.

"Say Edo-kun, since when were you and Toto friends?" Subaru asked.

"Oh, it's a long story, Suby." Edo said. "But to make it short…"

After a few minutes of explanations, Subaru suddenly fell on his back and then got up.

"You gotta be kidding me! You've befriended Toto because he was better than you at video games?" Subaru shouted.

"Actually, I discovered that we both had this strong passion for video games which few men have. And Toto… is a true man!" Edo said while hitting his chest with his fist.

"Toto… a man. Now I've heard them all."

"What's the matter, Suby?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all."

Meanwhile, inside a hotel, a worker woman opened a door and greeted in another woman with long blonde curly hair which was wearing a black kimono.

"Here is your room, miss Tabitha. I hope you'll enjoy your stay at our hotel." the worker woman said.

"No worries, I will." Tabitha replied and put her luggage on the bed.

"If there's anything you'll need, just press the red button on the wall. That's all for now, have a nice day!"

As the woman left, Tabitha closed the door then unpacked her luggage. Everything she took with her was magic items and cards. She took a book of spells and opened it at the seventh page. Then she waved her hands while chanting the spell and fired a beam upon the room, turning it into her own laboratory of magic. Afterwards, she turned on the TV and saw that the tournament had finally begun. It was Dani VS Rezo and Dani was owning the zone.

"With Hyper Overthrow, Nation Strongest Sumo's effect, I summon Marauder Deis Drive from my graveyard! My turn, I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and discard the last card from your hand!" Dani said and made Rezo discard Beginning Romanoff, Lord of the Demonic Eye.

"Way to go, Dani! Finish him off!" Tabitha said.

"Hyper Overthrow, break his final shields!" Dani shouted and his Alien creature jumped in front of Rezo and smashed his last two shields with just one attack. "It's over!"

"He did it!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"Marauder Deis Drive, todome…"

"Not so fast!" Rezo interrupted Dani as he showed two cards from his shields. "Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Marauder Deis Drive!"

Two demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Dani's creature, smashing it to bits.

"Then shield trigger, I cast Primal Scream!" Rezo said and got Super Hopeless Vortex, Volcano Charger, Mad Romanoff, Wicked God and Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike to his graveyard. "Heh, I return Mad Romanoff, Wicked God to my hand. Now awaken!"

A bright purple light came from Rezo's dueling table as a giant horned knight with spiky black armor, red cape and four large hands each wielding a sword appeared behind him.

"Romanoff Zeta Wizard, Demon Awakened!" Rezo shouted.

"Uh oh, this is not good." Dani said.

"Mad Deck Evolution, I summon Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God! Now it's time to show you what real power is, squirt!"

Rezo tapped his Romanoff Zeta Wizard card and two cards from the top of his deck went to his graveyard. Those cards were Darkness Romanoff, the Enlightened and Terror Pit.

"With Romanoff Zeta Wizard's ability, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Zabi Barrel! Romanoff Zeta Wizard, break all of his shields!" Rezo ordered and the black Knight slashed all of Dani's shields with just a swing from his sword.

Dani looked at the cards which he got and was disappointed to get only Bone Dance Charger, Mars Gil Hydra, the Explosive and Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil. The short teen looked with fear at Rezo's fire creature as he tapped it and said:

"Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God, todomeda!"

Tabitha then closed the TV with anger as she got up from her bed and walked to the window. The witch stared at the mountain site while speaking to herself:

"Curse you Rezo! Someday, somehow, I will make you pay!"

"Hey Suby, this hotel looks pretty neat!" a familiar voice resounded from outside.

"I guess you're right, Edo-kun, I saw we should check in!" another voice added.

"What? Could it be?" Tabitha said and looked down to see Subaru and Edo entering the hotel. "Those two are here? Oh great, can't a witch have a well-deserved holiday?"

Subaru and Edo went to the reception and waited for someone to come. While waiting, Edo got quickly bored and looked on the floor and saw a small shiny coin.

"Look Suby, a penny!" Edo exclaimed and leaned down to grab it.

"Edo-kun, I don't think it's polite to…" Subaru tried to intervene but Edo ignored him.

As he was about to grab it with his left hand, a small wind came from outside and pushed the coin closer to a table. Edo followed it and when he managed to grab it with his right hand, the receptionist came.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" the receptionist said.

"Oh, hi!" Edo replied and got up, but hit head on the table and turned it upside down while also breaking the vase on it. "Ouch, ouch! Hehe, sorry."

The receptionist gave Edo a stare of anger, but Subaru managed to calm him down when he showed him the money he had.

"Please excuse my friend, he's just excited about this trip." Subaru said and handed over the money to the receptionist. "We'd like to spend this afternoon and night here. We'd also like to have dinner included."

"I understand. Would you also like to have breakfast tomorrow?" the receptionist asked while typing on his computer.

"We'd love to, but we'll have to leave tomorrow by sunrise, so we won't have time."

"Alright, here are your keys." the receptionist said and handed Subaru the keys to their room. "The room is at the first floor. You may use the elevator at the end of the corridor to get there or the stairs which are found right next to the elevator."

"Thank you." Subaru politely said and then grabbed Edo's hand and pulled him to the elevator. "Please try not to destroy this whole hotel until sunrise, Edo-kun."

"I'll try my best." Edo replied and sweated.

Meanwhile, Tabitha stretched her hands and then made her clothes disappear. Then she made a long towel appear on her. Afterwards she opened a portal and disappeared. The portal took her to the hot spring pool, but it opened behind some bushes so that people wouldn't see her. When she looked up, she saw that the women's side was full and most of the girls in it were very loud.

"Tsh, this is so typical! You want to have a relaxing afternoon and you get stuck with obnoxious creatures like these specimens." Tabitha said and then made a spell book appear in her hands. "No worries, I'll take care of you easily."

Tabitha opened the book, browsed a few pages and then began to read a spell. When she was done with the incantation, she fired a beam from her left arm which couldn't be seen by human eye. The beam touched all the girls in the pool but they didn't feel anything. Then, after a few more moments, they all decided to leave the pool for different reasons. Some remembered that they had stuff to do, others got bored, others found the water too hot for them and others were getting sleepy. Once the pool was empty Tabitha made her book disappear. Then she got out of the bushes, walked to the pool, took off her towel and descended in the heavenly water.

"Ah, now this is what I call life!" Tabitha said.

At the men's side, the pool was as crowded as it was at the woman's side. When Edo and Subaru came out of the hotel with their towels on, they were shocked to see that there was barely any free place for them to sit and relax.

"You… have to be kidding me!" Subaru said.

"Hehe, should we spend some quality time at the shadow of a tree?" Edo suggested. "And when a few leave, we'll go inside as well."

"There's no way I'm waiting here! Come let's check how the hotel looks like." Subaru spoke determined and left.

"R-right behind you Suby!" Edo replied and followed him inside the hotel.

First the two went to change back into the hotel's kimonos. After that they walked through the corridors until they ended up in front of a huge arcade hall. Once Edo saw it, his jaw dropped and stars shined in his eyes.

"Suby, I've just arrived in heaven!"

"I'm glad for you, Edo-kun. So what should we play first?"

"THIS!" Edo shouted and pointed to a Duel Masters Street Fighter video game. "I'm going to get the high score, no matter what!"

"Cool, I think I'll join you." Subaru said.

Back at Tabitha, the witch's bones and muscles were all relaxed enough from the hot spring's water. Now the witch was seeking some entertainment.

"Let's see what's going on at the tournament." Tabitha said and made a mirror appear in front of her.

The image of Eddy dueling Rad appeared on the mirror and Eddy was the one having field advantage.

"Eddy break all of your shields with Unryu Izu Deis, Great Yokozuna!" Eddy ordered and the giant dragon used its vines and took down Rad's four shields one by one. "Eddy beat puny boy in pajamas bad!"

"Hahaha, Rad has no more shields! Next turn Eddy will finish him off for sure!" Tabitha laughed.

"There's an old saying, Eddy. Don't count all your chickens until the eggs have hatched!" Rad said and a giant red metallic dragon appeared behind him. "Psychic Link – Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord!"

"Not good for Eddy!"

"You said it yourself, pal!" Rad said and then showed an 8 mana fire card. "I summon Eternal Meteor Kaiser! Now go, Gaial King Dragon, break all of his shields!"

The red dragon roared and fired a huge flame from its mouth which took down all of Eddy's shields. Then a huge blue dragon with bat wings and a fire sword flew towards Eddy as Rad gave the final attack command:

"Eternal Meteor Kaiser, todomeda!"

Tabitha made the mirror disappear as she stared with anger at her reflection in the water. The witch clenched her fists and hit the water with them while saying:

"Damn you to hell, Rad! You will pay for this! Both you and Rezo will pay for humiliating my minions!"

And so, night fell upon the hot spring resort. Most of the hotel's inhabitants either went to sleep early or left to visit the sites. That meant that the hot spring pool was empty at last. Once the two finished the arcade game, he and Subaru headed back to the hot spring. First they went to the dressing room to change from their kimonos into towels. Afterwards they went to the pool. Luckily for them, the pool was empty and that meant that it was all theirs.

"Ah, now that's what I'm talking about, Edo-kun!" Subaru said after he entered the water. "Peace and quiet at last!"

"You can say that again!" Edo replied and then stared at the starry sky. "Gosh, it's been so long."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ever since we met… we've been through so many, Suby. Our quest against Rezo, the revolt against your dad, the psychic creature hunt, now this tournament… it's amazing how fast two years passed by!"

"You're right. And I still can't believe that after all we've been through you and me are still here, flesh and bone, talking to one another."

"We surely are resistant, eh?"

"Like rubber, Edo-kun."

Both friends laughed for a moment. Afterwards, Subaru let his hair enter the water as he leaned on his back.

"Ah, I haven't washed my hair for a few days, I needed this." Subaru said.

"Don't tell me the UFO's showers aren't working." Edo spoke worried.

"Nah, it's just that I'm too lazy to take a shower nowadays. If anything, I'd take a long and relaxing bath over a short shower anytime."

"Good point. Anyway, why are we participating in this tournament, Suby? What's the big deal?"

"You don't know, Edo-kun? The tournament's prize is none other than the Proof of Duelmaster."

"You can't be serious! That thing was blasted into space once we killed Rezo!"

"That's what I also thought, but it seems that it somehow made its way back on our planet. Anyway, it seems that Rezo has entered the tournament with the sole purpose of winning the Proof. If that's the case, we can't let him get his hands on it."

"You're right, but what about Tabitha?"

"I don't know what her purposes are so far, though it seems that she's against Rezo. But until we realize if she has any intentions of using the Proof or not, she is our enemy."

"I understand." Edo said and stared at his own reflection in the water.

"I think it's done." Subaru said and took his head out of the water. "I've considered making a pony tail."

Subaru made a temporary pony tail on his hair and tried to dry it with his bare hands. But then Edo splashed him with water while saying:

"Nah, pony tails don't suit you Suby!"

"I'm trying to dry my hair here!" Subaru said and tried to splash Edo as well, but the brown-haired boy swam away. "Come back here!"

Subaru swam after Edo, but the chosen water duelist was faster. However, Edo soon ended up with his head hitting the wall which separated the men's baths from the woman's baths. The hit was so powerful that the wall fell on the woman's side, landing on Tabitha.

"Now you've done it." Subaru said sweating.

Suddenly, Tabitha rose from the water and yelled:

"GARH, FOR HADES' SAKE, I can't enjoy a good holiday without you two pestering me!"

"Tabitha? You're here?" Subaru asked.

But just then, Subaru looked down at the witch and saw that she was naked. Due to the fact that she got a new body, she looked like she was 30 years old. Still, she managed to mesmerize him. It was a long time since Subaru had seen the nude body of a mature woman. And in fact, the last time he ever saw a naked girl was when he and Tsugumi slept together the other night. But Tabitha's body was different. Everything seemed more articulated and much more evolved. Gone was the purity and innocence which he had seen at Tsugumi. If anything, Tabitha seemed a little masculine in a twisted sense. It was both a moment of amazement and lust for Subaru.

After a few seconds of silence, Tabitha realized that the chosen darkness duelist was staring upon her birthday suit. A rage typical to all women caught her, but then she also remembered how Subaru was bound to a metallic cross in her castle a month ago. She couldn't escape the idea that at some level, the boy was attractive to her. And the fact that he was in front of her with only a towel on was fueling that attraction. If anything, she would've used her seductive spells and lured him in her clutches. But just then, Edo got up from the water and said:

"Did you get the number of that UFO which hit me?"

"Curses, there always must be something in the way!" Tabitha thought and then put on her menacing look while yelling at Subaru. "YOU PERVERT, STOP STARING AT ME!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Subaru apologized.

"Now I will so annihilate you!" Tabitha said and snapped her fingers, making her black kimono appear to cover her body once again. "Once I get rid of you, I'll be able to enjoy my vacation in peace."

Tabitha made her deck appear in her right hand and also snapped her fingers and made two dueling tables rise from the grass. Subaru rushed into the hotel, got his deck out of his kimono and went back without dressing up.

"Don't you fear you'll catch a cold with only a towel on?" Tabitha ironically said while setting up her cards.

"Don't worry, Tabitha, I won't catch a cold that easily." Subaru replied and began to set his cards as well.

"You show her who's boss, Suby!" Edo cheered while getting back in the hot spring water.

"DUEL START!" both Tabitha and Subaru shouted and rose up their shields.

And so the duel between the two had begun. Tabitha decided to start the duel, so she was the one leading the game mana-wise.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow!" Tabitha said and a cat with blue fur on its right part of the body and red fur on the other appeared behind the witch. "Hahaha, meet my pet cat, Fluffy!"

The cat meowed so loudly that the trees behind Subaru were moved almost as if it was windy.

"Woah, what a strange pet you have Tabitha! Anyway, my turn, I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it!" Subaru said and made Tabitha discard Zabi Barrel, Western Doll.

"Heh, pathetic, your discards won't work on me! I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards! Go, Fluffy, break his shield!" Tabitha ordered and the cat jumped and slashed one of Subaru's shields with its sharp paws.

"My turn, I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The two cards which went to Subaru's graveyard were Aqua Naruto Surfer and Primal Scream.

"Is that really the best you can do? You haven't evolved at all in the past year half, Subaru Geki! I summon Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure and destroy it! Then I summon Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel!" Tabitha said and a bone creature with long arms and legs, sharp teeth and even longer green tentacles appeared behind her. "Hahaha, go Fluffy, break another shield!"

The cat nodded to her master and jumped towards Subaru, slashing yet another shield of his with its paws. But this time the shield quickly reformatted into a card which shined brightly.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign!" Subaru said and a shark-like humanoid made of water with a sharp blue armor, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard appeared behind him and screeched at Tabitha. "I put Aqua Naruto Surfer into the battle zone!"

"Woo hoo! Go Suby!" Edo cheered while manly tears were falling from his eyes. "Make me proud!"

"Send Tabitha's creatures back to her hand!" Subaru ordered and Aqua Naruto Surfer slapped Tabitha's creatures with the blade from its right arm and made then disappear.

"This isn't over yet!" Tabitha threatened.

"Nope, it's just begun! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The 3 cards which Subaru revealed were Drilling Squito, Aqua Surfer and Leon Diez, the Lion. Since Aqua Surfer wasn't a darkness card, it went to the graveyard whereas the other two went to Subaru's hand.

"Now Aqua Naruto Surfer, break her shield!" Subaru said and the creature surfed in the air towards Tabitha and took down one of her shields with its surfboard.

"Tsh, my turn, I cast Eureka Charger. Then I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser and destroy itself and your Cebu Aquman Jr." Tabitha said.

"Get ready to face the power of friendship, Tabitha! I summon Leon Diez, the Lion!"

A bone lion with golden claws and horns, a spiky bone mane, blue mouth and sharp red teeth appeared behind Subaru and roared so loud that it almost made the trees' roots behind Tabitha come out of the ground.

"No way!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"Yes way!" Subaru replied.

"Leon Diez and Naruto Surfer are on the same field, side by side! Suby, I'm proud of you!" Edo said and wiped out the few manly tears he still had in his eyes.

"This is for you, Edo-kun! Aqua Naruto Surfer, break another shield!" Subaru shouted and the creature surfed towards the witch and slashed another shield with the blades from both its hands.

"As I said earlier – this isn't over yet! I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card, then I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and you'll have to discard a card from your hand!" Tabitha said and Subaru chose Thunder Blade, Raging Beast and discarded it.

"Now it's time to show you the power of friendship, Tabitha! I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Now Leon Diez, double break her shields!"

The lion roared and jumped from its place, landing in front of Subaru. Afterwards, the giant feline rushed towards Tabitha. Meanwhile, the top 3 cards of Subaru's deck went to his graveyard. Those cards were Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero, Hades Death Gate and Nagleen, Inmate Enigma.

"Since Leon Diez put 2 darkness Hunters into my graveyard when it attacked, all your creatures will get -2000 now!" Subaru said and watched how both of Tabitha's creatures blew up.

Leon Diez slashed two of the witch's shields with its paws. However, Tabitha smiled as the two cards went into her hand.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Maxval back to your hand!"

"Aqua Naruto Surfer, break her final shield!" Subaru ordered and the surfer slashed the witch's last shield in the form of an X.

"Heh, shield trigger! Since I got 3 water cards in my mana zone, this card is now a shield trigger! I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!" Tabitha said and a three-headed red and black robot appeared behind her. "Now it's time to cause some damage. I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole! I send Leon Diez back to your hand and summon Gallows Cebu Kaiser!"

A blue sea creature with spiky tentacles and sharp mouths appeared behind Tabitha as Subaru's lion disappeared.

"Go, Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows, destroy Aqua Naruto Surfer!" Tabitha ordered and the robot attacked the blue surfer with its mechanical fists and destroyed it.

"Huh? But how? Naruto Surfer has 5000 power and that thing has 4000!" Edo said.

"It's true, but since I also got 3 fire cards in my mana zone, it gets +4000 and double breaker, hahaha!" Tabitha laughed. "Are you ready for your demise, Subaru Geki?"

"Are you, Tabitha?" Subaru replied and gave the witch a slick smile. "My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and cast Miracle Re Born! With Miracle Re Born's effect I revive Thunder Blade, Raging Beast!"

A demonic tiger warrior with black armor and two purple swords appeared and suddenly slashed the red robot.

"With its effect I destroy Hot Spring Gallows!" Subaru said.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and cast another Hyperspatial Gallows Hole. I send Maxval back to your hand and bring Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel to the battle zone!" Tabitha said and her bone creature appeared once again.

"My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!" Subaru said and Tabitha showed two cards from her hand: Eureka Charger and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. "I discard Zabi Mira. Now Thunder Blade, finish her off!"

"Block the attack, Zabi Barrel!"

"It's over, Tabitha! Next turn I am going to win this match! You won't be able to summon your Psychic Link creature!"

"Oh really? I wouldn't bet on that, Subaru Geki!" Tabitha said and tapped 10 mana cards. "I summon not one but two Self-Destructing Gil Poser! I destroy them both and your Maxval and Kitarou! Then I evolve Aqua Surfer into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons!"

"Oh no!" Subaru exclaimed with shock.

"With Zabi Implosion's effect I summon Hydra Gilsaurus! Now Zabi Implosion, destroy Thunder Blade!"

Subaru watched hopelessly how Tabitha's demon fired lasers from its mouths and took down his tiger demon. Since he had no cards in his hand, it all depended on the next card he would draw. Sadly for him, it wasn't a good draw.

"Tsh, I summon Drilling Squito and end." Subaru spoke disappointed.

"Oh no, this doesn't look good at all!" Edo said.

"Hehehe, PSYCHIC LINK!" Tabitha shouted and her 3 psychic creatures united into a huge pink dragon with spiky armor and tentacles, long hands, legs and neck, and an ugly head with really sharp teeth. "Arise, Gallows Devil Dragon, Dead Sea Dragon!"

"Suby, run!" Edo shouted.

"Since when did I begin to run like a coward from a fight, Edo-kun?" Subaru replied to his friend and smiled to him as well.

"A fool to the end! Gallows Devil Dragon, send Drilling Squito back and break all of his shields!"

Tabitha's dragon roared loudly and then fired a pink beam from its mouth which took down all of Subaru's shields in an instant. When the shields turned into 3 cards and went to his hand, Subaru saw that they were Ribbit NICE Hanzou and two Terror Pits.

"Heh, got any shield triggers? Well Gallows Devil Dragon does not allow you to summon or cast anything without cost!" Tabitha spoke, triumphantly.

"But that means… that his shield triggers are useless!" Edo said.

"It's over, Subaru Geki! Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons, todomeda!"

The black demon's attack blew Subaru away and made him land back in the hot spring.

"Suby!" Edo yelled and quickly dived after his friend.

"Now I should finally get some peace and quiet around here." Tabitha said and used her powers to put the separating wall back on its place.

The witch packed up her cards and went back to her bathing.

Later that night, Edo and Subaru were in their room, enjoying Japanese food and drinking sake while watching TV. Because of the fall, Subaru had a few bandages on his face, but he was ok since he had landed in the hot spring and not on the land.

"Say Suby, why didn't you run away when I asked you to?" Edo asked. "There was no tournament, you didn't have to prove anything to anybody."

"That's not true, Edo-kun. You've worked with me on my deck ever since you gave me Aqua Naruto Surfer. If I would've run away from the duel, I would've not only disgraced me, but also my best friend. Remember, while I have Aqua Naruto Surfer in my deck, both you and me are fighting together!" Subaru replied.

"Thank you… Suby. You really are a true pal!" Edo said while rising up his cup of sake. "A toast in the name of my buddy!"

And so, the two enjoyed their meal and drinks, then they got so drunk that they sang the songs of a Korean melodic black metal band called Sad Legend which was playing live on TV. And finally, when they got tired, they went to bed. But little did they know that all the noise that they've made kept poor Tabitha awake and the witch couldn't close an eye until they finally fell asleep… at 3 AM.

"Is a calm vacation too much to ask for? There must be some kind of curse following me." Tabitha thought and then closed her eyes.


	117. Facing the Queen of Snow

It was 6 AM at the hot spring resort. The sun was slowly and gently rising upon the land, its first few rays being seen in the far eastern horizon. Subaru and Edo were sitting at the resort's entrance with their rucksacks on their backs. Subaru's put both of his fists on his eyes and rubbed them while yawning.

"Why couldn't we go to sleep earlier than 3 AM?" Subaru said and stretched his arms. "Oh well, at least we had a good time, right Edo-kun?"

But the only response he received from his friend was a loud snoring. It seemed that Edo was sleeping on his own feet.

"Gosh, don't fall asleep now!" Subaru said and shook Edo. "Toto should be here any minute now!"

"Wha? What? Where? As I said, the square root of 24,745 is…" Edo murmured while opening his eyes, but then fell asleep once again.

Subaru sighed and turned his sight to the sky. There he saw that a flying pyramid was approaching them from the east.

Meanwhile, at Tabitha's house, Dani, Tobey and Eddy were sleeping in the living room. Dani was lying on the couch with his deck on his right hand and his left hand scratching the couch with its metal claws. Tobey was sleeping on a chair with a dueling book on his face and cards covering his body. Eddy was lying on the floor with the rug covering his large body. The only one who was sleeping in her room was Hanna. Suddenly, the door opened and a tired Tabitha entered the house with her luggage in both hands.

"Oh great, you really can't rely on anyone to give you a warm welcome." Tabitha sighed.

Later that day, at the tournament building, the arena was filled with people eager to see the next duel of the tournament. Rad, Sora, Tsugumi and Nolan were now sitting down in the front row. Rezo and his allies were sitting in the same corner as before. Kokujo and Shubham were standing on their feet at the last level of the arena, behind all seat rows. The crowd began to cheer as the host appeared in the arena.

"Good morning everybody, are you ready for some Duel Masters action?" the host shouting in the microphone and received a wild response from the crazed crowd. "Very well then, the first match of today is Diamoon VS Tsugumi!"

All of a sudden, a powerful snowstorm appeared in the arena. A pale skinned, blue haired and blue eyed girl who was wearing a gray dress appeared by one of the dueling tables. Tsugumi gulped and got up from her seat.

"You can do it, Tsugumi!" Rad encouraged her.

"Yeah, defeat that creep for me!" Sora added.

"Th-thanks guys." Tsugumi shyly replied and began to walk towards the dueling table.

"Heh, now this is going to be interesting." Nolan said and crossed his hands.

Once Tsugumi reached her dueling table, she looked at her opponent in the eye and saw that there was only a cold emotionless stare in her eyes. Closing her eyes, she pictured Subaru in her mind and then put her deck on the table while thinking:

"I can do this! As long as you're here for me, nothing will stand in the way of our love."

The girl then opened her eyes and set her cards. Diamoon emotionlessly did the same thing. Ten blue shields rose in the air and with the two word shouting 'Duel start!' their match had begun.

"I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation." Tsugumi said.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie!" Diamoon said. "I now destroy Jasmine and gain one more mana."

"I summon Endra Pappi."

"I summon Kaolun, Fairy of Warming Ice."

"I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and Endra Pappi lets me draw a card. Endra Pappi, break her shield!"

The red-eyed yellow fire bird dressed in knight armor soared through the falling snow and broke one of Diamoon's shields with its sharp helmet. The shield reformed into a card and once Diamoon got it in her hand, she gave her opponent a cold smile.

"My turn, I cast Colorful Dance!" Diamoon said. "Now I'll put the top 5 cards from my deck to my mana zone and then send 5 cards from my mana zone to the graveyard!"

Five cards put themselves from Diamoon's deck unto her mana zone, thus raising her mana number to 10. Now she had in her mana zone Aldebaran, the Earth Breaker, Faerie Gift, Natural Snare, Rolling Snowman, Peach Princess, Fearless Faerie, Jasmine, Mist Faerie, Faerie Life, Colorful Dance and two Diamond Cascades. Diamoon then placed the five spells from her mana zone to her graveyard, leaving only the two creatures and three evolution creatures there.

"Now since cards left my mana zone this turn, Kaolun puts the top card of my deck to my mana zone!" Diamoon said and watched how her Snow Faerie took the top card of her deck, revealed that it was Natural Snare and placed it in her mana zone. "I end my turn for now."

"She's starting to make her tricks. I have to finish this fast!" Tsugumi thought and then showed a card from her hand while saying. "I summon Leonidas, White Knight Spirit and draw a card thanks to Endra Pappi. Then I break another shield with Endra Pappi!"

The fire bird flew through one of Diamoon's shields once again, but the shield quickly regenerated into a card which shined with a green light and made it disappear.

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send Endra Pappi to your mana zone!" Diamoon said. "Now it's my turn, I summon Pulse Giant!"

A giant made of rock with three large spikes coming out of its body appeared in front of Tsugumi and roared so loud that it made the winds of the snowstorm even more raging. Tsugumi stared at the creature with fear as Diamoon's cold laugh pierced everyone's ears.

"Prepare for your icy grave, girl!" Diamoon threatened Tsugumi. "Once this guy is out, it will be a matter of time until this game will be mine!"

"Oh great, she's starting to pull out her trumps! This has to end quickly!" Tsugumi spoke in her mind as she charged mana. "I have 7 mana and only two cards in my hand, and this turn I'll use them both. I only hope that whatever comes after this turn will be useful enough." Tsugumi spoke in her mind and then she looked back at Diamoon and said. "Play time's over! I evolve Leonidas into Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon!"

The angelic White Knight got surrounded by a bright aura and turned into a huge angelic dragon with fire wings, golden armor and a golden sword with a sharp blue laser blade. The JetBlaze Admiral had appeared in Diamoon's snowstorm and it would be the one which would bring everyone the light of hope which they needed in that situation. At the sight of the mighty creature, Nolan's jaw dropped as he stared with excitement.

"She's using you, JetBlaze Admiral! She's actually using you!" Nolan spoke in his mind while blushing.

Tsugumi majestically showed the last card in her hand to Diamoon and said:

"I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Kaolun!"

"Really, you went through all that hardship just to cast a pathetic fire spell on me? You really disappoint me." Diamoon said arrogantly.

"I'll show you! Bolshack Ulpheus, double break her shields!" Tsugumi ordered and the angelic dragon aimed its sword at Diamoon and with just one swing it took down two of her shields, leaving her just with one.

Meanwhile, a few miles away from the city, a giant pyramid was searing through the air at high speed. The vehicle was too fast for even the police rockets to follow it. Inside it, as Toto was increasing the pyramid's speed and laughing, Subaru and White were holding onto the walls to not fall off. Edo was being held by Omega whose feet were standing still onto the floor regardless of the pyramid's speed.

"Totooo, can you slow down just a little?" Subaru demanded.

"Cacaca, no can do. We're almost there and I don't want to miss the fun!" Toto replied and pressed the pyramid's speed pedal which increased its speed even more.

"Heck yeah, we're the kings of speed!" Edo shouted.

The pyramid soon entered the city and went fast through the buildings. When Toto saw that they were approaching the tournament building, he pressed a red button but the pyramid didn't stop.

"OH NO, WE ARE GOING TO CRASH!" Subaru yelled.

"Momyyyy!" Edo added.

All of a sudden, the pyramid stopped and landed in the parking lot of the tournament building, crashing once again all the rockets which were landed there.

"Oh, we're alive." Edo noticed.

"We really are!" Subaru exclaimed. "Thanks for the ride, Toto! Now I've got a tournament to catch!"

Subaru ran off to the first exit of the pyramid and Edo tried to follow him but then White put his hand on the brown haired boy's shoulder and said:

"Wait, we need you to help us with something."

"Who? Me?" Edo replied with a stupid voice.

Back at the duel, the situation was getting very tense. Tsugumi had the field advantage but was left with no more cards in hand. One wrong move and she would be done for. The blonde girl watched with fear how Diamoon took a card from her hand and made a card from her mana zone float in the air. The Queen of Snow placed the card upon her mana card and both landed on the table while a female creature made of blue ice appeared behind her. Diamoon grinned and spoke:

"Mana Evolution, I summon Diamond Cascade! Now that a card has left my mana zone this turn, Pulse Giant gets 7000 more power and triple breaker!"

"Oh no!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she watched the Giant grow in size. "This is not good!"

"Hehehe, go Pulse Giant, destroy Bolshack Ulpheus!" Diamoon ordered and the Giant rushed at Tsugumi's angelic dragon.

"Block the attack, Murmur!"

The red circular Initiate flew in front of Bolshack Ulpheus and took the full attack of Pulse Giant, blowing up to pieces. Tsugumi sweated after she saw the mighty creature's attack. She knew that her blockers are slowly going away and soon she would be next. The girl glanced at her deck with the hope that her next card would be a good one. If not, she would be a goner. All of a sudden, a familiar boy's voice resounded in the snowstorm:

"Tsugumi!"

"Huh? Could that be?" the blonde girl asked herself and then turned to the entrance in the arena where she saw Subaru fighting the powerful winds and snow to reach her.

"Don't give up now! I know you can do it! Show her who's boss!" Subaru tried to cheer her up.

"But… I have no more cards in hand! If my next card is not a good one, I'm a goner!" Tsugumi spoke to her lover.

"Don't say that! We've been through so many, you can't just give up now!"

"Subaru…"

"Tsugumi, I believe in you! SHOW THAT COLD-HEARTED FREAK WHAT THE POWER OF THE CHOSEN DUELISTS IS!" Subaru yelled at the top of his lungs.

Hearing those words, Tsugumi finally got the courage she needed. The girl nodded to him and then turned back to her opponent. All of a sudden, her hand glowed with a bright yellow light.

"Huh? What's going on here?" Diamoon asked as Tsugumi drew her next card.

"Nothing, just your downfall!" Tsugumi replied as she placed the card she drew upon her only blocker card left. "Ultimus, evolve into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits!"

A robotic angel with white wings and a golden armor painted in blue at certain parts appeared behind Tsugumi at the right of Bolshack Ulpheus.

"Impossible!" Diamoon exclaimed.

"Alcadeias forbids us to cast non-light spells, which means that your shield triggers are history." Tsugumi said and tapped her card. "Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits, break her final shield!"

Alcadeias made a ball of light appear in both its hands and casted it upon Diamoon's last shields, tearing it to pieces. The Queen of Snow made a step back with fear and stared at the giant angelic dragon.

"Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon, todomeda!" Tsugumi ordered and her creature flew at Diamoon while aiming its laser sword at her.

"NOO, I'LL BE BACK!" Diamoon yelled.

Bolshack Ulpheus slashed the pale skinned girl and with a ghostly scream she vanished along with her deck. Once she was gone, the snowstorm disappeared as well. The host got up from his warm improvised hideout under the table and spoke in the microphone:

"Woah, what a chill. Anyway, the winner is Tsugumi!"

Everyone cheered and Tsugumi happily rushed at Subaru and threw herself in his hands.

"I knew you'd be there for me!" Tsugumi whispered to him.

"I'll always be, my love! Always." Subaru whispered back.

Meanwhile at Toto's pyramid, Toto and White were preparing to leave it with bags in their hands.

"Come on, Toto, we have to reach that sandwich bar before it gets too crowded!" White demanded.

"Just a minute, White-sama!" Toto replied and turned to Edo. "Are you sure you can handle the responsibility?"

"Responsibility is my middle name – Edo Responsibility Kanda!" Edo said and showed his birth card on which it said Edo 'epicfailure' Kanda.

"Let's hope that this place will be in one piece when I come back." Toto spoke in his mind and then rushed with his wheelchair after White.

Now Edo was all alone in the pyramid… with little Omega. Toto had given Edo the task of babysitting the robot while he was gone in the city with White to buy some sandwiches. The brown-haired boy turned to the little robot while smiling and said:

"Ok, it's play time!"

But the robot didn't give him the response he was expecting. All of a sudden, Omega burst into a concerto of mechanical cries which made Edo's heart break into a million pieces. He leaned to the small machine and asked:

"What's wrong, little guy?"

"Beep, beep, loading: 25%, 35%, 60%, 95%, loading completed." Omega spoke like a computer and then he suddenly yelled. "SUPPER TIME!"

"Oh great, I wonder what I'm supposed to feed him with." Edo said and looked on a small piece of paper which Toto handed to him. "Huh? Oil? Where the heck am I supposed to…"

Ten minutes later, Omega was sitting on a chair in front of a table with a napkin wrapped under its mouth and a fork and knife in its hands. Edo then came into the kitchen with a large bottle of motor oil on his back. The boy hardly put it down and then he tried to stretch his bones while saying:

"Jeez, my spine never hurt so badly ever since I had to take out my head from the toilet."

"Processing, loading: 35%, 65%, 100%, loading completed. WHERE'S THE FOOD?" Omega demanded.

"Hold on, little fella, uncle Edo's getting you some nice stuff." Edo said and began to fill a baby bottle with the oil.

"Beep, beep, beep, loadi-"

Before Omega could finish its sentence, Edo put the baby bottle in its mouth.

"Ok, now you enjoy your meal while uncle Edo…"

All of a sudden, Omega threw the baby bottle on Edo's head, breaking it and spilling the oil all over his head, shoulders and chest.

"Loading: 50%, 80%, 100%, loading completed. Edo is imbecile. Omega not fed like babies. Omega fed by oil injection."

Omega pointed to a syringe which had its needle stained by a black liquid. Edo realized that Toto had used it to feed Omega before.

"Oh God, the things I do for that clown…" Edo commented while sweating.

"Edo is stained badly. Omega finds it funny."

"Well kiddy, uncle Edo is not finding it funny at all." Edo replied and took a towel to wipe the oil off. "But if you keep being a nasty little robo-kid, I'm afraid I have to send you to bed earlier."

After ten more minutes, the whole kitchen was a mess due to the spilled oil, Omega was injecting oil in its body while playing games on Toto's computer and Edo was lying in a puddle of oil.

"I can't believe that a little robot could've done all this in just ten minutes!" Edo spoke in his mind. "This little devil isn't going to make a fool out of ME! I'll show him who's the man the man in the house… I mean pyramid!"

Edo suddenly got up and rushed to a small plug which was located in the corner of the kitchen. He pulled it out and stopped all the electricity from the pyramid, thus closing Toto's computer. Omega got saddened and turned to find a rather glad Edo which grabbed it and said:

"Uncle Edo thinks it's nap time for you!"

Edo rushed the robot to the room in which Toto slept. He saw that there was an improvised baby bed designed specifically for Omega. Edo put the robot in it, covered it with a pelt and closed the lights. But then little Omega spoke to him:

"Isn't uncle Edo going to read Omega a bedtime story?"

"Oh, little Omega wants one?" Edo replied and sat down in front of the robot. "Very well, let's see what I got. Once upon a time there was this uber awesome mega powerful dude called Edo Kanda. One day he had gotten his hands on the BEST CARD TO EVER EXIST – Aqua Naruto Surfer. He and Naruto Surfer went on many adventures, defeated everyone in their paths, won many tournaments and became famous in the whole wide world. The end."

"That's not a true bedtime story!" Omega complained.

"You've had a tiresome afternoon, so GOOD NIGHT!"

Edo quickly got up, closed the door and went back to the kitchen. He plugged the electricity back in, then made himself a nice cold milkshake and went to watch the tournament on TV. There he saw the host announcing the next duel:

"And now we have Hanna VS Wally!" the host exclaimed.

"Huh? Hanna? This is gonna be interesting." Edo said and went to the microwave oven. "I better make myself some popcorn."

But then, all of a sudden, the electricity got unplugged. To his shock, Edo saw that Omega was the one who did, and the robot seemed to be in the mood for playing.

"Oh great, this is gonna be one long afternoon." Edo sighed.


	118. The Card of Peace

After her victory against Diamoon, Tsugumi decided that she needed some time off. The girl parted ways with Subaru, who went to join Rad and Sora in the crowd, and she went to the food shop inside the building to buy herself something to drink. However, as she turned left from the corridor, she suddenly got face to face with none other than Hanna.

"What? Hanna-san?" Tsugumi spoke surprised.

"I've been expecting you, Tsugumi." Hanna said and took out her deck. "We need to talk."

Meanwhile at the pyramid, Toto and White had returned with bags filled with food in both hands. As Toto opened the entrance, White took out a sandwich from his bags and bit it. After he swallowed it, he spoke with pleasure to his minion:

"This is probably the best food I've ever eaten in years!"

"Cacaca, sandwiches have become super rare nowadays." Toto replied and took out a taco from his bag. "However, tacos…"

"Don't get me started on tacos! They're the worst replacements these guys could've found for sandwiches!" White spoke with anger.

"If you say so, White-sama…"

Once they entered the pyramid, they were surprised to see that everything was clean and sound. They also found Omega sitting relaxed on the couch and playing a computer game.

"Omega, have you been a good little robot?" Toto asked.

"Yes, Omega was nice robot."

"But where is Edo?" White added.

"Uncle Edo is sleeping in the other room." Omega said and pointed to Toto's room.

"Ca! What?" Toto said shocked and rushed to the room.

When the clown opened it, he had the surprise of seeing Edo lying in Omega's baby bed wearing only diapers and with a pacifier in his mouth. He was covered by a small baby pelt and was drooling on his pillow.

"CAACACACACA, I guess that the saying's true. You can take the man out of the baby but you can't take the baby out of the man." Toto said and laughed even more.

Back at the tournament building, Tsugumi was being beyond tensioned. Was Hanna really intending to face her? If that was so, then everything that happened two months ago really didn't mean anything to her anymore? Was the friend she once knew gone forever? These questions were torturing the blonde girl inside and the pain she felt was almost as awful as what she felt when Subaru was brainwashed and couldn't remember her. Still, if it was a fight Hanna wanted, a fight she would get. Tsugumi took out her deck and was ready to accept Hanna's challenge. But then, all of a sudden, Hanna smiled to her and spoke with a friendly voice:

"Don't worry, I don't want to duel you."

"Huh?" Tsugumi spoke confused but then a smile of happiness came on her face. "Hanna-san, are you really back?"

"Yes." Hanna nodded. "I am not your enemy, not anymore. What I've did back then was some cheap acting to fool Tabitha into thinking that I'm against the chosen duelists. But now that she's not here, I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

Hanna took out a nature card from her deck which had 4 at its mana cost and 4000 power. A pink-haired princess dressed in a white dress and holding a pink umbrella was represented on it.

"This card is Pudding Pudding, the Eternal." Hanna said.

"I noticed that you've used it before." Tsugumi replied. "What's with the card?"

"In the creature world a new war has waged. A new race of creatures called the Aliens has emerged and they've begun to invade all civilizations. The Aliens have infiltrated each civilization and corrupted many of its mighty warriors such as Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits and Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon. But after many battles and lots of destruction, a race called the Hunters have appeared in all civilizations and their sole purpose is to counterattack the Aliens and free their homes once and for all. Many of the surviving creatures have agreed to join them, like Ballom, Master of Death and Aqua Sniper. Still, it seems that in this war both sides are even. However, they don't know that there is a third side which is sitting in the shadows and waiting to make their move. Once this third side would come, it will mean the end of both Hunters and Aliens."

"But how do you know this? And why have you told me this?"

"Once Devil Diabolos Zeta had killed me, my spirit was sent to the creature world where I've wandered and noticed the atrocities that have happened. Somehow I got in contact with this one creature which knew about the danger of this third side and that was Pudding Pudding. She is a princess who belongs to both Hunters and Aliens and she desperately wants to bring peace. I've told her my tale and we both realized how much we had in common. I also desire to convince Tabitha-sama to make peace with you chosen duelists and stop her evil ways. So me and Pudding made a deal: she would give me eight copies of her card and I would use them if I would ever return. And that is all."

"You wanted to bring peace all along, didn't you?" Tsugumi said with a smile on her face and tears wetting her red cheeks.

"Yes, I'm sick and tired of this whole war between Tabitha-sama and you guys. And this is why I want to offer you this." Hanna said and handed Tsugumi four copies of Pudding Pudding, the Eternal. "Take them and use them to balance an Alien and Hunter deck. I know you can."

"But I already have another deck for the tournament."

"I know, but after you get out of the tournament I want you to do this… for peace."

"I understand, Hanna-san."

"Good." Hanna said and turned her back. "I guess it's time for me to go."

"Wait, there's something I wanted to give you!" Tsugumi said and took out a dragon head necklace from her pockets.

The blonde girl rushed to Hanna and put the necklace on her neck. When Hanna saw it, she blushed a little as she remembered the party which the chosen duelists threw for her and the times when she and Tsugumi were pursuing Marcelo in the city.

"Thank you." Hanna said while putting her hand on the necklace. "You really are a true friend."

"Anytime, Hanna-san." Tsugumi replied. "Good luck!"

Hanna nodded once again and without turning to the blonde girl to give her a good bye she rushed to the arena. Tsugumi watched her disappear into the corridor and then sighed. The blonde girl then walked in the direction of the food shop.

At the arena, the duel was on the verge of beginning. Wally was setting up his cards while Spunky and Hakuoh were cheering him from their seats. He knew that his opponent was the girl which had betrayed Tabitha and joined the chosen duelists at Hakuoh's school for a time. He also knew that that very same girl had given her own life to stop Devil Diabolos Zeta. If that was so, then how did she come back to life? Was it Tabitha? And if so, was she changed? Also, there was something strangely attractive that Wally found in her. She was strong, kind and a fighter. If she weren't the enemy, he would try to ask her out.

Luckily for Wally, he snapped out of his dreams as the tournament host announced Hanna's arrival. The boy admired how the blue-haired girl with a beautiful dark green dress climbed to her dueling table and then set her cards on it with full grace. But then he felt as if a strange coldness caught his body. All that he could see was a black smoke and then he lost consciousness.

"Perfect, he's under my control once again." Tabitha thought and then turned to Hanna. "It is said that a duelist shows who he really is in a duel. It's time to find out what you're really up to, Hanna."

When Wally opened his eyes, they had changed from white to black and their color was a hellish red one. Hanna understood what that meant but she didn't let herself scared by it. She simply looked at him in the eye and said:

"Ready when you are!"

"Oh little girl, I'm always ready." Wally replied with a little devilish tone in his voice.

The two duelists shouted 'Duel start!' and thus began their match. As she reached her second turn, Hanna tapped the Aqua Surfer and Idaten Kid, the Swift Executor in her mana zone and showed a green card to Wally while saying:

"I summon Cocco Gil Lupia."

A red fire bird whose eyes were tied up and which had a small war horn in one of its wings appeared behind Hanna.

"Heh, I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser. I destroy Gil Poser and your Gil Lupia." Wally said and watched how Hanna's little bird blew to pieces.

"Damn it!" Hanna said and drew her next card – Terror Pit, which she quickly placed in her mana zone. "I charge mana and… end."

"I summon Marauder Deis Drive. Go, Deis Drive, break her shield!"

Hanna took cover as she watched Wally's lizard-like alien warrior rush towards her and smashing one of her shields with the spikes on one of its hands. The shield reformatted into a card which went to her hand.

"And Wally breaks Hanna's first shield! It seems like the young teen has begun the duel with the offensive stuff!" the host commented.

"It's not over yet!" Hanna said and showed another nature card while tapping her 4 mana. "I summon Silver Shovel! With its effect I send itself and Deis Drive to your mana zone."

"Clever move indeed, miss." Wally said as he watched both card jump in the air and land on their respective players' mana zones. "However, I have to thank you for offering me one more mana. It is exactly what I've needed to defeat you."

"What?" Hanna spoke scared.

"Watch and learn! I summon Alien Father!"

An Alien dressed in a purple and golden armor with a purple and red cape which had purple tentacles which ended in mouths with sharp teeth appeared behind Wally.

"Alien Father makes all my Aliens speed attackers and slayers. Let's see you try to defeat this, miss." Wally spoke self-confidently.

"Heh, you should know that the extra mana has helped me as well." Hanna said and gave him a smile while showing two cards. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe, which offers me one more mana, and Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow!"

"Interesting move indeed, you have foiled my plans a bit, but only a bit. I summon Deis Chicken Racer, Evil Battler and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Since Alien Father makes my Aliens speed attackers I use Deis Chicken Battler's tap ability. I destroy Deis Chicken and you must destroy one of your creatures as well."

"I destroy Iron Arm Tribe, but the creature goes to my mana zone."

"Now Hanna has more mana than Wally and both players have no more cards in their hands!" the host commented.

"Heh, they're both depending on their draws now. When one of them draws their trump, the other is doomed." Subaru commented.

"I never knew that Wally was such a powerful duelist." Sora added.

"Hey guys, didn't you notice something strange?" Rad asked.

"Like what?" Nolan asked back.

"Hanna is here but Tabitha and her other morons haven't arrived yet. I think that there's something fishy going on."

"Rad's right, that means that they must be up to something." Subaru said.

Hanna drew her next card and then it started glowing with a bright green light. The girl tapped four cards and then showed it to her opponent with a majestic move of her hand while saying:

"I summon Pudding Pudding, the Eternal!"

A princess dressed in a white dress and long black boots, with long pink hair and which was holding an umbrella in its left hand appeared behind Hanna. Even though he was possessed, Wally was still staring in awe at the tragic princess which belonged to both enemy sides in the cruel creature war.

"It's fantastic…" Wally commented. "Still, it won't be able to defeat me! My turn, I evolve Bloody Shadow into Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!"

A red-winged dragon with black skin which had spikes appeared behind Wally and roared loudly.

"Go, Shachihoko Kaiser, double break her shields!" Wally ordered.

"Block the attack, Deis Melnia!" Hanna said while tapping her card.

A red-caped blue ghost made of water appeared in front of the dragon and created an electric barrier which it tried to break. When the dragon destroyed the barrier, it blew up and both creatures disappeared.

"Heh, when one of my non-psychic creatures is destroyed, Shachihoko Kaiser's effect lets me put a light, fire or darkness psychic creature with cost 7 or less into the battle zone." Wally said while grinning. "I summon… Red ABYTHEN Kaiser!"

A red dragon with 3 pairs of hands and 3 sharp mouths on its body in which 3 fire balls were glowing appeared behind Wally and roared loudly.

"And since Alien Father makes all my Aliens speed attackers and slayers, I attack with ABYTHEN Kaiser, double break her shields! Then Alien Father, break her shield!"

Hanna took cover as Wally's Aliens brought out their most powerful attacks – ABYTHEN Kaiser fired 3 fire balls from its mouths and Alien Father attacked her shields with its tentacles. When their attacks were done, three of Hanna's shields were taken down, only one was left to protect her.

Then, all of a sudden, Hanna heard Tabitha's voice coming out of Wally's mouth. She was the only one who could hear it and nobody else could hear their conversation.

"Hanna, you should probably give up. You're going to lose in no time."

"Tabitha-sa…"

"Don't try to act surprised, I know that you knew about me possessing him. Now tell me, why didn't you take up the deck which I've left on your bed?"

"You mean my old fire/darkness Dragon deck? Maybe it was because… I have a new mission."

"New mission?"

"Yes, I've built an Alien/Hunter deck based on Pudding Pudding with the sole purpose of bringing peace. And I won't stop until I manage to make you unite with the chosen duelists, Tabitha-sama!" Hanna said with a determined voice.

"I'm very disappointed of you, Hanna. It seems that your goodie-two shoes aspirations haven't vanished once Devil Diabolos Zeta took you down." Tabitha replied. "If that's the case, I'll make you an offer."

"An offer?" Hanna raised an eyebrow.

"If you win the duel, I'll let you free to do whatever you want with the chosen duelists. However, if Wally wins the duel, I will erase your memories of what happened two months ago. Are we agreed?"

"Yes!"

All of a sudden, Tabitha's presence disappeared even though she was still controlling Wally. Hanna woke up back into the duel. Now it was her turn.

"What's the matter? Too afraid of my beautiful creatures?" Wally spoke sarcastically.

"We'll have to see about that!" Hanna replied. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe and gain one more mana! Then I evolve Iron Arm Tribe into… Great Hercules, Giant Insect!"

"What the?" Wally spoke with fear while making a step back.

"Ike, Great Hercules, take down Alien Father!" Hanna ordered. "And since Pudding Pudding makes all the Aliens in my battle zone, mana zone and graveyard have the race Hunter as well… I summon Gil Bolshack Cross NEX from my mana zone!"

A red dragon dressed in a golden armor with two sharp horns, a snake mouth, two fire wings and a giant golden sword with black spikes appeared behind Hanna and roared loudly.

"Gil Bolshack Cross NEX is a 9000 powered triple breaker which is also a speed attacker and has power attacker +5000. But the best part is that… he doesn't allow us to summon psychic creatures!" Hanna explained.

"Oh no!" Wally exclaimed.

"Gil Bolshack Cross NEX, destroy Red ABYTHEN Kaiser!"

Everyone watched with shock how the two red Alien dragons fought with each other, the victor being Hanna's dragon. Wally sweated and drew his next card which was Hyperspatial Revive Hole.

"Rats! It won't do me any good with that Gil Bolshack Cross NEX banning me from summoning psychic creatures!" Wally thought.

"It's time to finish this! I summon Eternal Meteor Kaiser!" Hanna said and a sapphire like dragon wielding a flame sword appeared behind her right next to her other dragon. "Go, Gil Bolshack Cross NEX, triple break his shields!"

The dragon hissed with its snake tongue and then slashed three of Wally's shields with its sword.

"Eternal Meteor Kaiser, break his final shields!" Hanna continued and the sapphire dragon roared and slashed Wally's last two shields with its flame sword.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit!" Wally said and hundreds of black demonic hands appeared behind him. "Destroy Great Hercules!"

The hands seized the blue Giant Insect and took it down in no time.

"Your evil influence on this innocent boy ends here and now, Tabitha-sama! Pudding Pudding, the Eternal, todomeda!" Hanna ordered.

The princess jumped at Wally and hit him with her umbrella using all of her purifying power. All of a sudden, the darkness in Wally's eyes disappeared and the boy was pushed from his dueling table and landed on the cold metallic floor.

"AND THE WINNER IS HANNA!" the host declared.

The crowd cheered wildly and Spunky and Hakuoh rushed to Wally. They helped him up and he slowly opened his eyes which were back to normal.

"Now that's one hell of a match you put up, pal!" Spunky cheered.

"Hehe, thanks. I was… cool?" Wally innocently replied.

"Even though you lost, my training paid off in the end. You gave your best against Hanna and I'm proud of that."

"Thank you, Hakuoh-sama. I promise I'll try harder next time!"

"That's our Wally." Spunky laughed and gave him a small knuckle in the head.

Meanwhile, Hanna climbed down the stairs of her dueling table and headed to the exit of the arena. That was where an angry Tabitha was waiting for her.

"Well, well, if it isn't the sore loser." Hanna joked.

"Tsh, fine, a deal's a deal." Tabitha spoke sourly.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you're free to do whatever the hell you want."

Tabitha turned around and walked off angrily. Hanna watched her disappear into the corridors with a smile and spoke in her mind:

"One day I will convince you that there are other ways in life, Tabitha-sama. One day…"

Meanwhile, as everyone was ready to go home, the host announced the duels of the next day. He showed the pictures of the contestants which would duel on the computer screen and then spoke in the microphone:

"Tomorrow we have some serious duelists clashing! It's… 'Subaru VS Toto' and 'Kokujo VS White'!"

"Heh, finally I get to duel." Subaru stated out.

"Good luck tomorrow!" Nolan said.

"Yeah, you can beat that clown!" Rad added.

"Thanks, guys." Subaru replied and looked at the upper levels to find Kokujo and Shubham staring at the screen. "I just wonder how he will manage to beat White."


	119. The roar of Raion

"No, no, no, no!" a voice shouted. "This just won't do!"

Two fists hit a table on which many cards were scattered. They were mostly black, signifying that they belonged to the Darkness civilization and very few were blue, showing that they were Water civilization cards. Subaru put his face on the metallic table while growling with anger. Edo tried to console him and put his hand on the boy's shoulder while saying:

"Maybe you should give it a rest, Suby?"

"How can I give it a rest, Edo-kun? My duel's starting in three hours' time and I couldn't get a good sleep last night due to so many nightmares of imperfect decks!"

"Still, why would you consider your deck imperfect?" Edo said curiously.

"I lost shamefully to Tabitha back at the hot springs. And besides, this one card seems to be a little out of place here." Subaru said and took the card of Leon Diez, the Lion in his right hand. "It's no doubt – he's my sweet Deathliger turned into a Hunter, but just look at him. His effect is just not that good!"

Meanwhile, at the other side of the city, approaching the tournament building was a boy in his late teens with well-arranged black hair and shiny teeth. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a black cape with a sticky note on, wore a black shirt with a red tie, had black gloves on his hands and was holding a white and pink lollipop in his right hand and a rose in his left hand. The boy lifted his head up and admired the building while saying:

"Ah, Duel Masters tournament, you'll soon face the fabulousness of…"

But just before he could finish his sentence, he accidentally hit a blonde woman dressed in black witch clothes and both fell on the ground. The woman on whom the boy fell was Tabitha and she wasn't in a good mood at all. The witch pushed him off her and then got up while yelling at him:

"You insolent fool, can't you watch where you're going?"

"Excuse me, madam, but you were the one standing in my way!" the boy replied and began to wipe the dust off his suit. "Now thanks to you my fabulous suit is ruined!"

"Who cares about your fancy suit? What about my precious ceremonial clothing?" Tabitha lamented and took off her hat to wipe the dust off it as well.

"Oh God, how could you wear those ancient rags? Have you no sense of fashion?"

"How dare you speak to me like that? Do you even know who I am, you ignorant little brat?"

"Obviously you're a piece of history which ran away from the museum. That's all I need to know."

With these final words the boy took off to the tournament building. Tabitha stared at him with anger and then thought of a perfect revenge plan. She fired a small beam from her index finger and the beam scanned the boy without anyone noticing and then disappeared. With a grin on her face, Tabitha spoke to herself with a low voice:

"Hehehe, you will regret those words sooner than you think."

Back at the UFO, both Subaru and Edo were brainstorming the best solution to update Subaru's deck. Time was passing quickly and the duel was approaching. If they didn't come up with something good fast, then he'd have to settle up with the current version of his deck.

"The way I see it, you have two solutions, Suby."

"And what would those be, Edo-kun?"

"Since Leon Diez's effect works for Fire and Darkness Hunters, I suggest that you take out the Water civilization cards in your deck and replace them with the Fire ones."

"But what about Naruto Surfer? And your promise that you'd always be there?" Subaru asked with a saddened voice.

"It's ok, Suby, what's important is that you have to win this tournament." Edo replied and gave him a friendly smile. "However, there is a second option, and that would be to replace Leon Diez with a better card."

"Replace… Leon Diez?"

Subaru looked at the card with a melancholic stare and remembered the days that card used to be Deathliger, Lion of Chaos. He and that feline had gone through many wacky adventures and that was his very first creature. It had always been there when he was a loner and they were like soul mates. But sadly it had to evolve into a weaker version which didn't fit at all in his deck. And due to this he had to take it out of his deck.

"I know it's though, Suby, but you'll have to choose." Edo said with remorse in his voice as well.

Subaru's hand trembled as his fist clenched on the black card representing the demonic lion. It was tough, but they all knew that the wisest choice was for him to say good bye to it.

But then, all of a sudden, the card began to glow with a dark blue light. Subaru and Edo stared at it with amazement as the card began to morph into a new one. Its cost changed from 6 to 7 and its power from 6000 to 7000. Besides that, the demonic lion which was once depicted in the card had turned into a blue lion with two feet and which was wielding two huge blue swords. The lion had two large orange horns positioned in the form of a V on its forehead.

"Wow, what is that thing?" Edo exclaimed.

"Its name is… Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger." Subaru read the card's name.

All of a sudden, a small hologram of the creature depicted in the card appeared on the table. The bipedal lion spoke to them with a friendly voice:

"Hey guys, how's it going?"

"WHAT THE HECK?" both Subaru and Edo yelled and fell on their backs.

"You two look as if you've seen a ghost." the holographic lion said.

"Who… no, what are you?" Subaru asked.

"Me? Why I'm your deck avatar, master. You also might remember me as Deathliger and Leon Diez."

"So it's actually you! But… how did you evolve?"

"Let's just say that a certain magic force which was used in this city also affected me indirectly." the lion said and then turned its head to another card on the table which was glowing. "You might want to check that one too."

Subaru and Edo looked at the other card which was a rainbow card belonging to the Darkness and the Water civilizations. It had 2000 power and 2 mana cost. On it was the picture of the young man which had met Tabitha earlier.

"What kind of strange card is this?" Edo asked. "Its race is Human and Hero? But Humans belong to the Fire civilization! And most importantly… what race is Hero?"

"Look at its name as well, Edo-kun. It's called Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist. That's a weird name for a card if you ask me." Subaru said and then turned to the blue lion which was sitting with its hands crossed. "So what happens if you're my 'deck avatar'?"

"Oh nothing, master, you'll just have to give me a name and I will faithfully help you with anything you'd like." the lion replied.

"Hm… then I will call you Raion. This means 'lion' in Japanese."

"Cool name you gave him, Suby!" Edo remarked.

"Now let's build a new powerful deck!" Subaru suggested.

A few hours later, at the tournament building, people were getting gathered to watch the duels of that day. In the arena the normal everyday citizens were sitting on their seats and waiting for the host and the duelists to come. On a corner of the building were Rezo, Hitler and Shagrath, on another were Tabitha, Dani, Tobey and Eddy, and above the seat rows, at the highest level of the arena was Tigra. They all didn't come to get entertained but they were rather concerned on who would be the winners of that day and how their play style looked like. That way they could learn more about their enemy. As for the chosen duelists, they were all sitting in the front row alongside Nolan.

Then, all of a sudden, the lights went out except for the ones from the host's platform. A voice then saluted the audience and everyone got surprised. It wasn't their usual host, that voice sounded much younger. The boy in his late teens dressed in a dark blue suit appeared on the platform holding a microphone in his left hand and his lollipop in his right hand. A shower of rose petals was falling on him.

"Good afternoon to you all and welcome to the next part of the Duel Masters tournament! Due to the fact that the usual host is sick today, I have been asked to take his place. Now I bet that some of you wonder who I am."

"It's that brat!" Tabitha thought. "Heh, this is going to be interesting."

"Allow me to introduce myself – I am the fabulous… Duel Hero Atsuto!" the boy exclaimed and put the lollipop's stick in his mouth while winking to the ladies.

A bunch of teenage girls exclaimed in excitement and a few even fainted.

"Wait a minute!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Is something the matter?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yes, that guy…"

Subaru looked at one of his newly acquired cards – Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist – and realized that the creature represented in the card and the new host were one and the same.

"But how can that be?" Subaru asked himself.

"Pure coincidence?" Edo intervened after he also noticed the similarity.

The computer screen turned on and revealed the names of those who were about to duel. Atsuto then shouted in the microphone:

"And the first contestants of today are: Subaru and Toto!"

Two lights fell upon the two dueling tables. Subaru got up from his seat and walked to the dueling table while his friends were cheering him. Toto's laugh could be heard from a short distance. The clown made its wheelchair's jets transport him right to his dueling table. Subaru calmly went to the other and his eyes met Toto's.

"Are you ready for hell, chosen darkness duelist?" Toto arrogantly asked.

"Are you, circus dropout?" Subaru calmly replied.

"DUEL START!" both shouted.

Ten blue shields materialized, five above each table, thus beginning the match. Subaru began by placing Maxval, Electro-Fuuma in his mana zone. Toto placed Mecha Crawler Tornadah in his mana zone and ended his first turn. Now it was Subaru's turn again. He put Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse in his mana zone and tapped both cards while showing a rainbow card and saying:

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!"

"What the…" Atsuto barely spoke as he got surrounded by a dark blue aura and disappeared.

In the next moment Atsuto reappeared on the battle zone, right next to Subaru. Tabitha then put an evil grin on her face and spoke to her shocked minions:

"This, my boys, is the work of my curse!"

"What do you mean, Tabitha-sama?" Dani asked.

"That Atsuto brat ran into me today and made my clothes dirty. He also insulted me so I cursed him to be attached to that card. Whenever a duelist summons Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist in a kaijudo duel, the real Atsuto will be brought right there, hahaha!"

"Wow, I feel sorry for the poor guy." Tobey commented.

Atsuto looked around and saw that he wasn't imagining things. He was actually there in the battle zone, supposed to fight by Subaru's side.

"H-h-how in the world did I get here?" Atsuto asked scared.

"I think it has something to do with this." Subaru replied and pointed at the card. "That card is somehow connected to you."

"You mean that I have my own card?" Atsuto said while looking at it. "Wow, it's so fabulous! I like it!"

"WHAT? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FEEL BAD ABOUT THE CURSE!" Tabitha yelled at Atsuto.

"Aha, so it's your doing!" Subaru said while pointing at the witch.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, miss piece of history, but any object that contains me is always fabulous, so don't think that I'm feeling bad about it!" Atsuto said happily and showed his tongue to Tabitha, infuriating the witch even more.

"Anyway, I am Subaru Geki, nice to meet you." the chosen darkness duelist said and stretched out his hand.

"Duel Hero Atsuto, but you can call me Atsuto." the boy dressed in dark blue suit replied and shaked Subaru's hand. "Now let's own the zone!"

Subaru nodded and then turned to Toto who was doing his nails out of boredom.

"Ah, you two are finally done." Toto said.

"Actually, we've just begun!" Subaru spoke back to the clown. "Atsuto's effect lets me draw two cards and then discard two!"

Atsuto took the top two cards from Subaru's deck and gave them to him. Then both looked in his hand and Atsuto pointed at two other cards, indicating that he should discard them. Subaru nodded and put Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger to the graveyard.

"Ca, finally!" Toto said and showed a rainbow card as well. "My turn, I summon El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King."

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!" Subaru said and revealed the top 3 cards of his deck: Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper, Terror Pit and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll, all going to his hand since they were Darkness cards.

"Fabulous move I might add!" Atsuto remarked.

"You're not the only ones who can draw stuff here! I cast Energy Stream!" Toto said and drew two cards from his deck.

"Time to get this party started! I summon Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper! I destroy Deathraios and with its effect I also destroy your El Kaiou." Subaru said and both mentioned creatures blew up. "Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, break his shield!"

Atsuto made an elegant jump in the air, his teeth shining in the reflectors' lights, and seared through the air towards Toto's shields, making a kung fu move with his left arm and breaking his middle shield. Then Atsuto jumped back at Subaru's side.

"Woah, that was amazing!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Please, I prefer the word 'fabulous'." Atsuto said and revealed his shining teeth to the teen girls which fainted once again.

"Ca, please spare me!" Toto said disgusted. "I summon Chief de Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and take Energy Stream to my hand."

"Then I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!" Subaru said and the cards from Toto's hand went in the air and revealed themselves to him as: Aqua Surfer, Super Divine Star Mercury Gigablizzard, Energy Stream, DNA Spark and Murmur, Apostle of Formation. "Heh, discard that Energy Stream."

"You'll pay for that, Subaru Geki! My turn, I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation and El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King!"

"Oh no, Toto's filled his field with blockers!" Rad said.

"And to make it worse, Murmur gives each of his blockers +3000 power!" Tsugumi added.

"Don't worry, guys, Suby's got an ace up his sleeve." Edo said calmly. "After all, I've helped him rebuild that deck."

"Cacaca, let's see you break through this defense!" Toto challenged his opponent.

"It will be my pleasure!" Subaru replied with a sly smile on his face.

"Ca?"

Subaru drew his next card and placed it in his mana zone. Then he tapped 5 mana cards and showed a darkness spell card which shined with a bright purple light.

"I cast Miracle Re Born!" Subaru said. "With this spell's effect I will put a Hunter with cost 7 or less from the graveyard to the battle zone!"

"And what good Hunter would help you?" Toto mockingly said.

"This one - meet my new deck avatar, Toto - I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

All of a sudden, a dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V materialized behind Subaru and roared loudly. Everyone was afraid of the beast, except for Subaru and Edo. The creature looked down upon its master and gave him a smile to which he responded with a nod. Afterwards, Subaru turned to the still shocked Toto and said:

"Liger Blade's effect destroys all non-psychic creatures with cost 3 or less!"

"But wait, that means…" Atsuto barely spoke as the lion hit him with the back of its sword and made him fly back to his platform. "Ouch, that hurt!"

The lion then jumped and slashed Toto's El Kaiou and Murmur with its swords, destroying them. Subaru turned to Atsuto and apologized for the move while sweating:

"Hehe, excuse my Raion, he's a little excited."

"N-no big deal…" Atsuto said while trying to get up.

"Ca! Your little cat won't save you from your impending doom, Subaru! I summon Optimus, Eternal Victory Deis!" Toto said and a blue robot with giant laser guns instead of arms and a mechanical shark heard for a chest appeared behind Toto, face to face with Raion. "Cacaca, soon you will bow down to the superiority of me, Toto the clown!"

"Don't get too hyped up yet, your majesty, for it's my turn! I cast Inferno Sign and bring Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero to the battle zone!" Subaru said and a red-caped horned knight dressed in a purple armor which was also wielding two laser guns appeared behind him. "With its effect I'll put Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger to my graveyard. Now let's dance, bozo! Go, Raion, take down two of his shields!"

The demonic lion roared once again even louder than before and jumped towards Toto's deck. The clown to cover and trembled as the creature slashed two of his shields.

The crowd began to cheer and that angered Toto. He gave Subaru a glare of doom and then said:

"It's my turn! I charge mana with El Kaiou, Spirit Mecha King and activate Optimus' Space Charge effect!"

"Optimus' Space Charge effect allows Toto to return a spell from the graveyard to his hand if he charges mana with a light card. It also allows him to replace one of his shields with a card from his hand if he puts a water card in his mana zone." Sora explained.

"But he charged mana with a light/water card. What does that mean?" Tsugumi asked.

"That means that he'll use both Space Charge effects!" Nolan answered.

Everyone watched how Toto took Energy Stream back to his hand, then took a card from his shield zone to his hand and finally put another card from his hand on his shield zone. Then the clown selected yet another card from his hand and placed that on his only mono light creature in the battle zone while saying:

"Evolution! Chief De Baula, become Omegablack Z, Invincible Giant!"

A giant robot which had the faces of a panda, a parrot, a tiger and other animals on its body and the face of a human on its center appeared behind Toto and gave everyone a cyber roar.

"CAACACACA, attack, Omegablack Z!" Toto ordered and revealed his top 4 cards which were: two Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade, one Osmosis Bullet Soul Skull Hunter and one Mecha Crawler Tornadah. "I take Mecha Crawler Tornadah to my hand to my hand and put the rest on the bottom of my deck. Now Omegablack Z and Optimus, break 4 of his shields!"

The two robots rushed at Subaru and took down 4 out of his 5 shields with their mechanical fists in no time. When the shield shards united into 4 cards, Subaru was disappointed to see that they weren't anything good. He got 2 Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons and Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero. Now his only hope was the next card he would draw.

"CACACACACA, what's the matter, chosen darkness duelist? Your kitty got your tongue? CACACACACA!" Toto laughed.

"Actually, it's not over just yet!" Subaru replied after he saw what card he drew, and put a Raiden Hole in his mana zone. "I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top cards which Subaru revealed were two Aqua Surfers and Drilling Squito. Since the Aqua Surfers were Water cards, they both went to the graveyard. The other revealed went to his hand.

"Then I summon Drilling Squito. Romanoff Zero, attack! With its effect I cast Miracle Re Born from my graveyard and put Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger from my graveyard into the battle zone! Thunder Blade's effect destroys Optimus and Romanoff Zero attacks Omegablack Z and takes it down as well!" Subaru said and a grey demonic tiger wielding two pink swords appeared out of nowhere and slashed one of Toto's robots, Romanoff Zero destroying the other one with a shot from one of its laser guns. "Now break his final shields, Raion!"

Liger Blade nodded to its master and jumped towards Toto. One of the two shields which the lion slashed was the one which Toto had replaced with Optimus' effect. The clown gave Subaru an evil grin and said:

"Ca! Got'cha! Shield trigger, I summon not one but two Aqua Surfers!"

"Oh no!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Send Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and Romanoff Zero back to your hand!" Toto said and the two blue surfers hit both said creatures with their surfboards and made them vanish into thin air. "Now it's my turn, I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation and cast DNA Spark! With its effect I tap your Drilling Squito and gain one shield!"

A light which was shaped like a DNA fell upon both dueling tables, tapping Subaru's only blocker card and making a new blue shield appear on Toto's side to protect him yet again. The clown laughed maniacally and said:

"This is where your journey in the tournament ends, Subaru Geki! CAACACACA!"

"Oh no, Suby!" Edo shouted and got up from his seat.

"Aqua Surfer, break his final shield!" Toto ordered and the blue surfer rushed through Subaru's last shield breaking it to pieces. "It's over! Aqua Surfer, todome…"

Subaru took cover and expected the worse, but just then he saw a bright purple light coming not far from him. When he looked up, he saw that the shield shards had united into a card which was glowing with that light. He smiled when he saw it and then he quickly took it in his hand and showed it to his opponent while saying:

"Not so fast, Toto!"

"What now?" the clown asked impatiently.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate! Destroy the untapped Aqua Surfer!"

"NOOO!" Toto yelled loudly as he watched the black gate open and the tentacles of darkness grab his blue surfer and obliterate it.

"But that's not all! With Hades Death Gate's second effect I revive Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and Atsuto was teleported back to the battle zone.

"Ok, let's see if we're lucky this time." Atsuto said and took the two cards for Subaru.

When they saw what the cards were, their eyes widened and their jaws dropped. It was exactly what Subaru needed. The long black-haired boy took the cards to his hand and then discarded Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Toto, but the game's over!" Subaru declared.

"What?" Toto asked with fear.

"My turn, I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Subaru first showed one of the two cards which he drew and then put it to his graveyard while Toto discarded a Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade. "And now to show you the power of real friendship, Toto! This is what happens when Darkness and Water unite!"

"What are you talking about?" Toto continued asking as he saw a bright blue light coming from the other card which Subaru drew.

"I summon Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

A shark-like humanoid made of water with a sharp blue armor, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard appeared behind Subaru and screeched almost as loudly as Liger Blade. Manly tears began to fall from Edo's eyes as he proudly watched how his beloved Naruto Surfer was sitting between Subaru's Demon Command Hunters ready to own the zone.

"YAY, GO SUBY!" Edo yelled.

"Aqua Naruto Surfer, send Murmur and Aqua Surfer back to his hand!" Subaru ordered and the water creature hit both of Toto's creatures with the blades from its arms, making them disappear.

"Ca, this is not good!" Toto said sweating.

"Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and the demonic tiger slashed Toto last shield with both its pink swords.

Towards Toto's disappointment, his last shield wasn't a shield trigger. The clown gazed with sorrow at Subaru's creatures, being ready for his defeat.

"Let's do it, Raion!" Subaru said and jumped on Liger Blade's back. "TODOMEDA!"

Raion nodded and rushed at the defenseless clown. In the next moment the creature hit Toto with one of its blades and made him and his deck fly all the way back to the row where White was watching the duel. The dark blue lion took Subaru back to his dueling table and then disappeared along with Aqua Naruto Surfer and Thunder Blade. Afterwards Atsuto took Subaru's right arm and put it in the air while shouting:

"AND THE WINNER IS SUBARU!"

The crowd cheered loudly and Edo ran from his seat all the way to Subaru's dueling table and hugged him tightly.

"Congratulations, Suby, you truly made me proud!" Edo said with manly tears falling from his eyes.

"Thank you, Edo-kun. I did my best." Subaru replied with a happy smile on his face.

"I hate to break moments between friends, but I guess that since I'm now a card in your deck, I should probably join you?" Atsuto asked.

"Heh, don't worry, we got enough places in the UFO." Subaru said.

"Yeah, especially for cool guys like you." Edo added.

"Please, I prefer to be called 'fabulous'." Atsuto said and showed his shining teeth.

"Whatever, you're still cool to me." Edo laughed.

A few minutes later, Kokujo appeared in the arena, at the last level above all the other seats, right where Tigra was. The girl was expecting him, so she didn't even turn around to see who it was. Kokujo calmly walked to her and said:

"So, Tigra, what's going on?"

"Subaru won in his duel against Toto." Tigra replied while staring at the happy chosen duelists which greeted the victor. "And it seems that he's also made a new friend, that Atsuto guy which is hosting the tournament today."

"Heh, I knew that he'd defeat that clown." Kokujo said with a calm voice and then looked at the seat where White was standing.

"Are you afraid that he might pose a threat to you?"

"You underestimate me, Tigra. If I managed to defeat Hakuoh, White will be a piece of cake, I assure you."

"If you say so, Kokujo, I just hope that you won't be the one underestimating your opponent." Tigra spoke in her mind as she stared at the computer screen which revealed the names of the next contestants: Kokujo and White.


	120. Angel VS Demon, Part 2

"Moving on to our next duel, we have: Kokujo VS White!" a rather tired Atsuto which had just climbed back to his platform declared. "Get ready, folks, for you're about to see a very exciting duel! Both forces of Light and Darkness are going to clash once more!"

The crowd was getting more and more nervous as the lights concentrated once again on the two dueling tables which were empty for the time being. But then White suddenly appeared at his dueling table out of nowhere, making everyone wonder how did he get there in such a short time. It was one of his usual tricks. He'd wait for the lights to slowly go off and then he'd simply walk from his seat to the dueling table. When the lights would be turned above his dueling table, he'd appear there just like a ghost. This little 'trick' was his way of having fun and toying with people's simple minds.

But then everyone heard slow and loud footsteps coming from the stairs of the seat rows. A red-eyed boy in his late teens with long black hair, wearing a sleeveless white jacket, sleeveless red T shirt, black pants and black boots was descending to the arena. Once he entered the spotlight, he put a grin on his face. White was staring at him with indifference and boredom. He was rather apathetic of having to duel him after so many years in which they were both tied. When Kokujo reached his dueling table and was face to face with White, he suddenly exploded in a shower of hysterical laughs.

"It'll be such a pleasure to take you down yet again." Kokujo said.

"Don't be so full of yourself. Remember the times I used to kick your butt to kingdom come? Today it won't be different from back then!" White threatened.

"Oh, is that so?" Kokujo asked and showed his deck to his opponent. "Let's leave the cards to speak for us, shall we?"

White murmured something which Kokujo didn't hear and was better for him to not hear it either. Then the blonde boy took out his deck and placed his cards on the table. Both shouted 'Duel start!' and thus the match began. A few turns had passed and suddenly a train with a blue locomotive which had two big hands and a serpent head appeared behind her while filling the air with steam from its engine.

"I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil!" Kokujo said and put the card on the table next to his Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast cards.

"I summon two Murmur, Apostle of Formation!" White said and put the two cards on his table next to Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight.

"I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy it. Zabi Trash Train lets me draw a card and you'll have to destroy one of your creatures."

"I destroy Bloody Shadow. Now it's my turn, I cast Super Spark and tap all your creatures." White said and a bright light beam descended from the ceiling and tapped the three cards from Kokujo's table. "Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Now Gregorias, attack Ashliger!"

"Huh? But why would he make Gregorias attack a creature that it stronger?" Dani asked.

"Because his Murmurs give all his blockers, Gregorias included, +3000 more power, so Gregorias has a total of 6000 power added to his current, thus making him stronger than Ashliger." Tabitha explained as she watched the red-armored knight slice the two-headed liger in half, killing it.

"Now both my Murmurs, attack and destroy Bloody Shadow and Zabi Trash Train!" White ordered.

"It seems that you've become stronger, White. However, your tiny blockers won't save you from your impending doom!" Kokujo said and put a darkness card on his battle zone. "I summon Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper!"

"I cast Magic Shot – Glory Gate!" White said and revealed three cards out of which he selected Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor and took to his hand. The second set of three cards which he revealed had Gaius, Mystic Light Emperor which went in his hand as well.

"I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy Olzekia! Now you must choose two of your creatures and destroy them as well!"

"I destroy… both my Murmurs."

"And now it's time for Bell Hell De Gaul's effect!"

Kokujo's deck got shuffled by itself and since two creatures of White's were destroyed, he'd have to reveal two cards. The first card was Zabi Hydra, Evil Planet Lord which wasn't a non-evolution Demon Command and went to his hand. The second card he revealed was DNA Spark and it had the same fate as Zabi Hydra.

"I end for now." Kokujo said.

"Then it's time for your downfall! Evolution – Bloody Shadow, become Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!" White said and an angelic woman dressed in a golden armor and having a giant crown of gold with the shape of four wings appeared behind him. "Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields!"

Kokujo took cover as the Queen created a bright purple energy ball in her hands and casted it upon his two shields. The shields regenerated and he had the shock of receiving two Terror Pits.

"White has summoned Queen Alcadeias in the battle zone. This creature does not allow Kokujo to cast any mono colored spells." Tobey commented.

"And with Kokujo's deck having few spells, but them belonging only to one civilization, his shield triggers will be history." Dani added.

"Heh, you two are right. The Black Death might just have met his match." Tabitha said and then took a drink from her glass of wine while turning back to the duel.

"I charge mana and summon Zabi Hydra, Evil Planet Lord!" Kokujo said. "With its effect I return Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General to my hand from the graveyard."

"I summon Bega, Vizier of Shadow. With its effect I will gain one more shield." White said and watched how his shield number increased from 5 to 6. "Then I'll discard a card from your hand, heh."

Kokujo watched angrily how White pointed to his hand and made him put Zabi Olzekia back into his graveyard.

"Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields once again!" White ordered and the Queen repeated her attack upon Kokujo.

However, once he got the cards in his hand, Kokujo got his evil grin back and the return of his confidence made White worried.

"You fool, you gave me the cards I needed to defeat you!" Kokujo exclaimed.

"What are you talking about, Kokujo?" White asked while sweating.

"You'll find out soon enough! I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager. With Zabi Hydra's effect I take Zabi Olzekia from the graveyard back to my hand. Now I summon Zabi Olzekia! Zabi Hydra returns Zabi Trash Train to my hand and I destroy Zabi Fly with Zabi Olzekia's effect! Then you'll have to discard a card due to Zabi Fly AND destroy a creature due to Zabi Olzekia!"

"Tsh." White murmured and discarded Gaius, Mystic Light Emperor, then destroyed Bega, Vizier of Shadow.

"Then Bell Hell De Gaul's effect triggers!" Kokujo said and watched how his deck got shuffled and revealed a long-awaited non-evolution Demon Command. "Perfect! I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation!"

"Oh no!" White exclaimed.

"YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, DESTROY QUEEN ALCADEIAS AND GREGORIAS, OLZEKIA!" Kokujo laughed and the black demon slashed the two angels with its swords and then turned to its Alien version, Zabi Olzekia, and slashed it as well. "And to make it even better, Bell Hell De Gaul's effect triggers YET AGAIN!"

Kokujo's deck shuffled yet again and this time revealed Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior and Zabi Barrel, Western Doll, none being non-evolution Demon Commands and going to his hand.

"Heh, and now… I end." Kokujo said.

"What? He's not going to attack?" Dani burst out.

"I think I know what's coming next." Tabitha replied. "Kokujo, you sick bastard, you keep the best for the end. I so fear for what will happen to White."

White stared angrily at Kokujo and drew his next card quickly. He calculated his moves fast and decided that he would do whatever he could to stop Kokujo from humiliating him in front of everyone. He had 6 shields and all that he needed were some blockers.

"My turn, I summon Gregorias, Mystic Light Death Saint and return Bloody Shadow to my hand. Then I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!" White said.

"Get ready to see hell, White. It was nice knowing you." Kokujo said while showing a rainbow card which belonged to the Light and Darkness civilizations. "I summon Divine Demonic Lord… BALLCADEIAS!"

A bright purple light shined powerfully behind Kokujo and made everyone cover their eyes. Out of it a blue-skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white. The demon was also wearing a golden armor with blue paint. When the light disappeared, everyone saw the mighty creature unleashing darkness waves from its hands and engulfing White's creatures into them, annihilating them.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the building, Tsugumi was running while looking at her cell phone. She had received a text message which called her there right after Subaru won his duel against Toto. When she approached the end of the hallway, she saw Hanna sitting there with her arms crossed, waiting.

"Hanna-san, you were the one who sent me the message?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yes, we need to talk." Hanna replied.

"About what? Is there something wrong?"

"Not quite, I just wanted to tell you… that Tabitha-sama has freed me!"

"Huh? Freed you?"

"Yes, you see, Wally was being possessed by Tabitha and during my duel against him Tabitha made me a deal: if Wally won I would be brainwashed and if I won I would be free."

"That's great news, Hanna-san!" Tsugumi exclaimed and hugged the blue-haired girl which began to blush. "I'm so glad that you're back with us."

"Tsugumi-chan, I…"

"Does that mean that you'll be joining us again, Hanna?"

"Tsugumi…" Hanna said while escaping the blonde girl's grip. "I can't…"

"But why not, Hanna-san? We're your friends!" Tsugumi insisted.

"I know, it's just that this isn't my mission. My purpose is to unite both our fractions, and this is why I can't join you guys yet. First we must convince Tabitha that she should join us!"

"Haha, you're funny, Hanna. And why would she even consider joining us?"

"Because there is a greater danger coming and we've got to stop it before it destroys us all!"

Hanna's words struck Tsugumi with a great shock. What danger was she talking about? Was that danger bigger than Tabitha and even Devil Diabolos Zeta? If so, then they had to be prepared for the worse.

Back at the duel, everyone fell silent and waited for Kokujo to do his next move. White stared at Ballcadeias with worry and the creature gave him back a glance of evilness. Kokujo grinned and put three fingers on his Ballcadeias card while saying:

"Ballcadeias doesn't allow you to cast ANY spells, this meaning that your shield triggers are totally useless!"

"I… I will have my comeback!" White tried to assure Kokujo.

"Suuure you will. Sadly, it's game over for you, White! Ballcadeias, triple break his shields!" Kokujo ordered.

Ballcadeias concentrated its energy in its main pair of hands and created two powerful purple energy balls. The creature casted them towards White and took down three of his shields. When the cards regenerated and went to his hand, White had the disappointment to see that they were all spells: Heaven's Gate, Jealousy Bell and Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg. The worst part for White was that he had no way of casting Arcadia Egg and summoning Nero Gryphis from his hand for free. White began to tremble with fear and anger. The calm Light duelist that everyone had known was becoming more and more insecure. Seeing that, Kokujo took pleasure into mocking his opponent and arrogantly spoke:

"What's the matter? The almighty White can't take down a poor triple breaker? I thought that you were made of better stuff, but it seems that you're even weaker than Hakuoh!"

"What did you say?" White exclaimed.

"You heard me. At least he put up a fight, unlike you." Kokujo kept teasing him.

"You… YOU WILL PAY FOR THOSE WORDS! My turn, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor!"

The two mighty Knights appeared in front of White's shields, ready to protect their master from Kokujo's Ballcadeias. However, Kokujo was the least intimidated. With every desperate move that White was doing he was being even more determined to defeat the blonde boy.

"I think it's high time I put you out of your misery. We've wasted enough time." Kokujo coldly spoke and showed White that one Light card that he feared his opponent would use. "I cast DNA Spark!"

A light beam with the shape of a DNA fell upon White's table and tapped his two creatures. That single move was so shocking for White that he couldn't make another move. It was impossible for him. After many years of defeating Kokujo by tapping his creatures with Super Spark, he was now outsmarted by the same move… but with DNA Spark!

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Very well, I'll finish this quickly." Kokujo arrogantly said and placed two cards on his table, one on the other. "Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, and then I evolve it into Zabi Libra, Lord of Demons!"

A Demon Command with six dark blue wings, wearing a golden armor and having two mouths on the lower parts of its body appeared behind Kokujo and roared.

"Ballcadeias, break his final shields!" Kokujo ordered and Ballcadeias repeated its first attack once again, taking down White's last 3 shields. "It's over! Zabi Libra, todomeda!"

The creature filled the two mouths from the lower side of its body with two blue laser beams and in just a moment the beams were fired upon White. The blonde boy yelled as he was thrown by the attack all the way back to his seat, where Toto and Omega were waiting for him.

And with the final attack being given, the creatures disappeared and a sweating Atsuto spoke in the microphone:

"And the winner is Kokujo!"

The crowd cheered and applauded the victor, everyone being satisfied by the two duels of that day. Both Subaru and Kokujo had managed to entertain in their matches and showed everyone the power of the Darkness civilization.

"Man that was one epic match that Kokujo put up!" Rad said.

"It never ceases to amaze me how strong he is!" Sora added.

"Hey, he's the one who defeated Rezo. Did you expect less of him?" Subaru said.

"Gotta agree with Suby, we should've never doubted Ko's victory." Edo added.

"Overall, it was an epic match just like Rad said." Nolan concluded.

As Kokujo walked to the chosen duelists, Toto and Omega tried to console the defeated White who was staring angrily at the floor.

"You just had a bad day, White-sama, that's all." Toto said.

"Processing, loading, beep beep, Toto is right. White was just unlucky." Omega added.

"Grr, shut up, I don't need your pity!" White said and clenched his fists.

"Then would you like some tacos?" Toto suggested.

"NO! I need to get stronger! And one day, I swear I'll have my payback, Kokujo!" White said and then walked off. "Toto, Omega, we're leaving!"

Meanwhile, at Tsugumi and Hanna, the two were discussing further more.

"What danger are you talking about, Hanna? What could be worse than Tabitha?"

"It's something that not even I had imagined, Tsugumi. Pudding Pudding told me everything about it."

"Huh? Pudding Pudding?"

"Yes." Hanna nodded her head and then took out her Pudding Pudding, the Eternal card from her pockets. "She said that she tried to warn her parents, Alien Mother and Alien Father, about this threat, but they ignored her and didn't make peace with the Hunters. Thus both fractions had to pay the ultimate price."

"But what is this threat? Hanna, I need to know!" Tsugumi pleaded.

"Fine, but I warn you, what you're about to see is far from heaven."

The Pudding Pudding card shined brightly and its light captured Tsugumi. When the blonde girl opened her blue eyes, she saw that she was in front of a burning plain. Many creatures were lying dead on the battle field. She could barely recognize the fact that some were Aliens and others were Hunters because of the numerous mutilations that they had on their bodies. Then the girl heard a scream of pain. She turned her back and was shocked to see how a mechanical ghost-like creature with half of its body glowing with a yellow light, another radiating with a purple aura, which was also wearing a mask, had pierced a large sword into the chest of a Volg Tiger which was crying in agony. The creature tried for one final time to slash the mysterious assassin with its sword, but it didn't have any more power. The Volg Tiger closed its eyes and joined its fallen comrades in death. The creature let the lifeless body fall on the ground and then it joined another pack of mysterious creatures who were laughing in the dark.

"The creature world was so easy to destroy." a voice said.

"However, most of those bastards managed to run away from their homeland and hide somewhere else." another intervened.

"If that's so, then I suggest that we all go after them! We will finish them off and conquer that world where they've hidden!" a third voice suggested.

"Then so be it! We shall conquer the planet known as Earth and bring all life forms on it down to their knees!" the first voice said.

"How horrible! Just who are these monsters?" Tsugumi spoke to herself.

"They're the Unknowns." a young girl's voice resounded behind Tsugumi and caused her to turn back and get face to face with a pink-haired princess in a white dress.

"Oh my, you're actually her! You're Pudding Pudding!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"It's an honor to meet you, Tsugumi Shirayama." the princess said and respectfully bowed to the chosen light duelist. "However, time is running out, Tsugumi!"

"What do you mean? Are those monsters heading towards our world?"

"Even worse, they're already at the dimension gates, ready for them to open. They've gotten in contact with Rezo, the Red Priest, and he intends to use the Proof of Duelmaster to open the gates for these monsters!"

"Oh no! If what you say is true, then we've got to stop Rezo at all costs!" Tsugumi said and clenched her fists. "I can't let him destroy my home just like those monsters destroyed yours!"

"I beg of you, Tsugumi, help us defeat the Unknowns. You and your friends are the creature world's only hope!" Pudding Pudding said and then the image of her became blurry.

All of a sudden, Tsugumi opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on the floor and was being stared at by Hanna.

"Now you understand?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Yes, I do." Tsugumi replied and got up. "We've got to convince Tabitha to side with us and bring down Rezo."

"Indeed, this will be the tough part." Hanna said and then put her Pudding Pudding card back in her pockets.

"I'm afraid you're right, Hanna." Tsugumi said and looked through the window at the cloudy sky. "I fear that the fate of the world now lies upon this tournament."


	121. The Proof's cards

And so yet another day had passed. Kokujo and Subaru were victorious in the tournament and the others threw a party for them at the UFO. That was when they also greeted Atsuto into their ranks, thus increasing the team's number by 1. But little did they know that while they were having fun, evil was lurking in the darkness, ready to strike once again.

A few miles away from the city, on the top of a hill, Rezo was staring at the shining full moon while Hitler and Shagrath were watching TV through Hitler's hand watch which had the latest hologram projecting technology. A cooling breeze blew through Rezo's hair and the red priest whispered:

"Proof of Duelmaster, I know that you can hear me."

A few miles away, at the tournament building, hidden somewhere in a dark room, a blue gem with the shape of an egg began shining as if it was responding to Rezo.

"What should I do to have you in my grasp once again?" Rezo kept on.

The Red Priest fell silent for a moment and then he nodded in response. Suddenly, a blue beam of light fell upon him to the shock of Hitler and Shagrath. Rezo laughed evilly as a card fell from the sky into his right hand. Once the beam was gone, the Red Priest turned to his two allies and said:

"Now I know what I must do to have the power."

But Rezo wasn't the only one who had been visited by a strange beam. At the party from the UFO, five beams fell upon the chosen duelists as well. Everyone was tensioned and none knew what to do.

"Guys, what is this?" Rad asked scared.

"I dunno, but I certainly don't like the looks of it." Sora replied.

"That's it, WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Edo yelled.

"Fear not!" a strange voice spoke to them.

All of a sudden, five cards appeared in front of them. They were Rad's Bolshack Cross NEX, Sora's Terradragon Diruga Vejida, Edo's Crystal Zweilancer, Tsugumi's Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Subaru's Dorballom, Lord of Demons.

"The Proof has sent its chosen duelists a gift." Alphadios' voice resounded.

"Yes, in order to win the tournament and attain the Proof, you must each use the Proof's cards." Zweilancer added.

"But what cards are you talking of?" Subaru asked.

"You're about to find out." Dorballom said and then five cards descended from the ceiling into the hands of the chosen duelists.

"Use them wisely and make sure that the Proof will be under your protection yet again!" Bolshack Cross NEX advised them.

"You now have the Proof's blessing." Diruga Vejida concluded.

The blue light beams then disappeared and the five chosen cards went back into their owners' pockets. However, the chosen duelists were more concerned with their newly acquired cards. They all seemed too good to be true.

"Wow, I'm so going to rock with this guy!" Rad exclaimed.

"This card seems too good to be true!" Tsugumi added.

"Haha, this guy fits my deck perfectly!" Subaru pointed out.

"If only I was still in the tournament…" Sora spoke with regret while admiring her card.

"Haha, this guy is awesome!" Edo shouted like a child which just opened his Christmas present.

"Are they always like that when they get updates?" Nolan asked while sweating.

"Don't ask me, I'm new here." Atsuto replied.

"Heh." Kokujo murmured and looked at a card which he was holding in his right hand. "They're not the only ones which got goodies from the Proof."

And thus came the next day of the tournament. The arena was once again full and the atmosphere was the same as always. Since the host's illness had been healed, he returned to his place and left Atsuto sit with the chosen duelists in the seat rows. As always, the lights went off and a giant computer screen descended from the ceiling.

"And now let the final duels of round two begin!" the host announced. "The next duel is: Nolan VS Tabitha!"

A sudden shiver went down Nolan's spine as he heard the name of his opponent. It was she, Tabitha, the evil witch that was responsible of so many atrocities from what he had heard from the chosen duelists. And now he had to face her. He was both fearful due to the witch's notoriety and also excited, for he actually had to face her, and maybe even win! What a glorious thing would that be for him, Nolan defeating the chosen duelists' arch enemy. The boy woke up from his thoughts as he felt Subaru patting his shoulder.

"Good luck!" Subaru wished him.

"Yeah, and don't worry, you can defeat her!" Edo added.

"Arigatou!" Nolan replied and took out his deck.

The boy rushed to the stairs of his dueling table, more eager than ever to face the witch. But then the room's temperature fell with a few degrees as a blonde woman dressed in black witch clothes appeared at the opposing dueling table. It was Tabitha. Cheers coming from Dani, Tobey and Eddy were heard from a corner of the arena.

"Go, boss, go get him!" Dani cheered.

"Yeah, crush that tiny worm, master!" Tobey cheered as well.

"Tabitha-sama crush puny human! Tabitha-sama the best!" Eddy also cheered.

"Don't worry, my cheerleaders won't get in the way of your dueling skills today." Tabitha joked.

"So you're the one." Nolan said while setting up his cards.

"And only Tabitha!" the witch arrogantly replied and made her deck appear in her right hand. "Are you ready for your deathday, boy?"

"I'd ask you the same thing. Anyway, enough chit chats, let's do this!"

"You asked for it!"

In just a swoop second, Tabitha's deck shuffled itself, her shields set themselves up and five cards went into her hand. Both shouted 'Duel start!' and thus their match began.

"Let me start the party, I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow!" Tabitha said and a red and blue cat appeared behind her and meowed while she drew a card. "Meet my sweet little pet, Fluffy!"

"Where do you find these critters?" Nolan asked disgusted. "Oh well, my turn, I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it to gain one more mana."

"You, my friend, have no taste when it comes to kitties. Anyway, I cast Hot Spring Brain and draw a card. Fluffy, show him what you're made of!"

The cat meowed louder and jumped at Nolan, using her claws to slash one of his shields. The shield was broken into pieces and the cat walked back to her master. Once the shield shards united into a card, Nolan took it, then drew a card, charged mana and showed what he had gotten from the shield while saying:

"I summon Silver Shovel! With its effect I send both Silver Shovel and Hot Spring Crimson Meow to the mana zone! Heh, bye bye, fur bag."

"Don't worry, she'll be back." Tabitha said and watched how her cat disappeared due to a green aura that surrounded it. "Thanks for the 5 mana though, I needed it."

"Huh?"

"I cast Hot Spring – Invincible Time and draw 2 cards. Your turn, young one."

"Very well then, I summon Iron Arm Tribe and gain one more mana. Afterwards I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie, destroy it and gain yet another mana!"

"Hey, since when did Nolan get green thumbs?" Rad asked.

"Since last night." Tsugumi answered.

"Yeah, for some reason he said that he wanted to add Nature to boost the high costs of his Light and Fire creatures." Subaru added.

"That increased mana of yours won't save you from your impending doom!" Tabitha threatened. "I cast Killer Kusari-Gama and destroy Iron Arm Tribe!"

A purple hand appeared out of nowhere and slashed Nolan's green horse-like humanoid Hunter, destroying it, but making its card jump from the battle zone to the mana zone.

"And now I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and you'll have to discard a card from your hand." Tabitha said.

"Heh, arigatou gozaimasu." Nolan replied and threw a card from his hand which added into the battle zone. "Thanks to your Zabi Barrel, I now put Eternal Meteor Kaiser into the battle zone for free!"

A sapphire dragon wielding a fire sword appeared behind Nolan and roared at Tabitha. The witch made a step back while sweating, getting angry due to the mistake that she made.

"Boy, Tabitha-sama's situation doesn't look good." Dani pointed out.

"Eddy fear Tabitha-sama get hurt."

"Don't you worry yourselves, guys, Tabitha-sama will find a way out of this situation." Tobey said and then spoke in his mind. "I hope."

Then Nolan's hand glowed with a bright yellow light. The boy reached his hand in the air, as if he was calling for the power of the Heavens, and then he placed a card upon the Eternal Meteor Kaiser one which glowed even brighter than his hand. In the next moment, the sapphire dragon got surrounded by a bright aura and turned into a half red and half green dragon with big beastly fangs, a golden angelic armor, flame wings, and which was wielding two swords, a golden one and a green one, both being surrounded by bright red flames.

"What in damnation's name is this being?" Tabitha asked with fear.

"This is the card which the Proof handed me last night!" Nolan replied. "Tabitha, meet Bolpheus Heaven Fang, Holy Savage Dragon!"

"What? Nolan also gained a card from the Proof?" Tsugumi spoke shocked.

"It seems so." Subaru replied while staring at the magnificent creature. "So this is the reason he went with Nature as well. Nolan, you're one strong guy, I'll give you that."

"Yes, let's just hope that he's strong enough to defeat Tabitha." Rad added.

"So, what does this lizard do?" Tabitha tried to pretend that she wasn't scared.

"He's an 11000 powered triple breaker. When put into the battle zone, it allows me to cast a Light, Fire or Nature spell from my hand for free. Also, when it attacks, I may put one of my shields into the graveyard and destroy one of your creatures with 6000 or less. And to top it off, after destroying the creature, the top 2 cards of my deck go to the mana zone and then a card from my mana zone goes to my shields."

"But that's utterly broken!"

"Suit yourself, witch. Anyway, it's time to rock on!" Nolan said and showed a fire spell from his hand. "With Bolpheus Heaven's Fang effect, I cast Galaxy Shot – HELL for free! Destroy Zabi Barrel and put one of her shields to the graveyard!"

Tabitha growled with anger as she saw her creature blow up and one of her shields disappear and turn into a Hyperspatial Gallows Hole which went to her graveyard.

"Now Bolpheus Heaven Fang, attack!" Nolan ordered and then got Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon and DNA Spark into his mana zone and he chose to put DNA Spark into his shields. "Triple break her shields, Bolpheus Heaven Fang!"

The Dragon roared and used both its swords to slash three of Tabitha's shields. Its attack was so powerful that it made the shield shards hit and scar Tabitha's body. When the attack was finished, everyone saw a weakened Tabitha. The witch was breathing hard and was trying to cover the bleeding wounds with both her hands. The cards from her hand were left on her table, but one of them was glowing with a purple light.

"Sh-sh-sh-shiel…"

"What's the matter, Tabitha?" Nolan arrogantly asked.

"I got a shiel-shield tri-…"

"You got a what? Speak louder, I can't hear ya in the balcony!"

"I said I got a shield trigger… Terror Pit!" Tabitha said and the purple shining card got in the air and made two black demonic hands come out of it and grab Nolan's creature, smashing it in a matter of seconds.

"Bolpheus Heaven Fang!" Nolan exclaimed and helplessly watched how his creature was destroyed. "He may be gone, but I still got 5 shields and you only 1. It doesn't look pretty good for you."

"Shu-shut up!" Tabitha tried to speak but couldn't because of the wounds.

"Gee, Tabitha, who's the pathetic one now?"

"Insolent worm… you will PAAAYYY!" Tabitha suddenly yelled.

The witch's eyes turned red as she reached her right hand in the air. Inside the room where the Proof was being hidden, the gem glowed with a bright blue light and a blue beam soon came out of it. The beam rushed out of the room and made the robots which were guarding it wonder if it was a laser. The beam went all the way to the arena, and once it reached it, it fell straight upon Tabitha.

"Nani?" Nolan asked while taking cover.

An evil grin appeared on Tabitha's face as a card descended from the beam into her right hand as if she had called for it. The beam then disappeared and the seven cards from Tabitha's mana zone tapped themselves as she put into the battle zone the card she had just received.

"Hehehe, a new card from the Proof, how wonderfully perfect! I summon Gallows Deis Dragon, Sea Wizard Dragon!" Tabitha said and a giant Alien Dragon with three large mouths with sharp teeth and a black armor similar to those of Knights appeared behind her and roared so loud that the whole arena shook and the windows of the building began to crack.

"What's that?" Nolan asked.

"A brand new creature, a gift from the Proof of Duelmaster! You should feel honored for being its first victim." Tabitha replied.

"W-we'll see about that, I summon Omega Ultimate, Light Divine Dragon! So, Tabitha, care to explain what your creature does?"

"My pleasure, Gallows Deis Dragon is a 12000 powered triple breaker. When it would leave the battle zone, I may destroy another creature or put the top 2 cards of my deck to the graveyard instead. And whenever Gallows Deis Dragon attacks, I may cast any number of Water, Darkness or Fire spells from my graveyard which cost equal or less than the number of cards with 'Gallows' or 'Hot Spring' in their name from my mana zone."

Everyone looked at Tabitha's mana zone and were shocked to see that she had the following cards: two Marauder Deis Drive, two Hell's Hot Spring, Hyperspatial Gallows Hole, Gallows Blissful Kaiser and Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows. Out of her 7 mana cards, 5 were fitting for Gallows Deis Dragon's effect.

"Oh no, Nolan has to get rid of that thing before it's too late!" Tsugumi said.

"You can do it, Nolan!" Subaru cheered.

"I'll try my best, Subaru." Nolan spoke to the chosen darkness duelist.

"We'll see about that, I cast Hyperspatial Grip Blue Red Hole and put Hydra Gilsaurus into the battle zone!" Tabitha said and a three-headed white beast made of volcanic rocks appeared behind her and roared. "Then I also cast Killer Kusari-Gama and destroy Omega Ultimate!"

Another purple hand appeared and slashed Nolan's Dragon with its scythe, thus leaving his battle zone empty yet again.

"Now it's time to attack, Gallows Deis Dragon!" Tabitha said and the dragon fired lasers from its mouths. "Then with its effect I cast Hyperspatial Grip Blue Red Hole from my graveyard and get Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel into the battle zone!"

A white Alien made of bones and with 4 dark yellow tentacles and large limbs appeared behind Tabitha right next to Hydra Gilsaurus as Gallows Deis Dragon unleashed its lasers upon Nolan's shields, taking down 3 of them.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap all your creatures!" Nolan said sweating. "Now it's my turn, I summon Cocco Lupia and Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law!"

Tabitha calmly drew her next card, then placed Hot Spring Brain into her mana zone, boosting the number of cards required for Gallows Deis Dragon's effect to 6.

"Heh, then I cast Persistent Prison of Gaia!" Tabitha said and showed a rainbow spell which belonged to the Water, Darkness and Fire civilizations. "With its effect I send Ultimus back to your hand and discard the only card in it, and since the card you discarded has the same name as the one that I've bounced back, one of your shields is sent to the graveyard as well!"

Nolan stared with shock at how his Ultimus was bounced to his hand but then quickly discarded while one of his shields got broken into pieces and regenerated into a Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper which went into his graveyard.

"Gallows Deis Dragon, attack! And now I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole from my graveyard! Send Cocco Lupia back to his hand and bring forth Gallows Cebu Kaiser!"

The small red Fire Bird got surrounded by a vortex of water and disappeared. Then a blue sea creature with spiky tentacles and sharp mouths appeared behind Tabitha as Gallows Deis Dragon fired its lasers upon Nolan's final shields. It seemed that all was over for him, but just then a bright light shined in front of him and he took that one card he got form his shields to his hand and showed it to Tabitha while saying:

"Don't celebrate just yet, witch! Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark! Tap all her creatures!"

A light beam with the shape of a DNA fell upon Tabitha's dueling table and tapped all of her creatures. Afterwards a new shield materialized in front of Nolan.

"My turn, I summon Cocco Lupia and Shooting Exedrive! Go, Exedrive, break her final shield!" Nolan said and a red lizard warrior in a white metallic armor rushed at Tabitha and slashed her last shield with the purple spikes on its arms, afterwards disappearing. "Then I end my turn and take Exedrive to my hand."

"Hehehehehe, Psychic Link!" Tabitha said and her three psychic creatures united into one and became a giant pink dragon with spiky armor and tentacles, long arms, legs and neck, and an ugly head with really sharp teeth. "Gallows Devil Dragon, Dead Sea Dragon!"

Nolan's eyes widened as he saw that now Tabitha had two powerful Dragons by her side, whereas he had only a small Fire Bird and shield.

"Oh no, when Gallows Devil Dragon attacks, Nolan's Cocco Lupia will go back to his hand." Rad said.

"And to make it worse, Gallows Devil Dragon won't allow him to summon or cast anything without paying cost if it attacks this turn!" Subaru added.

"Oh no, Nolan!" Tsugumi shouted.

"Hahahahaha, attack, Gallows Devil Dragon, break his final shield!" Tabitha ordered and Gallows Devil Dragon fired a purple laser ball from its main head and shattered Nolan's last shield to pieces.

"Heh, it's a DNA Spark. First time in my life when I get all 3 DNA Sparks in my shields, and in the end they don't get to save me." Nolan savored the irony.

"And now… good bye! Gallows Deis Dragon, Sea Wizard Dragon, todomeda!" Tabitha gracefully said and pointed to her opponent.

The Dragon with the black Knight armor unleashed lasers from all of its mouths and the attack was so powerful that it blew Nolan and his whole deck off the dueling arena, making him land at the highest level, where Kokujo and Tigra were watching the duel. The chosen duelists rushed on the stairs to aid their friend and once the attack was over, the scared host barely declared the winner:

"And… the w-w-winner of the d-d-duel… i-is… her!"

Tabitha laughed uncontrollably and savored her victory. Her laughs were bringing chills down everyone's else's spines, as if the witch was a devil in front of them. Once the five chosen duelists reached the last level of the arena, they saw a Tigra which was staring at the dueling arena carelessly and a Kokujo which was holding a bleeding Nolan in his hands.

"Nolan, are you alright?" Rad rushed to him.

"He'll be fine. He's unconscious, but he'll survive." Kokujo said. "You better pack his cards and take him home."

"Tabitha will pay for this, I swear!" Subaru clenched his fists and stared with anger at the witch which was still laughing in front of everyone.


	122. End of the second round

"And now folks, it is the last duel of the second round of the Duel Masters tournament!" the host spoke in the microphone. "And our last contestants – Shubham and Tigra – are doing their best to enter the next round!"

And he was right. After Tabitha defeated Nolan and left the scene, the two quickly rushed to their dueling tables and began their match. Things moved pretty quickly and now Tigra had all of her shields intact and in her battle zone there were Volg Thunder, Thunder Tiger and Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard. On Shubham's battle zone there were Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil, Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade, his shields also being intact. Now it was his turn. He drew his next card and then stared at it for a moment.

"Thank you, Kokujo, for everything that you've taught me." Shubham spoke in his mind.

"Are you going to play today or not?" Tigra asked with frustration.

"Sure, but remember that you've asked for it!" Shubham said and then the three cards on his battle zone glowed with bright purple lights and they all went under the other, forming a stack on which he placed the card he drew. "Galaxy Vortex Evolution!"

The three creatures also got surrounded by purple lights and united into one being which was shining with an even brighter blue light.

"You're using a Galaxy Vortex Evolution creature? Since when did a punk like you get such stuff?" Tigra spoke amazed.

"Since this punk met the best evil genius ever!" Shubham replied. "Roar from the depths of the sea, Supernova Neptune Shutrom!"

An ice blue phoenix creature with dark purple wings which was wielding an ice spear appeared behind Shubham and roared loudly.

"Impossible!" Tigra exclaimed.

"Feel the power of my revenge! With this creature, you and the one which destroyed my clan are done for!" Shubham said and then gave Tabitha which was standing in a corner of the arena a vengeful glare.

"You've lost it, you dolt!"

"No, Tigra, you've lost… the match!"

Shubham tapped the card and Shutrom prepared its staff for attack. Then he smiled and took Zabi Olzekia from the stack of cards and placed it on the graveyard while saying:

"Meteorburn - now all of your creatures are sent to the top of your deck"

"This can't be happening!" Tigra said while watching Volg Thunder and Thunder Tiger disappearing into the hyperspatial zone and Cebu Algol going back to the top of her deck.

"Go, Supernova Neptune Shutrom, triple break her shields!" Shubham ordered and Shutrom fired a purple lightning from its staff which took down the three middle shields of Tigra's. The girl watched how each of her shields got scattered into pieces and some of them even hit her. However, her spiky armor prevented her from getting hurt.

"HAHAHAHAHA, DO YOU FEEL THE POWER, TIGRA?" Shubham suddenly laughed uncontrollably.

"No, I only feel the pain that you'll suffer, you maniac!" Tigra angrily replied and showed a darkness card which she got from her shields. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit!"

Six demonic hands came out of her card and grabbed Shubham's ice Phoenix, tearing it up and making it explode in front of the audience's eyes. Even if Shubham had lost his creature, the field was now clean and Tigra had only two shields standing, meaning that he was in advantage.

"Heh, I end." Shubham declared with a grin on his face.

"Then it is my turn." Tigra said and drew her next card. "I cast Emergency Typhoon, draw two cards and discard Corile. Then I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and put Thunder Tiger in the battle zone."

A black armored tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes appeared behind Tigra and roared at Shubham. Then the creature walked to its master and she struck its head. The tiger purred to Tigra, showing that it felt good.

"You gotta be kidding me, is that your comeback?"

"Yes, this little kitty will soon mean your doom." Tigra said while still stroking Thunder Tiger's head.

"Yeah right, I believe that your end has come just now!" Shubham replied and drew his next card, then charged mana. "I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. And then I evolve him into Startdash Reviver, Crystalline Shadow!"

The dark/water creature materialized behind Shubham and he smiled once again at Tigra and put a creature from his graveyard unto the battle zone while saying:

"With his ability I revive Zabi Barrel, Western Doll. Now discard the last card from your hand!"

"Grr." Tigra murmured after she lost Hyperspatial Raiden Hole. "You'll pay for this!"

"Yeah right." Shubham sarcastically replied. "Startdash Reviver, break her final shields!"

"Block the attack, Cebu Algol!"

After the creatures finished their battle with Shubham's being the winner, Tigra drew her next card and gave Shubham a glare of evilness through her X mask. Five mana cards tapped by themselves and she showed the card in her hand and said:

"I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole! I destroy Zabi Barrel and bring out Volg Thunder!"

A red demonic dragon which was wielding a blue sword appeared behind Tigra and she pointed at Shubham's deck meaning that that was the psychic creature's target. Volg Thunder milled Shubham's deck and he got into the graveyard the following cards: Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Aqua Surfer.

"Heh, it is only a matter of time." Tigra said and turned to the two psychic creatures which were eager to link in the next turn.

"We'll see about that." Shubham replied and drew his next card.

The boy got stunned when he saw that he had drawn one of the two cards which he had received from his mother on the night his clan had been destroyed. It was Skull Moon, the Enlightened. Right then and there he felt the power of his whole clan supporting him, and encouraging him to never give up. Even if they were dead, he knew that they were there, fighting alongside him. And now it was time for Shubham's moment of glory. The boy gave Tigra an evil stare once again and said:

"Tigra, this is where the road ends for you!"

"Oh, is that so? How are you going to back up your words?" Tigra asked and crossed her hands.

"Feel the power of the fallen Darkness clan! Ultimate Evolution!" Shubham shouted, his hand glowed with a bright purple light, and then he placed the card he drew upon his only creature in the battle zone. "Startdash Reviver, become Skull Moon, the Enlightened!"

The whole arena got filled with the same purple light and when it faded away, they all saw a giant horned skeletal warrior with four arms standing behind Shubham and staring at a rather scared Tigra.

"Heh, whenever Skull Moon would be destroyed, I may destroy one of your creatures instead. In order words, your Terror Pits are now useless, Tigra!" Shubham said. "GO, SKULL MOON, BREAK HER FINAL SHIELDS!"

The creature gave a terrifying shriek and formed a purple ball with its four hands which it then cased upon Tigra, making her shields disappear instantly. When the attack was over, Tigra's armor had small burns and she was surrounded by many shield shards. Shubham enjoyed the sight of the almost defeated Tigra. He then turned to the place were Kokujo was standing and saw that the evil genius gave him an approving smile to which he responded with a nod.

However, it wasn't over yet. The shield shards slowly united into two cards which Tigra took in her hand. The expression on her face was emotionless, which in some way was even more frightening than seeing her angry. She then showed the two cards to Shubham and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Shadowflash Revival Spiral… send Skull Moon on the top of your deck!"

The skeletal creature shrieked in pain as a spiral of water surrounded it and made it disappear while the stack of 3 cards went on the top of Shubham's deck.

"Then I also cast Inferno Sign and bring Cebu Algol out into the battle zone, and he will also bring another Thunger Tiger out!" Tigra continued and her battle zone got filled once again with creatures. "Now it's my turn… PSYCHIC LINK!"

Tigra's psychic creatures united and became a giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword. The girl laughed evilly at her opponent and then drew her next card and quickly placed in upon another card from her battle zone:

"Evolution! Cebu Algol, become Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! I now bring out another Volg Thunder and mill your deck once again!"

A black demon with three mouths instead of hands and chest appeared behind her Tigra alongside another red demonic dragon. Volg's target was once again Shubham's deck and this time the cards which got milled were Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Startdash Reviver, Crystalline Shadow.

"Now go, Zabi Implosion, double break his shields!" Tigra ordered and the demon fired lasers from its mouths and shattered two of Shubham's shields. "Then attack, Volg Tiger, and discard a card from his hand!"

The card which Shubham discarded was Jumasol, Bloodcurdling Fuuma, and Volg Tiger's effect made Tigra revive Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it once again to make Shubham discard the other card in his hand which was Olzekia, General of Decapitation.

"Hahaha, Volg Tiger, break two more shields!" Tigra ordered and Volg Tiger swung its sword with might and slashed two more of Shubham's shields. "How do you like that, mister avenger? Are you ready to give up?"

"She's so strong…" Shubham spoke in his mind. "This can't be… am I actually going to lose?"

The boy then turned once again to Kokujo and saw that he was giving him a parent like stare, motivating him to keep going, regardless of the situation.

"Yes, he's right, I still have a chance to defeat her!" Shubham said to himself and then drew his next card which was Skull Moon and quickly placed in onto his mana zone. "It's my turn, Tigra!" Shubham declared loudly.

"Heh, let's see you."

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Shubham said and revealed his top 3 cards: Fuuma Erigoul, Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and Zabi Fly, the Pillager. "Perfect, I now summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Zabi Fly, the Pillager and Fuuma Erigoul! Let's see you pass my army of small creatures!"

"It will be my pleasure." Tigra replied and drew her next card. "This is where the game ends for you!"

"Huh?" Shubham reacted with fear.

"Psychic Link, arise, my second Volg Tiger! And now I summon Death Circle, the Explosive Shadow and destroy it. Then I also destroy your Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"No, my blocker!"

"This is just the beginning! I attack with Volg Tiger and discard the last card from your hand!"

Shubham discarded Hanzou, Menacing Phantom before he could use its ninja strike and Tigra revived her Corile and put his Zabi Fly on the top of his deck as well. The boy then crossed his fingers and spoke in his mind:

"Please, be an Aqua Surfer!"

Volg Tiger slashed his final shield and the shield shards floated around the teen. He sweated nervously as the shards united into a card and when the process was over, he saw that it was… Zabi Hydra, Evil Planet Lord.

"Heh, it seems that it's over for me." Shubham said disappointed.

"Hahaha, it is the fate of the weak to fall." Tigra said while putting her hands on the other linked Volg Tiger. "Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast, todomeda!"

The tiger demon swung its sword once again and with a mighty move it hit Shubham and blew him and his cards all the way to the level where Kokujo and the chosen duelists were standing and taking care of the wounded Nolan. Now they would have a second person to take care of.

"And the winner is Tigra!" the host declared and then the crowd cheered.

Sora and Tsugumi took the wounded Shubham and put him against a wall, alongside the wounded Nolan. Then they proceeded to take care of his wounds. Meanwhile, Kokujo, Atsuto and the other three chosen duelists were standing by the stairs and watching how the victorious Tigra was climbing towards them.

But then behind her a giant computer screen shined once again and eight names appeared on it. The host then spoke to the crowd:

"The one going to the third round of the tournament are the following: Rezo, Rad, Tsugumi, Hanna, Subaru, Kokujo, Tabitha and Tigra! The next round will be held in the same place as before and it begins next week. Since there will be four duels, two will be on Monday and two on Friday. Now I wish you a good night and may you drive safely home!"

With that final message being given, everyone went home. Kokujo and Subaru were carrying Shubham, and Rad and Edo were carrying Nolan. Once they reached the UFO, they had the rather unpleasant surprise to see that Tigra was there all alone waiting for them. Sensing trouble, Kokujo let Subaru hold Shubham all by himself and then walked to the girl in golden armor.

"Tigra, what do you want now?"

"Why are you so cold, Kokujo? Aren't we supposed to be friends …or more than that?"

Tigra's words made the Black Death blush for a bit. However, he managed to keep his cool and continued:

"I don't have time to fool around, so tell me what your purpose is!"

"Fine, tell the chosen duelists to put those hurt weaklings inside and then come out here to talk." Tigra ordered.

"And why can't you simply enter the UFO?" Kokujo asked.

"Let's just say that I'm in a hurry."

Said and done. The chosen duelists took Nolan and Shubham to the nursing room and left Atsuto to take care of them. Afterwards the sextet formed of the chosen duelists and Kokujo gathered outside around Tigra.

"So Tigra, what do you want to talk with us?" Tsugumi asked.

"And it better be no trap. You should know that we don't like traps." Rad warned her.

"Don't worry, boy, I have no intentions of setting traps. I have come here to discuss important matters that affect all of you." Tigra answered and made the chosen duelists more curious.

"What's so important?" Sora asked.

"And why does it concern us so much?" Subaru added.

"Because it will be your gateway to a better life. Now first let me introduce myself: I am Tigra Fua, the leader of THEM. THEM are a secret organization of duelists that work within the shadows. You can hardly recognize a THEM member in normal life. However, at the gatherings from our various THEM headquarters, members wear their specific outfits."

"What does this THEM organization do? Does it have a certain purpose?" Rad asked.

"Yes, we are a benevolent secret society that tries its best to found Duel Masters schools and educate the next generations into dueling. We believe that to truly have a stable society, we must all follow a divine set of rules which has been handed down to us from generation to generation. These rules are made to help one evolve into their path of becoming a strong duelist and an honorable citizen. Our goal is to build this society, because even though it may seem utopian, we believe that through unity and determination everything is possible."

"Wow, I don't understand a thing of what she said, but it sounds pretty nice." Edo said.

"I have to agree with him on that one. It's all nice, but what does it have to do with us?" Sora intervened.

"You chosen duelists have been chosen by the Proof to be its guards. And those who guard the Proof also guard this planet. The world's fate lies in your hands. If you decide to neglect your jobs, we are screwed. If you decide to do your jobs, we are saved."

"Tigra is right, the world would've been doomed if it wouldn't have been for us." Rad remarked.

"But since our plans have similar goals, I've thought of offering you an invitation to join THEM." Tigra said and everyone else's jaws dropped. "You are important people with incredible powers, some of which are still hidden, so I believe that for your personal progress you should join my organization."

"Huh? Just what advantages would we have if he joined your secret organization?" Tsugumi asked.

"First of all, you wouldn't be living in a UFO. You would all have your own homes and all the money you want. You would basically live lives made of honey and milk. Secondly, as part of THEM, you will be able to interact with many powerful duelists from all around the world and learn new techniques. If you follow the THEM rules and train harder in the art of dueling, you will surely evolve as a duelist to an even higher level. And finally, with THEM's influence and your power, we will finally be able to create the safe society that we all strive for. So what do you say, chosen duelists, do you wish to join us? It will be a huge and important step of your lives."

"Sure, we'd like to jo…" Edo tried to speak but was quickly interrupted.

"I don't know, Tigra, you've rushed us all of a sudden with this offer. I think we'd have to think about it…" Rad said.

"Yeah, and most importantly why would we trust you, a stranger and the one which hurt Spunky and Shubham?" Subaru asked.

"Just try to have some faith, will you? If you'll get to know me better, you'll see that actually I am not that mean as I seem." Tigra said.

"So what should our answer be?" Sora asked the others.

"I'm so tempted to say a 'yes' and have us join THEM immediately." Tsugumi said. "I mean, look, it's the chance of our lifetime: we get a luxurious life, a chance to evolve as duelists and also a way to create the peaceful world we've always wanted."

"You should listen to the blonde girl, chosen duelists." Tigra commented.

"However, I feel that there is something wrong in this whole deal." Tsugumi commented. "There's something about this offer, something that is too good to be true."

"Tsugumi is right, appearances can be deceiving." Subaru added.

"Hahaha, come on, guys, look at me. Under this spiky armor I'm nothing more than a girl of your age. What could I possibly do to you?" Tigra innocently spoke.

But then, all of a sudden, a loud shout was heard from the UFO.

"YOU!"

Everyone got shocked by the noise and turned to see a bandaged Nolan coming out of the UFO and staring at Tigra with eyes filled with anger.

"Whatever she's said to you, guys, don't buy it! She's the last person you have to trust!" Nolan warned the chosen duelists.

"Nolan, you're hurt, you shouldn't be out!" Sora tried to help him, but he pushed her aside.

"I don't need pity now. I've come here to take care of this monster once and for all!" Nolan said and approached Tigra.

"Hey Nolan, what's with all the accusations?" Edo asked.

"I think that there's something that Nolan wants to tell us." Subaru whispered to Tsugumi.

"Let's hope that nothing bad will happen." Tsugumi whispered back to him.

"Tigra, we finally meet again!" Nolan said and stopped in front of the armored girl.

"Yes, it is indeed a pleasant surprise to see you." Tigra replied with fear.

"I wouldn't say the same thing about you… YOU MURDERER!" Nolan shouted and slapped the girl.


	123. Nolan's scars

Tigra fell on the ground with her left cheek red. However, that didn't stop the furious Nolan from attacking her. The boy grabbed her neck and began to strangle her with pleasure while growling angrily:

"Finally, Tigra, after all these years I can bring you to justice."

"N-Nolan, you don't understand…" Tigra tried to defend herself.

"What is there to understand? That you are a cold hearted murderer? I knew that for a long time." Nolan said and strangled Tigra even harder.

"Nolan, stop it!" Subaru yelled, then rushed to the tan-skinned boy and pulled him off the now hurt Tigra. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"What I am doing? I'm punishing this monster, that's what, now let go of me!"

"Nolan, I think it's high time you gave us an explanation. What's with this attitude of yours?" Rad asked.

"This is something personal, so back off!" Nolan coldly replied.

But just as he finished his sentence, Kokujo gave Nolan a powerful punch in the stomach which sent him unconscious.

_Ten years ago, on a sunny plain, an eight-year old Nolan was sitting on the grass and watching a kaijudo duel. By one side there was a teen with black spiky hair, dressed in a short sleeved black T shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans and having two piercings on his nose. By the other side was a tall boy wearing a white shirt with a red vest on it, blue jeans and sneakers, who also had a baseball cap on his head. _

"_Now it's my turn, I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!" the spiky haired boy spoke and a purple ghost with orange eyes, a horned skull on its head, an orange X on its chest and an orange skull staff appeared behind him. "Discard his last card, Kitarou!"_

"_Heh, thank you, I now discard Eternal Meteor Kaiser and put it into the battle zone!" the boy with the baseball cap replied and a sapphire-like dragon wielding a sword of fire appeared behind him and roared loudly._

"_Still, it's over! Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, break his final shields!" _

_The demonic tiger with wolf features aimed for the boy's shields with its purple blades and slashed them with two swings. _

"_Heh, let's see you get out of this situation, Nick!" the spiky haired boy teased._

"_It will be my pleasure, David! I, Nicholas Johnson, will show you how a job is done!" he replied and took the cards from his shields to his hand. "Perfect, my turn, I evolve Eternal Meteor Kaiser into Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon!"_

_The sapphire dragon got surrounded by a bright yellow aura and when it faded away it evolved into a majestic angelic dragon with fire wings, golden armor and a golden sword with a sharp blue laser blade. _

"_Wow, that's amazing!" little Nolan exclaimed._

"_When Bolshack Ulpheus comes into the battle zone, I may cast a light or fire spell for free, so I cast Galaxy Shot – HELL!" Nicholas said and showed a red card which shined brightly and then a storm of fire balls fell upon David's Thunder Blade and Kitarou, destroying them, and then tore down his last shields which fell into his graveyard._

"_Heh, you escaped a Terror Pit and Hades Death Gate marvelously. Good game!" David complimented his opponent._

_Nicholas nodded and then he packed up his cards and walked to the little Nolan which was amazed of watching a duel for the first time._

"_I guess I'll leave you two now. See you back at the headquarters." David said and walked off._

"_That was awesome, bro!" Nolan exclaimed._

"_Haha, I'm glad that you liked it." Nicholas replied and showed Nolan the Bolshack Ulpheus card. "This card, Bolshack Ulpheus, is my deck's avatar. I call him the JetBlaze admiral, because he's a commander of both the Light and Fire armies. One day, I promise that you'll get one too as your avatar."_

"_Thanks a bunch, bro!"_

_The two then got up and walked back to their headquarters as the sun was setting. On their way home, Nolan couldn't help but notice that his brother had gotten two new accessories: a red and a yellow glove, both having X marks on them. This made him curious, so he asked:_

"_Hey bro, what's with those awesome gloves ya got there? Can you get me a pair?"_

"_Haha, those gloves belong to our group of Hunters. It's our way of recognizing each other." Nicholas said. "When you grow up, I'll get you a pair as well. But first you'll have to learn dueling."_

"_I will, and then I will have my own JetBlaze admiral! And my own dueling gloves!" Nolan spoke with excitement._

"Nolan! Nolan, wake up!" a girl's voice resounded.

Nolan opened his eyes and saw the rather authoritarian face of Sora. He got a little scared and gave her a shout right before getting up.

"What happened? Where am I?" Nolan asked and noticed that he was lying on a bed and that outside it was daytime once again.

"You're back in the UFO, in the hospital room. You kind of spent the night here." Sora said and then walked to the bed where Shubham was lying to see if he was alright.

"Tigra… where is she?"

"She's left right after Kokujo knocked you unconscious."

"I see…"

"What's wrong with you, Nolan? Why did you go all berserk on Tigra?"

"Didn't you hear what I said back there, Sora? Tigra is a murderer!"

"A murderer? But who did she kill?" Sora asked while sitting down on a chair and taking Shubham's pulse.

"It's a long story." Nolan replied. "My brother and I were part of a secret Hunter organization. Our goals were to stop Tigra and THEM."

"But why would you stop THEM? They're a benevolent organization from what Tigra told us."

"That's a lie! Tigra… is the daughter of Zakira Fua."

Sora froze when she heard those words. If what Nolan said was true, then that meant that the daughter of Kokujo's arch nemesis had just tried to convince the chosen duelists to join her.

"Tigra… is Zakira's daughter?" Sora repeated and Nolan responded with a nod.

"Tigra didn't lie when she said that THEM are doing charitable acts to Duel Masters schools, they actually do that. But their true intentions are to train powerful duelists which will be recruited into their secret society. THEM want nothing more than to install a New World Order, and for that they need a leader, the one which funded their organization one hundred years ago, Zakira."

"But Zakira is dead! There's no way he can be the leader of their New World Order!" Sora intervened.

"Yes, he is dead, but my brother found out that they are intending on reviving him. You see, they have laboratories where they create artificial bodies. They've worked hardly on creating one for Zakira, but they still needed to get his soul. And to get their hands on the soul, they need the Proof of Duelmaster."

"So that's why Tigra is in the tournament!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yes, that's why. However, ten years ago, they had discovered a way of creating their own Proof. My brother's organization which was known as the Hunters tried to stop THEM. One night, we raided their labs."

_It was a rainy night. Still, the secret lab of THEM was on fire. Many corpses of THEM members lay on the floor alongside the corpses of young teenagers. The smoke was hardly bearable. Yet the THEM members were there, dueling the Hunters. It was a raging battle and both sides had suffered losses. That night would later enter THEM history as their worse defeat. Their most important laboratory had been destroyed and their top scientists at that time had fallen at the hands of a handful of teenagers. Still, that didn't stop all the THEM members present there from taking down the Hunters. _

_Outside, little Nolan was waiting in a car for the teens to come, but he got impatient and in the end got out and entered the building. But what he didn't know was that he would assist a massacre very soon._

_Inside the laboratory, there were only five teens left from the Hunter team. Those were David the Darkness Hunter, Liz the Light Hunter, Natalie the Nature Hunter, Will the Water Hunter and Nicholas the Fire Hunter. They were up against some of the strongest THEM members. However, as Nicholas won his duel, he heard footsteps coming from the main exit door. Then a figure dressed in a golden armor with spikes appeared. Nicholas recognized it immediately and began to panic._

"_Heads up, guys, Tigra's coming!" he announced his partners._

_Tigra made a few steps in the burning inferno which her laboratory had become and she stopped right in front of the capsule which contained the artificial Proof, intending to take it and leave. _

"_Oh no you don't!" Nicholas shouted and rushed to the girl then grabbed her right hand. "I'm not letting you revive Zakira, Tigra, mark my words!"_

"_Such brave words coming from a fool like you." Tigra replied and showed her deck. "Still, if it's a beating that you're looking for, I'm more than happy to give it to you."_

"_SHIELDS UP!" both shouted and thus began their duel._

_Meanwhile, little Nolan was wandering the building's corridors until he saw that there was smoke coming from a room. He rushed to it and once he reached it, he had the horror of seeing the event which would mark his life._

"_Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General, todomeda!" a THEM member ordered and the black demonic alien slashed David with its swords and made him fall in a pool of blood._

"_Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Servant Spirits, show her what hell is like!" another THEM member ordered and the corrupt golden angel roared and fired a purple laser ball from its hands upon Liz, obliterating her._

"_Gallows Cebu Kaiser, make him enjoy his watery grave!" yet another THEM member threw an order to his creature, and the Alien fired tornados made of water from its mouths upon Will, blowing him against the wall and leaving him for the dead._

"_And Geo Crushing Miranda, the Dimensional Force, todomeda!" a fourth THEM member ordered and its Alien elephant hit poor Natalie with its hammer and broke her skull open. _

_Once their duels were over, the four THEM members disappeared in the flames. The scared Nolan rushed inside and looked for his brother. Luckily, he heard some shields breaking and when he turned around he saw Nicholas dueling Tigra. She had five shields and Volg Thunder in the battle zone, whereas Nicholas had two shields and Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon in the battle zone._

"_My turn, I evolve Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon into Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon!" Nicholas shouted and the JetBlaze admiral rose from the flames and flew by his side in the battle field. "With its effect I cast Invincible Cataclysm! Now let's see if the myth that all of your shields are shield triggers is true!"_

_Three of Tigra's shields got destroyed by huge fire balls and the shield shards quickly united into cards which fell into her graveyard. Those cards were Ghost Touch, Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and Death Circle, the Explosive Shadow._

"_Heh, looks like your luck has run out, Tigra! JetBlaze admiral, break her final shields!" Nicholas ordered and the angelic dragon swung its laser sword and took down Tigra's last two shields._

_However, a sly grin appeared on Tigra's face. The grin brought fear into Nicholas' eyes. Her shields quickly became cards which she took into her hand, and then she showed them both to him while saying:_

"_Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and bring Cebu Algol into the battle zone! Then with Cebu Algol's effect I bring out Thunder Tiger!"_

_A black tiger appeared behind Tigra and roared at Nicholas, bringing chills down his spine._

"_Then shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Bolshack Ulpheus back to his hand!" Tigra continued and a blue surfer hit the JetBlaze admiral and made it disappear, its card going back into Nicholas' hand. "Now it's my turn - psychic link! Arise, Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!"_

_A __giant tiger demon made of bones, with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword appeared behind Tigra and its shadow fell upon both Nicholas and Nolan. Fear had taken over both of them. They were petrified by the creature's might. _

"_And now it's time to end this! Volg Tiger, attack!" Tigra ordered and the creature roared at Nicholas, making the Bolshack Ulpheus card from his hand fall into the graveyard._

"_No! JetBlaze admiral!" Nicholas yelled with fear and pain in his heart._

"_Heh, with Volg Tiger's effect I now evolve Cebu Algol into the Zabi Implosion which was in my graveyard and bring out yet another Volg Thunder into the battle zone!" Tigra said and a black demon with three mouths instead of hands and chest appeared along with a red demonic dragon which was wielding a blue sword. "Volg Tiger, break his final shields!"_

_Volg Tiger swung its sword with might and slashed Nicholas' last two shields into pieces. However, one of them quickly turned into a card which glowed with a bright red light._

"_Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Aqua Surfer!" Nicholas said and a red metallic scrapper appeared out of nowhere and crushed Tigra's blue surfer._

"_Heh, sadly, your luck has worn out, and the same could be applied to your friends." Tigra said and looked at the bodies which were lying in the burning inferno. "How foolish of you Hunters, to think that you can challenge THEM!"_

"_Even if we fall, Tigra, others will come to face you! As long as goodness exists, you will never be able to win!" Nicholas replied and then took the Bolshack Ulpheus card in his hand and tossed it at the fake Proof. "Burn into the mighty sky, JetBlaze admiral!"_

_The card shined powerfully and then a hologram of Bolshack Ulpheus appeared and slashed the fake Proof with its laser sword, making it crack until it broke into a million pieces in front of the shocked Tigra._

"_You… YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" Tigra shouted. "ZABI IMPLOSION, TODOMEDA!"_

_The demon unleashed lasers from all its mouths and blew Nicholas away. His burned body and his cards all landed right next to his fallen comrades, in front of the now scared Nolan. As Tigra walked away with anger, Nolan fell on his knees and yelled as loud as he could. _

Silence had fallen upon the room. Sora had finished checking Shubham's wounds and was now staring at the sky through the window. Nolan reached his hand into his pocket and took out his Bolshack Ulpheus card and stared at it.

"That was the day… when I got you, JetBlaze admiral. And it was also the day when I swore that I'd avenge my fallen comrades." Nolan spoke in his mind. "Tigra will pay for the massacre that she made!"

"So Nolan…" Sora broke the silence. "You've dedicated your whole life to destroy Tigra?"

"Yes. Yes, I did. I will not rest until she pays for what she did to the Hunters."

"You know, I was an orphan. My master found me in the woods and raised me up. He was the last apprentice of the Duel Masters temple and he had the mission of finding and training the new chosen duelists. Thanks to him I've met Rad and Edo and we've become close friends. However, when he died, it hit us the hardest. But we didn't let our hatred towards our master's killer blind us. We have a mission and revenge shouldn't stop us!"

"Don't you get it, Sora? My mission IS revenge!" Nolan said but Sora then slapped him.

"No it's not, Nolan! Don't you remember what your brother said?" Sora said and then picked up Nolan's Bolshack Ulpheus and showed it to him. "He said he wanted you to have your own JetBlaze admiral and to evolve as a duelist. He wouldn't want his little brother to walk on a path lighted by the fires of vengeance!"

"Bolshack Ulpheus…" Nolan murmured and stared at the card, only to have a vision in which the creature was standing in front of him, staring down at him and giving him a smile. "You're right, JetBlaze admiral!"

"Eh? My name's Sora!" the green haired girl's voice brought Nolan back to reality.

"Oops, sorry." Nolan said and blushed. "Anyway, I guess you're right, maybe there are other things in life worth than revenge."

"I'm glad to hear that." Sora said smiling and then she walked away.

Nolan stared at the sky as well and then he remembered his old team, the Hunters, and its five main duelists. Then the image of the five chosen duelists appeared in his mind as well. Sure, they were less mature, much clumsier and a little weird, but they seemed to be capable to save the world when needed. Nolan laughed to himself for a bit and then said:

"Who knows, maybe they can actually take down Tigra."

"Giving up revenge, huh?" another male voice resounded in the room.

Nolan looked at his left and saw Shubham getting up from his bed, even if he had bandages on various parts of his body.

"Shubham, where are you going?" Nolan asked.

"I can't waste time here licking my wounds." Shubham replied and opened the door. "I've got to train harder if I want to get back that Gallows Devil Dragon which Tabitha stole from my clan."

"But you're out of the tournament, how do you expect to defeat Tabitha?" Nolan asked.

"Hahaha, that is because I, unlike you, refuse to let go of my revenge!" Shubham coldly laughed and then disappeared in the corridor.

Nolan sighed and put his head on the pillow. The other day had been a hard one and he needed all the rest he could get.

Meanwhile, a few miles from the city, Rezo and his allies were sitting on a hill and staring at the city. Shagrath and Hitler were silent because they didn't want to disturb Rezo who was in the process of communicating with the Proof.

"So, Proof, is this the only way that I can claim you once again?" Rezo asked.

At the tournament building, inside a hidden room, the Proof glowed with a bright blue light and responded to Rezo's question.

"If that's so, then I will get my hands on the other nine cards which you've created." Rezo said and then clenched his right fist. "And then the world as we know it shall bow down once again to the almighty Red Priest!"

And so the day when the third round of the tournament began came. The eight contestants were all sitting at their regular places and waiting for their turn to come. The host was at his usual place as well and saluted the crowd. Then the computer screen lowered and revealed the matches which would take place that day:

Rad VS Tabitha

Rezo VS Tsugumi

Kokujo VS Subaru

Hanna VS Tigra

The whole third round would take place in just one day. It seemed that time didn't have patience anymore. Will Kokujo and the three chosen duelists be able to prevent the Proof from falling into the hands of evil?


	124. Rad's family issues

Out of all the chosen duelists, Rad was probably the toughest of them all. Sure, he managed to socialize more with his teammates and give up the lone wolf attitude, but he was still acting hotheadedly at times, especially if Edo did something stupid. For instance, once Subaru accidentally burned Rad's underwear and Rad pinned the fault on Edo just because he was picking up the laundry. What followed next… is better left unknown.

Still, Rad was highly regarded by his teammates due to his strong personality and leadership skills, and even if he deemed himself unworthy, the others chose him as the group's leader. But what they didn't know was that behind the tough guy attitude lied a rather insecure child. Rad was the only chosen duelist who had his parents alive and with whom he still kept contact. His parents would call him daily to know what was going on with him and he always had to hide in a corner or another room in order to have his silent phone chats. If there was one thing that Rad didn't like, that was others considering him weak and soft. That was why he had to act as tough as possible, even with the other chosen duelists.

Returning to the present time, Rad was now at the tournament, dueling Tabitha. His friends were cheering him as usual, but his confidence was already high. He had faced Tabitha before and knew what the witch was capable of. Rad had 3 shields left, 5 mana and Cocco Lupia in the battle zone. Tabitha had 4 shields left, 7 mana and Gallows Deis Dragon, Sea Wizard Dragon in the battle zone. Now it was Rad's turn. The red haired teen drew a card and then gave his opponent a slick smile.

"Are you ready to lose, Tabitha?"

"Are you, Rad?"

"I'm not, but you surely are going on a one trip to loserville!" Rad exclaimed while tapping the 5 mana he had. "I summon Bolbalzak Ex! And to make things better, he untaps all my mana!"

A horned red-armored white-winged dragon with fire swords appeared behind Rad and Tabitha watched it with an excited smile.

"Then it's time for you to meet the Proof's power, Tabitha!" Rad continued. "Behold – Gaial Racer Dragon, Ultimate Victory Bringer!"

Rad's card glowed with a bright red aura and a red-armored dragon whose neck, tail and limbs were longer than Bolbalzak Ex's and which also had an X on its chest and wielded two flame swords appeared behind Rad and roared at Tabitha.

"But that thing costs 8 mana and Cocco Lupia reduces your Dragons' mana cost by 2, whereas you have only 5 mana and…"

"Gaial Racer Dragon has Sympathy: Armored Dragon and Hunter, Tabitha." Rad cleared out. "And he's also a speed attacker which doesn't allow you to choose creatures which share a race with it except for itself. In other words…"

"She's history!" Sora exclaimed.

"Go, Rad, you can do it!" Subaru cheered.

"Yeah, Raddy boy, burn the witch!" Edo added.

"Did you just call me 'Raddy boy'?" Rad spoke angrily and gave Edo a menacing glare which caused the brown haired boy to shrink into his seat.

"Hahaha, what's the matter? Your fans are already annoying you?" Tabitha arrogantly asked.

"Yeah right… anyway, Gaial Racer Dragon, double break her shields!" Rad ordered and the dragon slashed two of Tabitha's shields. "Bolbalzak Ex, break her final shields!" Rad continued and the other dragon took down Tabitha's last two shields. "Cocco Lupia, todome…"

"Not so fast, Raddy boy!" Tabitha mockingly said as the shield shards united into cards which went into her hand. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Cocco Lupia!"

"Shit!"

"Also, shield trigger, I summon Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure and destroy it. Then I put Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel into the battle zone!"

A white Alien made of bones and with 4 dark yellow tentacles and large limbs appeared behind Tabitha right next to Gallows Deis Dragon. Now it was the witch's turn. She drew a card, placed Gallows Blissful Kaiser into her mana zone tapped and then tapped her remaining 7 mana and showed a fire/darkness/water spell which no one else had seen before.

'My turn, I cast Super Move! Absolute Despair!" Tabitha shouted and five cards in her mana zone glowed with a bright blue light, those being: Hot Spring Crimson Meow, Hot Spring Brain, Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows, Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and Gallows Blissful Kaiser. "Since I have 5 Water mana, I'll draw 2 cards." then they ceased glowing with blue auras and again five cards began to glow with red auras, those being: Hot Spring Crimson Meow, Marauder Deis Drive, Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows, Hell's Hot Spring and Gallows Blissful Kaiser. "Then since I have 5 Fire mana, I'll destroy Bolbalzak Ex!"

Rad helplessly watched how one of his dragons blew up due to Tabitha's spell. That was the moment when he began to truly panic, for Tabitha began to take control. The witch gracefully placed her hand on her only multicolored card from the battle zone and tapped it while saying:

"Gallows Deis Dragon, attack! And since I have 6 mana cards with 'Hot Spring' or 'Gallows' in their name, I cast Terror Pit on Gaial Racer Dragon!"

Two demonic black hands appeared out of nowhere and crushed Rad's final dragon. Afterwards, Gallows Deis Dragon fired dark purple lasers from its mouths which took down Rad's last shields. Sadly for him, none were shield triggers.

"IT'S OVER, CHOSEN FIRE DUELIST! ZABI RIGEL, TODOMEDA!" Tabitha yelled and the Alien jumped upon Rad and hit him, thus throwing him and his cards on the cold metallic floor of the arena.

"And the winner is Tabitha!" the host declared.

But just as Tabitha was savoring the taste of victory, Rad's Gaial Racer Dragon card suddenly vanished into thin air. In the other corner of the arena where nobody was watching, the card reappeared in Rezo's hand and the Red Priest stared at it with a satisfied look on his face.

"Perfect, the second card of the Proof is now in my hands!" Rezo exalted to his allies. "It will only be a matter of time until I get the others."

Since all four duels of the third round would take place that day, they offered 15 minute breaks between matches. The chosen duelists rushed to help Rad. Sora helped pack up his cards, whereas Tsugumi and Edo helped him up.

"Wha-what happened?" Rad asked after he opened his eyes and saw that he was being carried on the stairs to the exit of the arena.

"You lost in your match against Tabitha." Tsugumi replied.

"Yeah, now take it easy, we'll take care of your wounds in the UFO." Sora added.

"I don't need your help!" Rad burst out and escaped the grips of Tsugumi and Edo.

"But Rad-kun, you've been hurt and…" Subaru tried to intervene.

"I don't care! I'm not the weakling that you can show pity to!" Rad insisted, then took his deck from Sora's hands and started climbing the stairs on his own.

But just as he was approaching the last level, where Kokujo and Tigra were watching the duels, he heard a familiar woman's voice calling him:

"Rad! Rad!"

"Oh no, this can't be!" Rad thought and tried climb faster.

"Hey son, where are you rushing all of a sudden?" a man's voice added.

"Please, not them, anything but them!" Rad spoke in his mind and then closed his eyes and slowly turned to those which were calling him out.

When Rad opened his eyes, he was shocked to see a middle aged woman with red hair, red eyes and a challenging red dress with flames on. She wore high heels, was slim and had a dark red purse on her left shoulder. The woman was with a rather tall bald man with blue eyes, who wore business man clothes. Even though he looked nothing like him at first sight, if you looked closer, you could see that the man's face resembled Rad's.

"Mom, dad?" Rad asked while sweating.

"Of course, honey." the red haired woman spoke and hugged her son. "It's been so long since we've last seen you, our precious muffin!"

"Yeah son, you haven't called us for like a week. Also, the last time you visited us was a few months ago." the business man added.

The other chosen duelists watched with amazement how Rad was being showed affection by the two adults. It was so shocking to them that their jaws dropped.

"Those guys… are Rad's parents?" Subaru asked with a rather dumb voice.

"I'm as surprised as you." Tsugumi replied.

"But Rad never said anything about his parents." Sora brought up.

"He didn't? That means only one thing: Raddy is ashamed of his parents!" Edo suggested. "Hey Suby, shall we find out if that's true?"

"Sure, you go and see what's going on, I'll catch up with you soon." Subaru replied and then turned to Tsugumi with a rather affectionate look on his face. "Your match is next."

"I know. I'll be facing Rezo, but I'm confident that with Pudding Pudding in my deck, I'll be able to defeat him." Tsugumi said while looking into Subaru's warm eyes.

"Remember, even when I'm not here physically, I'll always be in your heart." Subaru spoke tenderly and put his right hand on the girl's chest.

Tsugumi nodded and Subaru gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then the black haired boy rushed up the stairs to catch up with Edo. Tsugumi blushed and Sora whispered to her ear with a rather amused voice:

"Boys will be boys, haha."

Meanwhile, outside the arena, in a corridor, Rad and his parents were having a heated discussion.

"Rad, why haven't you kept in touch with us? Don't you think that we deserve a little more attention from our only son?" Rad's father asked.

"Keep in touch with you? You're the ones who keep calling me almost on a daily basis to ask me about the stupidest things ever!" Rad replied and then imitated his mother's voice while pretending to be talking on the phone. "Raddy, did you wash your underwear? Raddy, did you make yourself dinner? Raddy, did you take a bath at that hour? Raddy, did you go to sleep early last night? Not to mention that you, dad, also ask me on a daily basis if I took care of my rocket, as if I'm a stupid kid which doesn't know on what world he lives!"

"That is not a way to talk to your parents, young man!" Rad's mother intervened.

"Then how should I talk to you guys? How can I try to respect you when you can't respect my privacy?"

"Your mother's right, Rad, you shouldn't be mad at us. We are your parents, we can't help but worry about you!"

"You're our only son and now you're also the chosen fire duelist. You have a great responsibility lying upon your shoulders and protecting the world is a very dangerous job. How can we not be worried about you?" Rad's mother said.

What Rad and his parents didn't know was that Edo and Subaru were sitting just behind a corner and listening to the whole conversation. Sure, it was a rather serious debate of parents worrying over their child's safety, but the two friends could not help but laugh. He, Rad, the toughest of the chosen duelists was now nothing more than mommy's boy.

"Hahaha, Edo-kun, can you believe it? Our Rad… is being pwned… by his own parents!"

"You mean little Raddy, don'cha, Suby? I didn't know that all this time Raddy was angry because he didn't get a milk bottle, hahaha!"

"Milk bottle? That's a good one, Edo-kun!"

Meanwhile, at the arena, the duel had begun. Rezo and Tsugumi were making their moves rather fast. Tsugumi had 8 mana, 2 shields left and Pudding Pudding, the Eternal in her battle zone, whereas Rezo had 8 mana, all 5 shields intact and no creatures in the battle zone. Now it was Tsugumi's turn. The blonde girl drew, charged mana and said:

"Alright, Rezo, it's time to show you the power of both Hunters and Aliens!"

"Hah, let me guess, Pudding Pudding told you about the Unknowns, right?" Rezo arrogantly replied.

"She did, and we will not allow you to unleash them upon our world just like they did upon the creature world, I'll make sure of it!" Tsugumi said while tapping her mana. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe and gain one more mana. And then I evolve Iron Arm Tribe into Great Hercules, Giant Insect!"

"Yes, Tsugumi, now it's the time to show him our power!" Pudding Pudding exclaimed.

Tsugumi nodded to the princess and then tapped her Great Hercules card while saying:

"With Great Hercules' effect I evolve Pudding Pudding, the Eternal into the Alcadeias Hunter, Lord of Free Spirits from my mana zone!"

A bright light filled the arena and when it faded away, the pink haired princess was no more and a giant angel with golden armor which had a red X on its chest, white wings and a shiny golden sword in its right hand appeared behind Tsugumi. Rezo stared at the creature with a grin on his face and said:

"So this is the card that the Proof gave you."

"And the card that shall bring your downfall, Rezo! Alcadeias Hunter doesn't allow you to cast spells unless you have an Angel Command or Hunter in the battle zone. Also, at the start of my turns, if you have no cards in your hand, Alcadeias Hunter gives me a shield." Tsugumi explained.

"Heh, then I think that you should've evolved Pudding Pudding into the Gaga Alcadeias from your mana zone instead." Rezo replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You thought that since my deck is fully concentrated on Romanoffs, I might not have Angel Commands, Hunters or Aliens. It is mostly true, though one of my trump cards is Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero, which is a Hunter, and thus Alcadeias Hunter's spell banning effect will become useless if I get him in the battle zone."

"We'll see about that, Red Priest! Great Hercules, double break his shields!" Tsugumi ordered and the giant blue insect jumped towards Rezo and took down two of his shields with its claws. "Then Alcadeias Hunter, break his last shields!" the blonde girl continued and the angel swung its sword and slashed Rezo's remaining three shields.

When the attack was over, the Red Priest was surrounded by many shield shards. Still, he couldn't help but laugh evilly at the foolish chosen light duelist which dared to think that she had a chance against him.

"What's wrong?" Tsugumi asked while sweating.

"Nothing, just YOUR downfall!" Rezo arrogantly replied. "Grave Evolution, I summon Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons! With his effect I will destroy Alcadeias Hunter!"

Rezo's words shocked Tsugumi so hard that she couldn't even turn to see how her mighty angel blew up into pieces.

"Easy come, easy go." Rezo mocked her. "Then I summon Bloody Squito. Varz Romanoff, suicide with Great Hercules!"

Tsugumi was astonished, in just one turn Rezo had managed to take down both her powerful creatures and build himself a small defense with Bloody Squito. Still, she had two shields left, whereas he had none. She could still win if she just had the right card.

"Subaru, Hanna, Pudding Pudding, I won't let you guys down now!" Tsugumi thought and then drew her next card and spoke to Rezo. "My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole, tap Bloody Squito and bring Merriane, Apostle of Alps and Chandelier, Light Weapon into the battle zone!"

"It's time to finish this! I summon Bloody Squito and then… behold the great power which the Proof had entrusted me with!" Rezo exclaimed and then a bright red light came out of the card which he was about to use. "I summon Ultimate Romanoff, Demonic Red Priest!"

Suddenly, a horned Knight with sharp teeth which dressed in a purple armor surrounded by dark red flames and who also wielded two large guns appeared behind Rezo and gave everyone a terrifying roar.

"What is that thing?" Tsugumi asked with fear.

"Meet my new companion – Ultimate Romanoff, Demonic Red Priest. This little beauty belongs to both Darkness and Fire civilizations. It is a speed attacker and double breaker, has 9000 power and when it is put into the battle zone, I am allowed to search my deck and put a Darkness card into the graveyard. Also, when Ultimate Romanoff attacks, I may cast a Darkness spell without paying its cost." Rezo said with a grin on his face.

"What? Any kind of Darkness spell, with no restriction whatsoever?"

"Exactly, and guess what I'm going to take."

The cards from Rezo's deck lifted up and made way for one which went directly into Rezo's hand and which he tossed into his graveyard.

"I put Invincible Abyss into the graveyard!" Rezo said.

"Oh no!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Ultimate Romanoff, attack and allow me to cast the one spell that all Darkness users strive to cast as quick as possible! I cast... Invincible Abyss! DESTROY ALL OF HER CREATURES!"

The Darkness spell card which cost 13 mana left itself from the graveyard, floated in the air and shined with a bright purple light. All of a sudden, both of Tsugumi's creatures blew up and disappeared into the hyperspatial zone. Then Ultimate Romanoff aimed the girl's last two shields with its guns and unleashed streams of fire from them which made them disappear in a matter of seconds. Afterwards, Rezo's ferocious Knight blew up as well.

"Huh? But how?" Tsugumi asked.

"At the end of my turn, if Ultimate Romanoff broke any shields, it is destroyed." Rezo explained. "Now it is your turn, girl."

"It's not over just yet, Rezo! I summon Silver Shovel and send it into my mana zone along with one of your Bloody Squitos. Afterwards, I cast Hyperspatial Mother Hole and put Saint Maria, Light Weapon from my hand into the battle zone and Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon from the hyperspatial zone into the battle zone!"

"Hahahahaha, foolish mortal, didn't you understand by now? Your blockers have no effect on me!"

"And how are you going to back up that theory, you loon?"

"Easy, I cast Inferno Sign!" Rezo said and showed the one card which would bring him victory. "With its effect I put Ultimate Romanoff from the graveyard into the battle zone!"

"This can't be!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she saw the Knight surrounded by dark red flames return once again.

"And with Ultimate Romanoff's effect I put Invincible Abyss into the graveyard once more. You're finished, Tsugumi Shirayama! Ultimate Romanoff, attack and cast Invincible Abyss once again!" Rezo ordered and watched how Tsugumi's powerful blockers easily blew up behind her. "NOW ULTIMATE ROMANOFF, DEMONIC RED PRIEST, TODOMEDA!"

Ultimate Romanoff repeated its flame attack, but this time on Tsugumi. The girl was thrown away from her dueling table and fell defeated on the floor along with her cards. As Sora rushed to her friend, a dark aura surrounded Tsugumi's Alcadeias Hunter card and took it directly into Rezo's right hand.

"Three Proof cards, seven to go. This will be easier than I thought, hahaha!" Rezo laughed and packed up his cards.

"And the winner is Rezo!" the host declared.

Back at Rad, the heated discussions were still going.

"I understand your worries, mom and dad, but you also have to understand that I have grown up and no longer need to stay under your protection!" Rad said.

"But how can we not worry about you, son? You are risking your life almost daily for the sake of this cruel world. Do you honestly expect us as parents to sit down and relax, thinking that you're doing alright?" Rad's father stated.

"No, I don't expect you to do that. All that I want of you guys is to have faith in me. I can take care of things by myself." Rad said and put his hands on his mother's shoulders. "Sure, hard times await me as a hero, but you guys over worrying yourselves so much won't help me."

"But Rad…" his mother tried to speak, but tears swelled on her cheeks.

"I have a wonderful team which has always helped me at hard times. We all know that united we can overcome any evil that tries to threaten the fate of our world. Trust me, I am in good hands, or better yet, the world is in good hands."

Rad's mother wiped her tears, then hugged him powerfully. Rad's father gave his son a stare of approval and nodded to his son, to which Rad responded with a smile.

"Thank you." Rad said.

"I couldn't be more proud of you, son." Rad's father added.

"My little baby has grown up!" Rad's mother cried.

"Ah, it's alright mom. Don't make me cry now!"

But then they all heard laughter coming from the corner of the corridor. The three turned their attention to it and saw Edo rolling on the floor laughing and Subaru pushing himself against a wall with both hands on his belly laughing as well.

"Guys, don't tell me…" Rad spoke shocked.

"Hahaha, that's our little baby muffin, I mean Rad!" Subaru laughed.

"Mommy Rad and daddy Rad, I promise that I'll read him a bedtime story and also leave the lights on, hahaha!" Edo laughed even harder.

All of a sudden, Rad's cheeks turned red, his veins popped out and he revealed his teeth while growling with anger. The red haired boy got out of his mother's grip and stormed at the two other chosen duelists while yelling:

"THIS TIME YOU TWO ARE SO DEAD!"

"Edo-kun, I suggest we ru…" before Subaru could finish his sentence, he saw that Edo was already biting the dust. "WAIT FOR ME!"

And so Edo and Subaru were chased into the building's corridors by Rad while his parents waved him good bye.

"Take care, son!" Rad's dad wished him.

"And make sure to call us from time to time!" Rad's mom added.

The two parents walked away and left their son to take care of his two teammates. While running, Edo and Subaru began to sweat and lose their energy because they had laughed way too much.

"Edo-kun, why do we always get in trouble?" Subaru asked.

"Actually, Suby, this is the first time in my life when I truly feel that I'm in trouble." Edo replied. "And it's not nice at all!"

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'RE SO GOING TO PAY!" Rad's shouts resounded from behind them.


	125. Sora's yaoi heaven

After Tsugumi's loss, the other chosen duelists helped her to the UFO. Luckily, she managed to wake up when she heard Subaru's calls and was able to at least walk on her own when they got out of the building. As they reached the UFO, Sora took Tsugumi's to the hospital room where Nolan and Atsuto took care of her wounds. Meanwhile, Subaru had to go back and face Kokujo in his next duel. It wasn't easy for him to leave his wounded lover, but he knew that it was what she wanted as well. Thus the four chosen duelists were on their way back to the tournament building and arrived just in time for the match. Subaru rushed to his dueling table where Kokujo was calmly waiting for him. And so the duel began.

When the eighth turn came for Subaru, the battle zone was pretty full. Both players had all 5 shields intact. Kokujo had two Zabi Fly, the Pillager, two Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil. Subaru had Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Cebu Aquman Jr, two Drilling Squito and Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse. Then, all of a sudden, seven cards in Subaru's mana zone tapped themselves and he showed a card from his hand which shined with a bright purple light while saying:

"It's time to end this, Kokujo-kun! I summon Lion Blade, Ultimate Tiger!"

A dark yellow demonic lion with a long mane, an X mark on its chest and a long sword in its left hand appeared behind Subaru and roared.

"Heh, this is the card that you got from the Proof?" Kokujo asked and Subaru nodded as a response.

"When Lion Blade enters the battle zone, I may put any number of my shields to the graveyard. Then, for each shield, I may destroy one of your creatures!" Subaru explained and then the lion demon swung its sword and with just one move took down all of Subaru's shields, in which the following cards were: Hades Death Gate, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Aqua Surfer, Cebu Aquman Jr and Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons.

Afterwards, Kokujo's creatures were slashed one by one by Lion Blade's sharp sword. Since two Zabi Fly were destroyed in the process, Kokujo discarded two cards from Subaru's hand, which were Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger. But Subaru didn't seem to mind. If he would draw an Inferno Sign or Miracle Re Born, it would be the better for him.

"Then, I may destroy any number of my creatures. Then, for each creature destroyed I may put one of your shields to the graveyard." Subaru continued and then crossed his arms and watched how Lion Blade slashed each and every one of his creatures and then it turned to Kokujo and took down all of his shields with a swing, the cards which went to the graveyard being: Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast, Terror Pit, Zabi Hydra, Evil Planet Lord, DNA Spark and Zabi Libra, Lord of Demons.

"Wow, Subaru actually managed to cleanse the whole field and shield zone with just one creature!" the host exclaimed.

"How did you like that, Kokujo-kun?" Subaru proudly asked.

"It was good, but you still got a lot to learn." Kokujo replied with a rather bored voice.

"Huh?"

"Zabi Trash Train gave me some cards in my hand in the previous turns, and that was quite enough for me to take care of what you've done. Now watch and learn!" Kokujo said as he placed a card in his mana zone and the tapped six mana cards. "I summon Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior and Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! With Zabi Olzekia's effect, I destroy Zabi Claw and Lion Blade!"

"Oh no…" Subaru murmured as the black demonic Alien appeared and slashed his lion with both its swords, making it disappear.

"I guess that we're even now. Your turn."

Subaru drew his next card and was disappointed to see that it was just a Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. If he would've drawn a Miracle Re Born or Inferno Sign, his situation would've been better. However, the three cards in his hand were now Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero. It seemed that he had only one way out. He placed Hyperspatial Raiden Hole into his mana zone and then tapped all nine mana and showed the other two cards while saying:

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero! With Romanoff's Zero's effect I put Inferno Sign into my graveyard. And now… I end."

Suddenly, an evil grin appeared on Kokujo's face and the evil genius began to laugh maniacally. Subaru knew that laugh and he expected the worse.

"Did you honestly think you could beat me, Subaru? You were a nice challenge, but now it's time to truly end this!" Kokujo's evil voice resounded and brought chills to Subaru's spine as he watched the nine cards in Kokujo's mana tap themselves. "Evolution!"

Kokujo placed a card upon his Zabi Olzekia card, the first card was shining with an even brighter light than Lion Blade's card.

"Zabi Olzekia, evolve into ZABI BALLOM, ETERNAL LORD OF DEMONIC REAPERS!" Kokujo's shout resounded in the whole arena.

Zabi Olzekia got surrounded by a purple aura and grew in size. When the aura disappeared, everyone saw behind Kokujo a giant goat demon with blue wings, bone armor and a face which was scarier than any monster hell could conceive. Zabi Ballom had a skeletal face which lacked eyes and had a huge mouth with sharp teeth. Also, the mighty creature wielded a long sharp scythe in its left hand and a huge cross in its right hand.

"The Proof also offered me a card, Subaru, say hello to my new creature – Zabi Ballom!" Kokujo exclaimed but Subaru stared speechless at the mighty creature. "Heh, when Zabi Ballom is summoned, its effect will destroy all creatures which don't have Demon Command or Alien in their race."

Zabi Ballom lifted its scythe and with just a move slashed both of Subaru's creatures which died a painful death. Then Zabi Ballom aimed the same scythe at Subaru.

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to finish me off?" Subaru asked.

"Heh, the game's already mine, no point in wasting energy on a todomeda." Kokujo said.

"But you must declare a todomeda if you want to be the winner!" the host intervened.

"Got a problem with my decisions?" Kokujo coldly spoke to the host and gave him a menacing stare.

"Hehehe… what I meant to say was… Winner – Kokujo Kyoshiro!"

The crowd cheered both duelists for the epic match that they have done. But as Subaru began to pack up his cards, he noticed that a strange dark aura surrounded Lion Blade and made it disappear. Kokujo noticed the same thing. But then they both heard and evil laugh and turned their heads to a corner of the arena where they saw Rezo holding Subaru's card in his hands.

"Hahahahaha, another card of the Proof is in my hands!" Rezo laughed.

"It's Rezo!" Subaru exclaimed. "What does he want with my card?"

"I don't know, but I've seen him steal Rad's Gaial Racer Dragon and Tsugumi's Alcadeias Hunter earlier this day." Kokujo pointed out. "He might be up to something fishy. I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry."

Later that day, the team was split in two places. Edo, Sora and Subaru were at the UFO taking care of Tsugumi, while Rad, Nolan, Atsuto and Kokujo stood at the tournament building to see the last duel of the day – Hanna VS Tigra.

Meanwhile, at the UFO, now that Tsugumi finally went to sleep in order to fully recover from her wounds in the tournament, Edo, Sora and Subaru were sitting on the corridor and thinking of what to do next to escape the boredom. They could've gone back to the tournament building to see the last duel, but they didn't feel like bothering to walk all the way back. Suddenly, a small light bulb appeared above Edo's head and he exclaimed:

"I've got an idea!"

"Well let's hear it." Subaru said.

"Sora, how about we have a little bet?" Edo suggested and the green haired girl turned to him with a look filled with interest. "If I win, you will be my maid for a month. However, if you win… um…"

"Oh, how about if I win you'll pose for my yaoi manga which has you and Subaru as the protagonists?" Sora suggested with stars shining in her eyes.

"DEAL!" Edo declared. "Now let's duel!"

The two went to a dueling table in the training room and began their match. But what Sora didn't know was that Edo agreed with Subaru to get some help. Subaru was hiding under the table with water cards in his pockets, ready to give some to Edo when he would ask for them.

Thus the first few turns passed and Edo had two mana and Aqua Slash on his battle zone, whereas Sora had three mana and Jasmine, Mist Faerie in her graveyard, no creature being on her battle zone. Now it was Edo's turn, he drew, charged mana and showed a light card while saying:

"I summon Aqua Humpty. Now Aqua Slash, break her shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Bukkomi Hedgehog!" Sora said. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe and get one more mana. Ike, Bukkomi Hedgehog, destroy Aqua Slash!"

"That hedgehog is nice, but it's nothing compared to my Liquid People! Now watch and be amazed!" Edo said, but when he looked in his hand he saw that all of his cards had high costs, the card with the lowest cost being Aqua Jet, costing 5 mana, whereas he had only 4 mana.

Edo sighed and looked at the Subaru who was sitting under the table eager to help. The brown haired boy then pointed to the window and shouted:

"OH MY GOD, SORA, AN EXTINCT BIRD IS ON THE TREE!"

"Oh no, where?" Sora exclaimed and ran to the window to see a sparrow.

While Sora had her back turned to them, Subaru handed Edo an Energy Stream card.

"That bird isn't extinct, silly." Sora said while walking back to the table.

"Hehehe, I guess I'm not that good at biology." Edo laughed. "Oh well, my turn, I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards. Aqua Humpty, break her shield!"

"Then it's my turn, I cast Faerie Life and gain one more mana. Afterwards I summon Silver Shovel and send it to the mana zone along with Aqua Humpty!"

"Uh oh…"

"Bukkomi Hedgehog, Iron Arm Tribe, break his shields!"

The cards in Edo's shields weren't that good at all. But at least what he had in his hand was pretty helpful. The boy quickly drew a card and charged mana, then said:

"It's time to show you the power of Water, Sora!"

"I'm watching."

"I summon Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!)!" Edo said and revealed the top 5 cards of his deck which were Hyperspatial Killer Glasses Hole, Aqua Attack, Hyperspatial White Blue Hole, Aqua Cascade and Hyperspatial Energy Hole. "With Aqua Jet's effect I put Aqua Attack and Aqua Cascade in the battle zone! The others go to the bottom of my deck."

"Nice move there with your 'brotherhood', Edo." Sora complimented. "However, it's time to get what is mine! Behold the card which the Proof entrusted me with!"

"Uh oh, I think I'm in trouble." Edo sang.

"Iron Arm Tribe, evolve into Ultimate Fang, Forest's Greatest Leader!" Sora shouted and a big bipedal white tiger which wielded four swords, each in one of its hands, who also had a green samurai armor on its body appeared behind her and revealed its scary sharp fangs to Edo. "Ultimate Fang is a 10000 powered triple breaker which when attacks puts the top 3 cards of my deck to the mana zone. Also, I may put up to 3 non-creatures which cost 8 mana or less tapped into the battle zone from the mana zone! What do you have to say now, Edo?"

"Mommy?"

"Exactly! Ultimate Fang, attack!"

The 3 cards which floated from Sora's mana zone to her battle zone and landed on the table tapped were Iron Arm Tribe, Silver Shovel and Warring Morrals, the Imperial Ogre Blade.

"Iron Arm Tribe gives me one more mana, then I send Silver Shovel to the mana zone." Sora said.

"I send Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!) to the mana zone." Edo said.

"Now Ultimate Fang, break his last three shields!" Sora ordered.

Edo didn't block the attack and simply took the 3 cards to his hand. The brown haired boy then smiled to his opponent and said:

"It's not over yet, Sora! Shield trigger, I cast DNA Spark!"

"Oh great." Sora said disappointed and watched how her creatures got tapped and how Edo put the top card of his deck to his shields.

"And now, Sora, let me show you the card which the Proof gave me!" Edo declared and tapped his 8 mana.

"This ought to be interesting."

"I summon… Aqua Mizu Sniper!"

A blue humanoid with shark head, large swords instead of arms and fins for wings appeared behind Edo as a hologram and proudly screeched at Sora and her creatures.

"Aqua Mizu Sniper will send Ultimate Fang and Bukkomi Hedgehog to the top of your deck! Atta boy!" Edo said and pointed to the chosen creatures which Aqua Mizu Sniper slashed with its swords and made them disappear, the cards going to the top of Sora's deck. "Now Aqua Attack, destroy Iron Arm Tribe!"

"Heh, Iron Arm Tribe goes to my mana zone. Anyway, even if you've managed to regain control of the battle zone, that won't stop me from bringing out my beasts once again!"

"Wanna bet, Sora? How about we double the bet?"

"Eh? What are you talking about, Edo?"

"If I win, you'll have to be my maid for TWO months! But if you win, I'll have Suby star in your manga as well!"

"HEY!" a shout came from under the table.

"What was that?" Sora asked.

"Probably the wind." Edo shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, I like your idea. Sure, I accept your offer!"

"Edo-kun, are you nuts? If she wins, we're in big trouble." Subaru thought.

"My turn, I summon Bukkomi Hedgehog. Warring Morals, attack, and with its effect I put Jin, Imperial Ogre Blade from my hand to the battle zone!" Sora said and then six cards from her mana zone went straight unto the battle zone. "When Jin is put into the battle zone, I may put any number of Nature Hunters from my mana zone into the battle zone tapped!"

"Not good!" Edo said while sweating.

"I put Iron Arm Tribe and gain one mana, then I evolve it into Quatro Fang, Super Gang Leader and gain 2 more mana, then I put Princess Cub, the Crusher and evolve it into Great Hercules, Giant Insect, and finally I also put two Silver Shovels and send them both back into the mana zone!"

"I send… Aqua Attack and Aqua Mizu Sniper into my mana zone…"

"Warring Morals, break his final shield!" Sora ordered.

"Not so fast! Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Warring Morals back to your hand!" Edo said and then quickly placed a card upon his blocker. "Then I evolve Aqua Cascade into Crystal Super Paladin! Go, Crystal Super Paladin, double break her shields! Aqua Surfer, break her final shield!"

"Are you done?" Sora asked bored.

"…Yes." Edo spoke with disappointment.

"Very well, Jin, Imperial Ogre Blade, todomeda!"

Edo fell on his back with his cards on him. All of a sudden, Sora began to cheer with happiness while a despaired Subaru got out of the table and spoke to his friend:

"Edo-kun, do you realize the mess in which you've put us?"

"I am really sorry, Subaru…" Edo spoke to his friend with sorrow.

Meanwhile, at the tournament building, the last duel of the third round – Hanna VS Tigra – was taking place. Hanna had Cocco Lupia, Dark Lupia and Necrodragon Giland in her battle zone and one shield left. Tigra had Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast in her battle zone and all shields intact. Now it was Hanna's turn. The blue haired girl drew a card, charged mana and then gave Tigra a sly smile while saying:

"It's time to show you the power that the Proof gave me!"

"And I suppose it's the reason why you gave up your Pudding Pudding deck?" Tigra implied.

"You can say that. Anyway, Necrodragon Giland, evolve into Lunar Saber Dragon!" Hanna shouted and her Giland got surrounded by a purple aura and turned into a giant black dragon with two heads, bat wings, a spiky red armor and two claws in which it wielded a fire sword with its handle shaped as a dragon head.

"My, my, quite an impressive little bugger you got there."

"It surely is, Tigra. Lunar Saber Dragon is a 7000 powered double breaker that gains Slayer if I have 2 or more Fire Birds in the battle zone. Also, when it is destroyed, I may put 2 creatures with cost 7 or less which share a civilization with it into the battle zone from my hand, graveyard and/or mana zone!"

"And Dark Lupia and Cocco Lupia will activate its Slayer effect." Tigra pointed out.

"Exactly! Now go, Lunar Saber Dragon, attack Volg Tiger!" Hanna ordered and her Dragon challenged Volg Tiger to a sword duel in which it lost and got slashed to bits. "Since it's Slayer, Volg Tiger is destroyed as well."

"Hmph, Thunder Tiger goes but Volg Thunder stays."

"Then since a Dragon of mine got destroyed, Dark Lupia's effect will destroy Volg Thunder as well!" Hanna said and after she watched Tigra's creature blow up, she showed two cards from her hand to her opponent. "With Lunar Saber Dragon's effect, I now put Heavy, Dragon God and Bolshack NEX into the battle zone! With Heavy's effect, I destroy him and your Zabi Implosion, then draw a card. Then with Bolshack NEX's effect I bring out Cocco Gil Lupia from my deck. Cocco Lupia, Dark Lupia, break her shields!"

"Heh, shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate! Destroy Bolshack NEX and bring out Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard from my graveyard! Then with Cebu Algol's effect I put Thunder Tiger into my battle zone!" Tigra said and a black tiger appeared by Tigra's right side and jumped onto the battle zone to kill Dark Lupia, afterwards walking back loyally to its master. "I guess it's my turn now, I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards. Then I summon Corile and put Cocco Lupia to the top of your deck."

"Crap!" Hanna murmured.

"Thunder Tiger, break her final shield!" Tigra ordered and her obedient tiger roared and jumped at Hanna, slashing her shield with its paws instead. "Next turn you are done for."

"It's not over yet, Tigra! Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and bring Heavy, Dragon God to the battle zone! With its effect I destroy Heavy and draw a card!"

"Heh, I destroy Cebu Algol. Come on, girl, give me your best shot if you still have any left."

"Very well, Tigra, but you've asked for it! I summon Gil Bolshack Cross NEX!"

A red dragon dressed in a golden armor with two sharp horns, a snake mouth, two fire wings and a giant golden sword with black spikes appeared behind Hanna and roared loudly.

"Go, Gil Bolshack Cross NEX, break her last shields!" Hanna ordered and the dragon slashed Tigra's remaining three shields with its sword. "Then Cocco Gil Lupia, todome…"

"Think again! Shield trigger activate, I summon Death Circle, Explosive Shadow and destroy it. Then Cocco Gil Lupia is destroyed as well!" Tigra said and watched with pleasure how Hanna's small Fire Bird blew up. "You did your best shot, it's time for me to do mine. Thunder Tiger, finish her off, todomeda!"

The black tiger rushed at Hanna and hit her with its paws, thus making her and her cards fly back and accidentally land on Nolan's seat. Upon seeing this, Atsuto whistled and said:

"Good catch, Nolan! I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Hehe, I guess?" Nolan asked while blushing. "Anyway, would you mind getting off me, miss?"

"Oh sure, excuse me!" the hurt Hanna replied and tried to get up.

"Don't worry, we'll help you get your cards and walk home. After all, we're gentlemen, right, Nolan?"

"Yeah, Atsuto, hehe." the nervous Nolan barely spoke.

"And the winner is Tigra!" the host declared and the crowd cheered the girl in golden armor which made her way to the stairs.

But just as Tigra was climbing the stairs to the last level, she saw Atsuto and Nolan helping Hanna pick up the cards of her deck and she also noticed one card getting surrounded by a black aura and disappearing into thin air.

"Wait a minute, wasn't that the Proof card that Hanna told me about?" Tigra spoke in her mind and then turned to a corner of the arena where she saw Rezo holding the exact same card. "That can't be! This man… I must speak to him!"

Meanwhile, at Rezo's group, he, Shagrath and Hitler were rejoicing for their brand new victory.

"Hahahahaha, Lunar Saber Dragon is all mine. How easily I got my hands on 5 of the 10 Proof cards!" Rezo laughed.

"And when are you going to get the other 5?" Shagrath asked.

"Soon, very soon, when the time for me to reclaim what was mine comes."

"And that's when we'll rule this world, ya?" Hitler added.

"Indeed."

"And it will also be the moment when I will have a new body." Zakira's ghost spoke to Rezo and suddenly appeared in front of him as a black mist.

"Patience, Zakira, what you strive for shall soon be yours. Just wait a little more." Rezo calmly spoke to the ghost.

Now that the host introduced the new data into the computer, he made the computer screen descend from the ceiling and everyone saw four names on it. The host then lifted his microphone and spoke to the crowd:

"Going to the semifinals are: Tabitha, Rezo, Kokujo and Tigra!"

The crowd cheered wildly while the four contestants each had their own reaction. Tabitha stared with excitement at the screen, eager to defeat one of her three mortal enemies. Rezo quickly hid the Lunar Saber Dragon card in his robe and then stared lustfully in a direction of a room where he felt that the Proof was hidden and well guarded, knowing that he was one step closer to the object that he was striving for. Kokujo simply crossed his arms and silently laughed for himself while Tigra passed him without saying a word. But after making a few steps she stopped and spoke to him:

"Tomorrow we might face each other."

"Yeah, so? You should pray that you don't end up facing me, Tigra, for I will show no mercy!" Kokujo coldly replied.

"Not even to the one girl that gave you your Ballcadeias and… a night of pleasure?" Tigra asked with a saddened voice.

"Not even."

Tigra closed her eyes and sighed with grief. Then the THEM leader began to walk away, leaving Kokujo alone once again.

"The semifinals and finals will take place tomorrow at the highest level of the building. This time no public is allowed to come. The three duels will all take place there and they will be featured live on TV, so stay tuned!" the host announced.

Later that night, Kokujo, Atsuto, Nolan and Rad had gone home. They found Tsugumi still resting in the hospital room and a note on a desk from Sora which said that she, Edo and Subaru were out looking for some medicines for Tsugumi and would come late. Due to this, they ate and went to bed very early, for the next day the final battle would begin.

Now that the coast was clear and everyone was sleeping, Sora turned on the lights of her room and then sat down at a table where Subaru and Edo were waiting for her. She put on it a digital notebook and turned it on while saying:

"Ok guys, as you all know, tonight we are going to work on my yaoi manga which stars both of you as its main characters."

Subaru and Edo gulped with fear at the hearing of those words.

"First of all, I need to familiarize you with the story." Sora said while browsing through the notebook's pages. "It's called 'Love's Duel' and it's about a young teenager named Edo Kanda who goes through life's toughest challenge and finds his salvation in the hands of his one true love Subaru Geki."

"God, why do I feel sorry for those poor Edo and Subaru already?" Subaru asked while sweating.

"Now let me read what I've written so far."

_It was a normal rainy night and the city looked like it was abandoned. The streets were empty, the lights from inside the buildings were shut and even the street dogs were hiding at the warmth of the trash cans. Stopping by a streetlight was a poor teenage boy who had run for what it seemed to be like forever. His hair was light brown; his eyes being of a little darker brown and his student clothes were soaked wet by the rain and had several torn holes. He was hungry, thirsty, alone and cold. Still, what else could he do? His parents had died in a car accident…_

"WHAT? MOM AND DAD ARE DEAD?" Edo yelled and took out a cell phone from his pockets and began to browse in its agenda. "God, please, let it be a joke!"

"IT'S JUST FICTION, YOU IDIOT!" Sora yelled at Edo.

"Oh, sorry, go on."

_Ever since that terrific accident, he had to raise up his little sister all alone and it wasn't easy. However, she soon got sick and had died just the day before._

"WHAT? LITTLE SIS IS DEAD?" Edo yelled and browsed in his cell phone once again. "This can't be true! She was perfectly healthy when I ran from home!"

"IT'S STILL FICTION, YOU MORON!" Sora yelled at Edo once again. "Anyway, let me continue."

_With all his loved ones gone, there was no purpose for him in the world. He might as well have died right there and then. Feeling that he had lost his last drop of energy, he fell on the wet sidewalk and awaited his cruel end. But then he saw a horde of bandits rise from the shadows of the alleys, ready to steal whatever small thing he had left. But just as they were about to seize him, a dark shadow appeared out of nowhere and grabbed one of them. The shadow pushed the thief against another and then rushed to the third one to punch him quickly. In a matter of seconds, the horde of thieves ran away. When the brown haired boy looked at the strange shadow, he saw it approaching the light and revealing itself as a boy with rather long raven hair, dark brown eyes like his who was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a short sleeved black T shirt. The strange boy approached him and asked with pity:_

"_Who are you?"_

"_Does it really matter?" the brown haired teen answered the question with another._

"_If it doesn't then I guess I'm out of here." the raven haired teen said and turned around, ready to leave._

"_Wait, don't go, don't leave me here all alone!" the brown haired boy shouted, then got on his feet as quick as he could and hugged him from behind. "I don't want to face the loneliness ever again!"_

"Wait a minute, Sora!" Edo intervened.

"What is it?" Sora sighed.

"Why am I acting all girlish all of a sudden? If I really was in that situation, I'd simply thank Suby for what he did and be on my way."

"How many times I have to tell you, Edo, this is FICTION!"

"Also, Sora, I didn't quite like the way you introduced me." Subaru added. "You know that I usually hold a small speech before taking care of guys like those thieves, you know. Not to mention that I could've simply dueled and decimated them one by one."

"This is MY story and this is the way I want to write it, so deal with it!" Sora shouted at both boys. "Anyway, let's continue."

"I so don't like where this is going, Suby." Edo whispered.

"Me neither, Edo-kun." Subaru whispered back.

After an hour, Sora had finished reading them her yaoi manga's plot. What was hurting them most was that she had posted all of her ideas on and other various fan fiction sites, her manga becoming extremely popular in many yaoi sites. And now the prospect of posing naked and making love for Sora to draw on the next chapter of her manga was too much. Still, Edo had lost the bet, so there was no way back.

The room was now lighted only by a red lamp and a few red candles around the bed which had a pleasant aroma. Sora was sitting in a corner like a director, telling the two boys what to do at each step. She also had her piece of paper and a crayon ready for her drawings. Poor Subaru and Edo had only their underwear left on but they weren't trembling because the candles kept the warmth in the room. Edo was now lying on the bed and Subaru was standing up next to him.

"Ok guys, now it's time for the real fun!" Sora said.

"That's what I was afraid she would say." Subaru whispered to Edo.

"Subaru, you lean your head to Edo and give him a gentle kiss on his cheek. Also, Edo, try to look innocent and shy."

"Sora, do we really have to do this?" Edo complained with disgust.

"YES, NOW JUST DO IT OR ELSE!" the angry Sora yelled.

Seeing no way out of that situation, the two boys complied to Sora's demands and did what they were told to do. The green haired girl began to blush so hard that her face looked like a lobster. It was happening! The yaoi couple of her dreams was finally alive. The girl's pencil began to move as well and it managed to quickly capture everything the two boys were forced to do.

"Ok, now Subaru, I want you to gently take off Edo's underwear… and Edo, you must look as shy as possible!" Sora ordered and the two boys did like they were told.

"God, I'm naked!" Edo exclaimed and blushed even harder. "Don't look at me!"

"This is so embarrassing!" Subaru added and turned his sight to the excited Sora.

"Now, Subaru, take your underwear off as well, and then gently kiss him, from the neck to the lower regions." Sora continued and then proceeded to draw as well. "This is so perfect! It's almost like a dream!"

"Sora, do I have to touch THAT with my mouth?" Subaru woke her from her thoughts.

"Oh sorry, no, you won't." Sora said and both boys sighed with relief. "Now, Subaru, I want you to penetrate him!"

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" both Edo and Subaru yelled at the top of their lungs.

The green haired girl showed her muscles to them and thus fear and obedience returned into the two boys. The girl calmed down and prepared her pencil for another panel.

"Ready when you are!" Sora said.

"Edo-kun, I'm so sorry!" Subaru said while approaching Edo who was lying on his back with his posterior ready.

"Just get it over with!" Edo cried.

"I'll be gentle." Subaru responded and thus began the shameful act.

In the next moment, Edo's screams filled the whole room.

When the morning came, both Subaru and Edo left Sora's room with their clothes on, their hair all messy and really tired eyes. Sora waved them good bye with a happy look on her face and said:

"Thanks for all the help, you guys! Your hard work is appreciated!"

Once Sora closed her room's door, the two tired friends stopped walking.

"Edo-kun…"

"Yes, Suby?"

"What the hell just happened with us?" Subaru asked and fainted on the floor.

"Beats me." Edo replied and fainted as well.

A few minutes after they fainted, the others found them there and took them to their rooms to rest. Meanwhile, Kokujo left the UFO to prepare himself for the tournament. That afternoon the final matches would begin and they would decide not only the tournament's winner, but also the owner of the Proof.

A few hours later, Subaru and Edo woke up and saw that they were sleeping in their respective beds. Thinking that what happened that night was a nightmare, they got up and joined the others at lunch. Then the group was split once again. Rad, Tsugumi, Subaru and Atsuto left to the tournament building to cheer Kokujo up, even if they wouldn't be able to come with him to see him dueling. As for Edo, Sora and Nolan, they remained at the UFO to guard it.

But when there were only thirty minutes before the tournament would begin, an explosion rocked the UFO. Its three inhabitants rushed to see what was going on and came face to face with Rezo, the Red Priest.

"Rezo, what are you doing here?" Sora demanded.

"You have something that I seek." Rezo said and showed three glowing decks. "And I have come to claim it!"


	126. Only the strongest will survive!

Rezo walked out of the UFO which now seemed deserted. Edo, Sora and Nolan were lying unconscious on the floor with their cards spread all over. The Red Priest headed to the tournament building with Aqua Mizu Sniper, Ultimate Fang, Forest's Greatest Leader and Bolpheus Heaven Fang, Holy Savage Dragon in his right hand and his staff in his left hand.

"Heh, three more pieces to complete my world domination puzzle." Rezo murmured.

At the tournament building, Kokujo was at the last floor along with Rad, Tsugumi, Subaru and Atsuto. Since only the contestants were allowed, Kokujo opened the door to the dueling arena from that level and entered all by himself.

"Good luck, Kokujo-kun, we're counting on you!" Subaru wished the Black Death.

The arena was rather dark and without windows. There were only 8 lights, two falling on the western side, two on the easter, two on the middle and two on the northern side. There were TV cameras in each corner which were recording the whole event. The arena was split in 4: it had 3 pairs dueling tables, one pair at the west, one pair at the east and one pair in the middle. Also, at the north there was the host sitting at a table which had different microphones, a computer and a small jar with a ribbon in which the Proof was floating.

Kokujo stepped forward in the arena and saw that Tabitha and Tigra were there as well, waiting for their opponents to come. In a few seconds, a portal opened and Rezo appeared as well.

"You're late, Rezo, and I know you're not the type of being late." Tabitha said.

"I apologize for my rude absence, my enemies, but I had more important business to take care of." Rezo formally spoke.

"Such as?" Kokujo asked.

"Let's just say that your lackeys should go back to your UFO as quick as possible, Kokujo." Rezo spoke with a grin on his face.

At the hearing of this news, the three chosen duelists and Atsuto began to panic.

"Oh God, what did he do?" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"I suggest we keep our calm." Subaru intervened. "Rad, Atsuto, you go back at the UFO and see what's going on. Tsugumi and I will stay here in case Kokujo-kun needs us."

"You got it, Subaru!" Rad said and rushed to the stairs. "Come, Atsuto!"

"But running isn't fabulous!" Atsuto complained and followed the red haired boy.

"Don't worry, it will be alright." Subaru said while taking Tsugumi's right hand in his. "They're strong guys; they'll handle whatever Rezo did."

"I guess you're right." Tsugumi replied and turned to the small opening of the door where they could see what was going on. "Let's hope that Kokujo will be able to win this!"

"You can do it, Kokujo-kun!" Subaru added.

Meanwhile, the host arranged his hair, looked through his papers, turned on the computer and then turned to the cameras and spoke:

"Greetings everyone, and welcome to the semifinals of the Duel Masters tournament. As you probably know, today the finals will also take place, so stay tuned!"

The host then pressed some buttons on the computer which shuffled the four names of the contestants before grouping them.

"And the duels of the semifinals are…" the host brought tension up. "Rezo VS Tigra and Kokujo VS Tabitha! The first two contestants may proceed to duel."

Rezo and Tigra walked to the dueling table from the west side of the room and took their decks out. After setting their cards, the duel had finally begun.

"I cast Ghost Touch." Tigra said and discarded Bloody Squito from Rezo's hand.

"I cast Bone Dance Charger." Rezo said and got Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike and Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons in his graveyard.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards."

"I summon Cocco Lupia."

A red fire bird with a small crown appeared behind Rezo and happily chirped.

"I cast Hyperspatial Blue Black Hole and put Thunder Tiger into the battle zone!" Tigra said and a black tiger appeared behind her, roared and then attacked Cocco Lupia, killing her. "That's my good little kitty!"

"Heh, now that this cat showed its claws, it's time for me to cut them off!" Rezo said while showing a darkness card. "I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Thunder Tiger!"

A black gate appeared behind Rezo and its doors opened, revealing many demonic dark blue tentacles which ended in sharp mouths. Those tentacles mercilessly devoured Tigra's black tiger. Then the tentacles retreated in the gate and Cocco Lupia flew out of it. Thus the doors closed and the gate disappeared.

"Good move, Rezo, but I really don't like seeing that Cocco Lupia in your battle zone." Tigra said while tapping 5 mana and putting a water creature card in her battle zone. "I summon Corile! Send Cocco Lupia to the top of his deck!"

"Hmph." Rezo murmured and watched how the card simply went to the top of his deck. "Tsh, since I have no cards in my hand I'm pretty blocked now. I charge mana with Cocco Lupia and end."

"Now, Rezo, it's time for you to experience a Volgasm!"

"A what?"

"Evolution, Corile, become Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! With its effect I put Volg Thunder into the battle zone! Now Volg, mill his deck!"

The cards from Rezo's deck began falling into his graveyard, first being Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole, second Totto Pippichi, third Primal Scream and the one which stopped the milling process was Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero.

"Now that was one heck of a Volgasm! Go, Zabi Implosion, double break his shields!" Tigra ordered and the black demon fired lasers from its three mouths which pierced through two of Rezo's shields.

"Heh, shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate!" Rezo said with an evil voice. "Destroy Volg Thunder and bring out Totto Pippichi!"

"No, this can't be!" Tigra exclaimed and watched how the gate exchanged their creatures.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye!" Rezo continued and a horned knight dressed in a purple armor with a red cape and wielding two laser guns appeared behind him and roared. "With its effect I put Terror Pit into my graveyard. And since Totto Pippichi makes all my creatures speed attacker, you're pretty doomed, Tigra! Go, Romanoff the 1st, attack and cast Terror Pit to destroy Zabi Implosion, and then double break her shields!"

"Impressive use of Romanoff the 1st!" Tigra exclaimed while watching how her creature blew up and two of her shields were taken down. "I've only seen one person using this creature as good and you remind me of him a lot!"

"Is it your father, oh, Tigra, daughter of Zakira?" Rezo arrogantly asked.

"How did you know?" Tigra asked shocked.

"Let's just say that a little bird told me."

"A bird, huh? Anyway, shield trigger, I cast Shadowflash Revival Spiral – send Romanoff the 1st back to his hand!"

A spiral of water surrounded Romanoff and made the creature disappear along with it. The card jumped from the table to Rezo's hand.

"My turn, I cast Emergency Typhoon, draw two cards and discard Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. Then I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and bring Thunder Tiger into the battle zone!" Tigra said and the black tiger returned. "Thunder Tiger ate your Cocco Lupia for the main course, and now Totto Pippichi is the desert!"

The black tiger roared and jumped at Rezo's helpless fire bird and devoured it in a matter of seconds. Then the creature returned to its master and purred like a house kitten.

"Nice move there, Tigra, but let's see you handle this! Grave Evolution, I evolve Bloody Squito into Chester Romanoff, the Wicked God! Meteorburn, I send Bloody Squito to the graveyard and cast Hades Death Gate! Destroy, Cebu Algol and revive Bloody Squito! Now, Chester Romanoff, break her shield!" Rezo ordered and the creature fired a laser beam from its mouth and took down Tigra's middle shield.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Tigra said, then drew 2 cards and discarded Aqua Surfer. "Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and give -2000 to Bloody Squito! Then I bring out another Thunder Tiger and give -2000 more to Bloody Squito and destroy it!"

"Heh." Rezo murmured and watched how his red bug blew up.

"Then I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it to make you discard the only card in your hand!"

Rezo got rather angered when he saw his Inferno Sign go to the graveyard without being used. Now he was depending on his draw once again. He sighed and put his hand on his deck, but then he felt a strange pulse. That only meant one thing. The Red Priest got his evil grin back as he drew his next card.

"Perfect, I cast Super Hopeless Vortex!" Rezo said and that thing made Tigra widen her eyes. "Destroy both her Thunder Tigers!"

"My kittens…" Tigra murmured and didn't even turn to see them blowing up. "You monster!"

"Yes, I surely am one! And to truly prove how big of a monster I am, I'll end here."

"But why wouldn't you attack?"

"Why would I? You have no cards in your hand and 2 shields left. It would be rather easy to get my hands on a double breaker which would take both down, so why just attack now, break one shield and give you cards in your hand?"

"Mmm, I like the way you think, Rezo. It's really sadistic."

"Then you should've known by now, Tigra, that I'm not a guy to joke with."

"I knew that since the first moment I saw you, Rezo, the Red Priest. But dueling with you really makes me excited. You truly are an evil guy!"

"Why thank you for the compliment. I never expected to hear such words from Zakira's daughter, haha."

"Oh well, back to the game! I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Then I cast Hyperspatial Blue Black Hole and put Thunder Tiger into the battle zone!" Tigra said and her black tiger returned yet again.

"It's time to show you what the Red Priest is truly capable of!" Rezo exclaimed and a dark and red aura surrounded his hand as he drew his next card. "Ultimate Evolution! Chester Romanoff, become Darkness Romanoff, the Enlightened!"

A giant knight wearing a black armor with red cape and wielding four giant blue guns appeared behind Rezo and made Tigra discard the last card in her hand which was Inferno Sign. Rezo felt a sense of satisfaction, for Tigra had made him discard Inferno Sign as well a few turns before.

"Go, Darkness Romanoff, break her final shields!" Rezo ordered and the knight aimed two of its guns at Tigra's last two shields and with just two shots the creature took them down.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Darkness Romanoff!" Tigra said and watched how two demonic black hands grabbed Rezo's knight and tore it until it blew.

"That's not all, now that it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and bring Volg Thunder to the battle zone. Get ready to experience another Volgasm!"

A red demonic dragon wielding a blue sword appeared and pointed its sword at Rezo's deck, making the top cards of it go to the graveyard. This time the cards which went to his graveyard were Invincible Abyss, Cocco Lupia, Bone Dance Charger, Primal Scream, Terror Pit and Bloody Squito.

"In my next turn you will feel the fury of my Volg Tiger! You're doomed, Rezo!" Tigra declared.

"I wouldn't bet on that." Rezo calmly replied as he drew his next card. "It's over! I summon Ultimate Romanoff, Demonic Red Priest!"

"Oh no, that's that Proof card of yours!"

"Indeed it is, my sweet Tigra. And since it has speed attacker, I won't even bother to search for a darkness card to put into my graveyard."

"So this is how it ends for me…" Tigra spoke with disappointment. "I want to ask you something, Rezo."

"Mhm?"

"Where did you learn to use the Romanoff cards in such an impeccable way?"

"Well, Tigra, you can say that I had some help." Rezo said and then for a second Tigra saw the ghost of her father right next to the Red Priest.

"I see. If that's the case, then promise me that if you'll get the Proof you'll bring him back." Tigra spoke to her opponent with a happy smile on her face.

"Those were my intentions since the beginning of the tournament. Heh, and in a way I regret that we couldn't work together. We could've been great allies, Tigra."

Tigra sighed and then nodded to the Red Priest. Understanding the message, Rezo tapped his card and Ultimate Romanoff aimed its guns at the girl in golden armor and unleashed huge streams of fire upon her which blew her to the other side of the arena.

"Going to the finals is Rezo!" the host announced in a microphone.

When Rad and Atsuto reached the UFO, they were shocked to see Edo, Sora and Nolan lying unconscious on the main corridor. They rushed inside and helped them to the hospital room, but on their way Sora managed to wake up.

"Sora, what happened?" Atsuto, who was carrying her, asked.

"R-Rezo attacked us…" Sora hardly spoke.

"But why?" Rad asked.

"He was after the Proof cards. And he got all three of them." Sora continued.

"If that's the case, then Rezo must lose in this tournament, no matter what, or else the world will be in grave danger!" Rad lamented.

Back at the tournament building, the time for Kokujo and Tabitha to duel had arrived. The two duelists had already set their cards on their respective tables and were now staring at each other with evil sights which were throwing daggers at one another.

"I told you that one day we would face each other, Kokujo Kyoshiro." Tabitha coldly spoke.

"Yes, I remember very well those words." Kokujo said and pictured in his mind the moments when Tabitha indirectly declared war on him before escaping Rezo's castle which was on the verge of blowing up. "I just never thought that this moment would come in a tournament."

"And what a decisive moment it is! Come, Black Death, and show me what you've got!"

"I'll show you that and even more, witch!"

Their ten shields materialized and thus their match had begun.

"I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager." Kokujo said and a flying plane made of bone and with a sharp teethed mouth appeared behind him.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow. Let's go, Fluffy!" Tabitha said and a half red half blue cat appeared behind her and purred.

"Heh, your baby kitten doesn't scare me a bit, Tabitha! I charge mana and break one of your shields with Zabi Fly!"

The plane flew towards the witch and fired a laser from its belly which took down one of her shields. The witch calmly took the card from her shield to her hand, then drew her next card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Marauder Deis Drive. Go, Fluffy and Deis Drive, break his shields!" Tabitha ordered and the darkness and fire Alien rushed first at Kokujo and broke one of his shields with the spikes from its hand, then the cat meowed and jumped at another shield to scratch it with its sharp paws, making it shatter into pieces.

"I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil. Zabi Fly, suicide with Deis Drive!" Kokujo ordered and both said Aliens fought and died in the process. "Heh, Zabi Trash Train lets me draw a card and Zabi Fly discards a card from your hand!"

"Hmph." Tabitha murmured as she discarded Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure. "My turn, I charge mana and attack with Hot Spring Crimson Meow! Make mommy proud, Fluffy!"

The cat meowed even louder than before and repeated its attack on another of Kokujo's shields. After taking the card into his hand, Kokujo gave the witch a confident smile and spoke:

"Thanks for giving me the card I needed!"

"Heh, let's see you, mister showoff!" Tabitha replied and crossed her arms.

"I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy both my Zabi Olzekia and your fur bag!" Kokujo said and watched how Zabi Olzekia slashed Tabitha's cat and then both blew up. "Zabi Trash Train lets me draw a card. Now I end!"

"Don't worry, Kokujo, that 'fur bag' did more than well!" Tabitha said, then tapped three mana cards and showed a water spell to her opponent. "And here's why, I cast Hot Spring Brain! Since you got 2 shields left, this spell will let me draw 3 cards instead of 1!"

"A good replacement for the banned Cyber Brain." Kokujo commented.

"It sure is. Now it is your turn."

"Very well, I summon Zabi Hydra, Evil Planet Lord!" Kokujo said and a Dark Lord dressed in a dark blue armor with an alien mouth on its chest, the armor also having a dark blue cape and a white helmet appeared behind Kokujo.

"Impressive creature indeed, Kokujo, but it is nothing compared to this – I summon Intense Spatial! Crimson Juu!" Tabitha said and a rock beast which was made half of volcano stone and half of frozen stone materialized behind her.

"Heh, it's quite a walk in the park for me!"

"What do you mean?"

"This! I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast! Then I also summon Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior and with Zabi Hydra's effect I return Zabi Fly from the graveyard to my hand. And now I summon Zabi Fly and with Zabi Hydra's effect I return Zabi Olzekia from the graveyard to my hand! How do you like that, witch?"

"He summoned Aliens… and recycled them from his graveyard! I could never have expected that!" Tabitha said impressed.

"Are you ready for your downfall, witch?"

"I'd ask you the same thing, Kokujo, but right now I'm busy with destroying you!"

Tabitha drew her next card and was disappointed to see that it was a card which she could've charged mana with, but she was in desperate need of it.

"Looks like I won't be using Crimson Juu's space charge ability soon. Oh well, I must win this, so…" Tabitha placed Self-Destructing Gil Poser to her mana zone and then tapped all 7 cards. "I cast Super Move! Absolute Despair!"

"It's that spell that you've used on Rad!" Kokujo noticed.

"Indeed it is, and since I have 3 Water cards, 3 Darkness cards and 3 Fire cards in my mana zone, I'll activate all its 3 effects! I'll draw 2 cards, discard 2 cards from your hand and destroy Zabi Trash Train and Ashliger!"

Two cards flew from Tabitha's deck to her hand, then two cards fell from Kokujo's hand to his graveyard, those being Deathraios, Cursed Blade Reaper and Auzesu, Demonic Holy Spirit, leaving him with just one card in hand, and finally, Kokujo's Zabi Trash Train and Ashliger blew to pieces. Tabitha laughed uncontrollably and savored her apparent victory at controlling the match.

"Hahahahaha, cower before this world's new Queen of Evil, Black Death! My name is Tabitha Lenox!"

"You're the Queen of Evil? Then I suppose you need to be crowned!" Kokujo said and drew his next card. "I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast and Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! With Zabi Olzekia's effect, I destroy Zabi Fly and discard a card from your hand. Also, Crimson Juu is destroyed as well!"

"You'll pay for that!" Tabitha shouted after Kokujo discarded her Gallows Deis Dragon, Sea Wizard Dragon.

"Then with Zabi Hydra's effect I return Zabi Trash Train to my hand. Zabi Claw, break her shield!" Kokujo ordered and the Alien warrior attack one of Tabitha's shields with its sharp claws and slashed it. "Then Zabi Hydra, double break her shields!" Kokujo continued and the Alien in armor jumped at the witch and punched two of her shields with its fists, breaking them to pieces.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Zabi Hydra!" Tabitha said and two black demonic hands grabbed Kokujo's Alien and smashed it. "Also, shield trigger, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!"

A three-headed red and black robot appeared behind Tabitha.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card. Then I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser and destroy both Gil Poser and Zabi Claw. Now Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows, send his last two shields to the top of his deck!" Tabitha ordered and her creature unleashed streams of hot water from its three mouths which made Kokujo's last shields disappear and the cards in them land on the top of his deck. "Let's see you survive the next turn, Black Death!"

"I gladly accept your challenge, Tabitha!" Kokujo said and his hand suddenly glowed with a dark purple aura as he drew his next card. "I charge mana and then evolve Zabi Olzekia into Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord!"

All of a sudden, behind Kokujo a blue-skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white appeared. The demon was also wearing a golden armor with blue paint.

"Ballcadeias, destroy everything else on the field!" Kokujo ordered and the creature waved its hands and created a huge bright purple laser ball which it casted upon all other creatures on the battle zone, destroying them. "Now go, Ballcadeias, break her final shield!"

The creature then roared so loudly that the whole building began to shake and Tabitha's shield immediately cracked into tiny bits and got broken. The shield shards surrounded the witch and slowly united into a blue card which went to her hand.

"Ballcadeias also doesn't allow you to cast any spells, so most of your triggers are dead!" Kokujo announced.

"Tsh, curses!" Tabitha complained while staring at the Hot Spring Brain which she got from her shield.

Tabitha's only chance to win the game was a speed attacker. But she only had 3 speed attackers in her deck, 3 Marauder Deis Drive. But one was in her graveyard and the other two in her mana zone. That meant that it didn't matter what she did, she had lost anyway.

"My turn, I summon Gallows Blissful Kaiser!" Tabitha said and a purple dragon with three eyeless heads which also had sharp teeth appeared behind her. "And now… I end."

"Heh, any last words, witch?" Kokujo asked with a superior accent in his voice.

"After all these efforts, I end up losing… to you. I guess that the old saying: 'In tournaments only the strongest will survive!' is true." Tabitha spoke with a disappointed voice and then lifted her head up and looked at Kokujo in the eye. "Promise me one thing: that you will defeat Rezo in the finals! No matter what happens, don't let him gets his hands on the Proof!"

"Alright." Kokujo nodded to her and then tapped the only card on his battle zone. "Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord, todomeda!"

Tabitha closed her eyes and accepted her defeat. Ballcadeias created another purple laser ball and casted it upon the witch, blowing her against a wall.

But just as the attack ended, Kokujo noticed a strange dark aura surround Tabitha's Gallows Deis Dragon card. The card then disappeared and reappeared in the hands on Rezo.

"And that makes 9 cards! There's only one last card I must get in order to own all Proof cards, and I bet you know what card that is, Kokujo!" Rezo spoke to him while walking to the table in the middle of the arena where the final duel of the tournament would take place.

"You want this?" Kokujo asked while showing Rezo his Zabi Ballom card. "You'll have to go through me first!"

Kokujo quickly packed his cards and then rushed to the dueling table where Rezo was waiting.

"This is it, Rezo. The match that will decide the owner of the Proof is now!" Kokujo said and showed his glowing deck.


	127. Fierce battle! Proof of Duelmaster!

After their defeat, Tigra and Tabitha were taken to the infirmary to have their wounds treated. However, two THEM members were waiting in front of the infirmary for the escort which was bringing the two wounded duelists and after showing some documents, the THEM members took their leader and left. As for Tabitha, she was brought in the infirmary and the doctor began to heal her wounds.

After seeing on TV how their master lost horribly to Kokujo; Dani, Tobey and Eddy rushed to the tournament building to see how Tabitha was doing. As for Hanna, she phone called Tsugumi to discuss about their plan.

"Tsugumi-chan, Tabitha-sama had lost."

"I know, Hanna-san. But what can we do now?"

"The Unknowns are approaching our world bit by bit. We have to convince her to unite her forces with you guys immediately!"

"I understand, Hanna-san. Come at the building, I'll see you at the first floor." Tsugumi said and then closed her call and turned to Subaru. "I gotta run, duty's calling!"

"You have to do your chosen duelist job." Subaru replied and kissed Tsugumi on the cheek once again. "Just make sure you don't get in any trouble."

"You know me." Tsugumi winked and then ran to the stairs.

"Of course I know you, that's why I wished you to not get in trouble." Subaru laughed to himself. "Reality check, Subaru. Kokujo's facing the greatest evil guy you've seen and you must be prepared to help."

Subaru turned to the opening of the door and watched the duel between Kokujo and Rezo that had already begun. Their shields were deployed and Rezo had begun the game by placing Cocco Lupia into his mana zone and ending. Now it was Kokujo's turn. He put Olzekia, General of Decapitation into his mana zone, tapped the card and said:

"I summon Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior!"

"Rush? That's something new from you, Kokujo." Rezo said and then began his turn. "I summon Bloody Squito!"

"I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager! Zabi Claw, break his shield!" Kokujo ordered and his Alien warrior rushed at Rezo's shields.

"Block the attack, Bloody Squito!"

A big red spider-shaped bug appeared in front of Rezo's shields and took Zabi Claw's attack. However, the bug also stabbed Zabi Claw with the spike from its body. Both creatures fell on the ground and disappeared, meaning that they were destroyed.

"My turn, I summon Cocco Lupia!" Rezo said and a red fire bird with a crown on its head appeared above him.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll!" Kokujo said and Rezo discarded Ultimate Romanoff, Demonic Red Priest. "Huh? Discarding your Proof card?"

"I have my reasons. So, are you done?"

"Not at all! Zabi Fly, break his shield!"

The plane made a bone and with a sharp teethed mouth flew through one of Rezo's shields and broke it to pieces.

"I guess it's now my turn. I summon Totto Pippichi!" Rezo said and another fire bird joined Cocco Lupia, but this one was more golden and had a pair of sunglasses on its head.

"Since when did you become a bird brain, Rezo?" Kokujo taunted. "I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil! Zabi Fly, break another shield!"

The bone plane repeated its attack on another one of Rezo's shields, but the card from this one regenerated very quick and shined brightly.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Zabi Barrel!" Rezo said.

"Zabi Trash Train lets me draw a card. Now it's your turn!" Kokujo declared.

Meanwhile, at the hospital room, Tabitha's magic had managed to heal her body pretty quick. The witch was now stable, but she needed rest. Still, Hanna and Tsugumi insisted on waking her up. Hanna went to Tabitha's bed and began to shake her master while speaking loudly:

"Tabitha-sama! Tabitha-sama, wake up!"

"Wha-what's going on?" Tabitha silently asked and when she opened her eyes she first saw Hanna, but then received the shock of finding Tsugumi sitting right next to the blue haired girl. "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?" Tabitha yelled.

"Tabitha-sama, she doesn't want to hurt you!" Hanna defended her friend.

"She speaks the truth, Tabitha; I haven't come here with thoughts of doing you harm." Tsugumi spoke.

"Then why are you here, Shirayama girl? Do you want to gain joy from seeing me, your mortal enemy, suffering in defeat?" Tabitha addressed the blonde girl with her vile voice.

"I'd never find any joy in such wretched things." Tsugumi replied with honesty in her voice. "I only want to bring to you a problem that we are all facing."

"And what might that problem be?" Tabitha curiously asked.

Back at the duel, the situation was the following. Kokujo had all of his shields intact and Zabi Fly tapped and Zabi Trash Train untapped in his battle zone. Rezo had three shields left and both Cocco Lupia and Totto Pippichi untapped in his battle zone. Now it was the Red Priest's turn.

"Kokujo Kyoshiro, Black Death, get ready to meet your match!" Rezo announced his opponent.

"Heh, let's see what you've got!" Kokujo mocked him.

"I summon Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero!"

A horned knight dressed in a purple armor with red cape which was wielding two bright yellow laser guns appeared behind Rezo. Then the cards from his deck floated in the air and made way for one of them to fall into his graveyard. That card was Inferno Sign.

"Totto Pippichi makes all my Dragons speed attackers, so I now attack with Romanoff Zero and cast Inferno Sign! With its effect I put Ultimate Romanoff, Demonic Red Priest into the battle zone!" Rezo said and a horned knight with sharp teeth which was dressed in a purple armor surrounded by dark red flames and who also wielded two large guns appeared by Romanoff Zero's side. "With Ultimate Romanoff's effect I put Invincible Abyss into my graveyard! Now go, Romanoff Zero, double break his shields!"

Romanoff Zero fired lasers from both its guns and took down the shields from Kokujo's far left and far right.

"Then attack, Ultimate Romanoff, and cast Invincible Abyss!" Rezo shouted and watched how Kokujo's creatures blew up one by one. "Double break, Ultimate Romanoff!"

Ultimate Romanoff aimed its guns as well and fired streams of fire upon two more of Kokujo's shields, leaving the one from the middle intact.

"Cocco Lupia, break his final shield!" Rezo continued and the bird of fire flew through the last standing shield.

All of a sudden, a bright light came out of the broken shield and then that light took the shape of a DNA helix and fell upon Rezo's table.

"What the?" Rezo spoke surprised.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap your creatures!" Kokujo said and the watched how a new shield appeared above him. "Did you really think it was over, Rezo?"

"Grr, since Ultimate Romanoff broke shields, I destroy him." Rezo said and Ultimate Romanoff blew up behind him. "It's your turn. Let's see the almighty Black Death escape this situation, hahaha!"

"Curses, I don't have enough mana to summon the big guys!" Kokujo thought while looking at the cards in his hand. "I guess I'll have to go with what I have and hope to have some luck in my shield." Kokujo then selected a card in his hand and put it on the battle zone while saying. "I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General and destroy it!"

"I destroy Totto Pippichi!" Rezo answered. "Heh, is that really all you've got?"

Kokujo stared angrily at the Red Priest. As much as he didn't like to hear it, he knew that his opponent was right. His dueling was a lot weaker compared to all his other matches in the tournament. He didn't even live up to his very own expectations.

Back at the infirmary, Tabitha was having a very heated argument with Hanna and Tsugumi.

"Are you crazy? Why should I even consider joining you?" Tabitha shouted at Tsugumi.

"Because there's a great danger coming and you know it!" Tsugumi replied.

"She's right, Tabitha-sama. Pudding Pudding warned us that the Unknowns are waiting for Rezo to open the gates to our world, and once this happens, our world will end up like the creature world! Please, don't make the same mistake that the Aliens did when they refused to ally with the Hunters!" Hanna pleaded.

"You simpleton, my team and the chosen duelists are like oil and water, we could never join forces!" Tabitha insisted.

"So you're just going to leave the very world you want to conquer be annihilated by the Unknowns? That's what you want?" Tsugumi stubbornly shouted at the witch.

Outside of the infirmary, Dani, Tobey and Eddy were anxiously waiting for their master to come out. They were already hearing shouts from all three and realized that things weren't going so well.

"So guys, do you think that Tabitha-sama will be mad at us?" Dani asked.

"Of course, you idiot, she lost in the semifinals! And guess on who she will take down her anger." Tobey replied while sweating.

"Eddy think we in trouble." Eddy added.

In the next moment, the door slammed and an angered Tsugumi came out.

"The arrogance of that woman!" Tsugumi shouted.

"Uh, how did it go?" Tobey asked sweating.

"I don't even know how you can obey such a hard headed woman!" Tsugumi continued.

"Let's just say that things didn't go well at all." Hanna added while coming out of the infirmary as well. "Hey, where's Dani?"

"Behind puny door." Eddy said.

Tsugumi closed the door and that poor Dani had made a hole in the wall and was now lying in it because she had slammed the door on him.

"Hehe, sorry?" the blonde girl apologized and sweated.

Inside the infirmary, Tabitha was lying on the bed and staring through the window at the crowded city. The clouds began to cover the sun's light, darkening the horizon. Its shadow began to fall upon the city, making the view more delightful for the witch. Still, that couldn't ease the pain in her heart.

"How could I have failed?" Tabitha asked herself. "After so many battles waged, everything I've done now lies in ruin."

"So you're giving up?" a familiar male voice resounded in the room.

"Huh? Who said that?"

Tabitha looked around and saw a strange light filling the room. It was so strong that she had to cover her eyes. When she felt that it wasn't that powerful, she uncovered them and saw that she was surrounded by flames of hell. In front of her was Marcelo.

"You've destroyed me and this is all you have to show for it? How dare you give up before the job is done?" Marcelo spoke to the witch with frustration.

"You! Marcelo!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"So you haven't forgotten me like you've forgotten your ambitions, or are they just too much for you?"

"Don't you dare talk to me of ambition, you backstabbing fiend! Ah, if not for them, those accursed chosen duelists, that fiendish Tigra, that blasted Kokujo and that power hungry Rezo, I could've won the tournament!"

"Hehehe, well whatever you have to tell yourself." Marcelo laughed and suddenly disappeared along with the flames.

"Marcelo, come back here!" Tabitha demanded but then she woke up on her bed.

The witch took another stare at the city and saw that the weather was getting darker and darker. The witch then reached her hand on the bedside and took her deck.

"As pathetic as it sounds, he's right. I am Tabitha Lenox. I will take over this world and nothing will stand in my way!"

At the arena, Rezo's turn had come. It all depended now on Kokujo's luck. If he would get a shield trigger, he was saved. If not, then Rezo was the winner. The fate of the entire world rested upon a shield trigger.

"The time has come… for me to reach my destiny!" Rezo said. "Cocco Lupia, break his final shield!"

The bird gave an attack chirp and flew with power through Kokujo's last shield. The shield shards hit him hard and when they united, he saw that the card was… Zabi Ballom, Eternal Lord of Demonic Reapers.

"I don't believe it..." Kokujo murmured with both sadness and fear. "It's over…"

"THIS IS IT, VICTORY IS MINE! ROMANOFF ZERO, FINISH HIM OFF, TODOMEDA!" Rezo yelled and the knight aimed the gun from its right hand on Kokujo and unleashed the laser which decided the fate of the tournament.

Kokujo flied towards the entrance door and landed a few steps away from it. Subaru rushed to him to aid him while the victorious Rezo took Zabi Ballom in his hand.

"And so the puzzle has been completed. I now own the Proof's 10 cards." Rezo said and then turned to the host. "Hey you, give me my prize!"

"But sir, what about the awarding ceremony, the interviews and your speech?" the host asked but then Rezo fired a laser from his staff which destroyed his computer.

"We'll skip over all that, now give me the Proof!" Rezo said and approached the host.

The Red Priest was scaring the poor host with each step that he made. Fearing for his life, the man unlocked the jar and tossed the Proof while shouting:

"You can have it!"

The host then ran off to save his life, but luckily for him, Rezo didn't care. The Red Priest caught the Proof, but the gem quickly formed a small barrier around itself so that Rezo couldn't use it.

"Proof of Duelmaster, I know that you'll never allow evil people to touch you, but I have the 10 cards which can control your will, so you won't be able to stop me!" Rezo said and then let the Proof float in the air.

The Red Priest then took out the 10 cards that he had gathered and let them float in the air as well and spin around the Proof. Then each card fired a beam upon the blue gem and Rezo watched how the Proof's barrier tried to struggle with the power of the cards.

"It's no use, Proof, with these cards I control your will! Resistance is futile!" Rezo spoke with satisfaction and gladly watched how the Proof's barrier slowly fell, leaving the gem vulnerable. "Now you are all mine!"

But just when Rezo was about to grab the Proof, he heard an evil laugh coming from behind him. The Red Priest turned his back and saw Tabitha entering the room. Behind her were her own minions and Subaru and Tsugumi which were holding the wounded Kokujo in their arms.

"But how? Tabitha?" Rezo spoke surprised and then he continued with self confidence. "The tournament is over, Tabitha! You've lost, so get out of here!"

"Hah, I'll say when this is over, and that's when I wipe you out!" Tabitha replied.

"Very well, have it your way!" Rezo said and showed his deck.

"Oh please, Rezo, you're a grown up wizard. You know that a witch like me doesn't have time for child's games!"

Tabitha charged her strength in her right fist and rushed at Rezo. The Red Priest quickly hid his deck in his robes and dodged her attack. Afterwards, Rezo hit Tabitha in the back with his staff. Rezo tried to punch the witch with his right fist, but Tabitha caught it with her left hand and threw him away. Luckily for Rezo, he landed on his feet, but Tabitha jumped and attacked him with her right foot.

"You're weak, Rezo, you can barely hold me off!" Tabitha said.

"Oh really?" Rezo asked and grabbed Tabitha's foot, then threw her away as well and saw that she landed on her feet. "How's this for weak?" Rezo said and fired a red laser from his staff.

"Hah, pathetic!" Tabitha laughed and fired darkness beams from both her hands.

Outside the dueling arena which had become a battle arena, Tabitha's minions were hoping that their master would win. However, Hanna and Tsugumi were desperately trying to heal Kokujo's wounds with the few bandages and disinfectants that they had borrowed from the infirmary. As for Subaru, he was talking on the phone with Rad.

"So how are they, Rad?"

"The injuries aren't that bad, they'll recover soon. How's the situation down there?"

"It's awful! Kokujo-kun lost to Rezo!"

"WHAT? What about the Proof?"

"Rezo was on the verge of taking it, but now Tabitha is trying to stop him."

"Tabitha? Since when did she decide to help us?"

"I don't know, but thank goodness that she interfered, or else we probably would've been doomed by now."

"I understand. When they feel better, we'll join you guys, so take care, Subaru!"

"Take care, Rad!"

Subaru closed the call and then turned his sight back to the battle. It seemed that Tabitha's attack was stronger because Rezo was standing closer to the wall while breathing hard. The Red Priest looked at his enemy with an angry face and growled:

"I've had enough, this ends here!"

Rezo charged at Tabitha and concentrated his strength in both his hands so that he could attack her with his staff. However, Tabitha created a sword made of darkness energy that was similar to Kokujo's dark saber. The witch simply lifted her sword in the air and when Rezo approached her, she slashed his left arm off.

The attack was so powerful that Rezo fell on his knees before Tabitha and then his whole body fell on the floor while blood was coming out of what used to be his left arm. Tabitha victoriously lifted her sword in the air once again while saying:

"At last, this is truly the end of Rezo, the Red Priest!"

But just as Tabitha's blade was about to cut Rezo, the Proof of Duelmaster flew into Rezo's scepter and created a protective aura which didn't let her kill him. The Proof then used its powers and gave Rezo an update to his body. His purple hair turned spiky on his scalp and grew longer on his back until it reached his chest. His red robes received armors for the shoulders and two spikes on each forearm. A golden skull necklace appeared on his neck and his teeth became sharper. As for his scepter, it turned from silver to gold and two sharp spikes rose on its top around the Proof, turning it into a weapon.

"What trickery is this?" Tabitha asked while backing down.

"No trickery, just your downfall!" Rezo replied and got up, then let the aura around him disappear to reveal his new looks to everyone. "Time to meet your fate, Tabitha!"

"Pathetic to the end." Tabitha arrogantly spoke and rushed to Rezo intending to attack him with her sword of darkness, but with a simple swing from his golden scepter he pushed both the witch and her sword back. "Such power!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"It's time for me to end your struggle!" Rezo declared.

The Proof shined with a bright blue light and surrounded Rezo's scepter with it, turning it into a sharp spear. Rezo charged it and flew towards Tabitha. The witch also concentrated all her magic into her darkness sword, then charged at Rezo and flew at him as well. Both shouted war cries until they finally collided.

Tabitha was about to cut Rezo's head off with her sword, but Rezo's spear went through the weapon made of darkness and destroyed it once it touched it. Afterwards the spear went straight into Tabitha's stomach and came out of her back, piercing through her spine as well. The witch screamed with pain and then an explosion filled the room.

When the smoke was gone, Tabitha's minions and the two chosen duelists saw both Tabitha and Rezo lying on their knees, Tabitha being stabbed with Rezo's staff which was no longer a spear.

"It's over." Rezo declared and then pulled his staff out of Tabitha's body.

But then, all of a sudden, Tabitha rised her head to him and spoke:

"I still live."

The witch lifted her right hand and stretched it at Rezo's face.

"You haven't… won. Not while my heart… still beats." Tabitha continued, but her hand stopped just at a millimeter distance from Rezo's face. "Hehehehe-hehehe…"

Rezo stared at the witch with fear, but then Tabitha fell on the floor in a pool of blood. Rezo sighed with relief and then stared at his trophy, the Proof of Duelmaster, which was now on his scepter. That was it, he had won!


	128. Alliance

"This is it, the Proof of Duelmaster is all mine!" Rezo victoriously said and raised his scepter in the air to admire the gem which was on its top.

It was too good to be true. He, Rezo, had gathered all the 10 cards of the Proof of Duelmaster. He, Rezo, had defeated both Kokujo and his mentor, Tabitha. He, Rezo, had won.

Then a portal opened and Shagrath and Hitler came out. They walked to the victorious Red Priest and he felt their presence and turned to them. Rezo gave Shagrath and Hitler a grin filled with satisfaction, making them understand that victory was theirs.

"Well, well, I'm truly impressed, Rezo!" Shagrath complimented while clapping his hands.

"Yaya, der Furher appreciates a glorious victory!" Hitler added.

"So what do we do now?" Shagrath asked.

"Now… we take over the world!" Rezo answered with the darkest voice he ever had.

Rezo fired a blue beam from his scepter which rose into the sky. The beam destroyed the arena's roof and created a black circle in the sky which was so large that it created a shadow which covered the entire building. Everyone soon understood that the circle was a gate. Seven pairs of red eyes glowed into the circle and devilish laughter came out of it.

At the sight of this, the citizens of the city began to run in panic. Just two months ago they had endured the wrath of Devil Diabolos Zeta, and another attack of supernatural creatures upon their city was the last thing they wished for.

"At long last, my revenge is complete!" Rezo declared and then fired another beam from his staff which created a huge black organic spacecraft. "Follow me, the world as we all know it is ours!"

Rezo created a balloon around himself, Shagrath and Hitler and that balloon flew inside the spaceship. Then the seven eyes from the black circle disappeared and the creatures slowly descended into the human world. First was a red, green and blue dragon with with large paws. Second was a grey metallic robot with a sharp claw for a left hand and a sharp staff in its right hand. Third was a humanoid like monster dressed in a purple armor, with red horns and magic circles surrounding its hands. Fourth was a mechanical ghost-like creature with half of its body glowing with a yellow light, another radiating with a purple aura, which was also wearing a mask. Fifth was a blue and green humanoid that had two snake heads with long necks. Sixth was a green giant that had golden spheres gravitating around it. And last but not least was a creature resembling an angel in a golden armor with a mane that made its head look like the sun.

"This is it, the Unknowns have arrived!" Rezo said and walked to a window of his spaceship in which he could see the seven gods. "Unknowns, I have brought you here to offer you this world! NOW GO AND DESTROY IT! DON'T LET A SINGLE ONE GET AWAY!"

With the attack order being given, the creatures flew towards the city's buildings and began decimating everything that they could find.

At the tournament building, Tabitha's minions were trying to drag their master's bleeding body out of the arena. As for Subaru and Tsugumi, the two headed outside with Kokujo on their backs to greet Atsuto, Nolan and the other three chosen duelists who had just come with the UFO.

"Guys, you've made it!" Rad said after he opened the UFO's doors.

"Quickly, get inside!" Sora called.

Subaru and Tsugumi gave the wounded Kokujo to Atsuto and Nolan which took him to the hospital room. Afterwards, both hopped in the UFO and its doors closed immediately. A protective barrier which granted the spaceship invisibility surrounded the UFO.

"Subaru, what's the situation outside?" Rad asked.

"Is it bad?" Edo added.

"No, it's not bad. IT'S SUPER BAD!" Subaru yelled.

"Tabitha lost her fight with Rezo and got impaled with his staff. She… is dead." Tsugumi said.

"He… defeated Tabitha?" Sora spoke with shock and put her hand on her mouth. "My God…"

"So, Rad, what should we do now?"

"I wish I knew, Subaru, I wish I knew…"

Rad stared hopelessly at the city which was being attacked by the merciless Unknowns. With Kokujo and Tabitha down and Rezo now owning the Proof, the chances of the chosen duelists to win were more than slim.

Meanwhile, Dani and Tobey were guiding Eddy, who was holding the bleeding body of Tabitha in his arms, to the infirmary. Hanna was standing a few feet behind them and was worrying about the fate of the world. With the Unknowns unleashed, her planet would turn into the post-apocalyptic world that Pudding Pudding showed her, and she didn't want that to happen. But what could she do? Nothing, she tried everything and still failed. For the moment, it seemed that all was lost.

However, as they were approaching the infirmary, Eddy noticed the darkness was coming out of Tabitha's body. The witch began to breathe hard and then she whispered to her minion:

"I refuse to die like this!"

In the next moment, a red portal in which there were flames and screams appeared in front of the group of boys. They stopped stunned in front of it and feared the worse. In the next moment, Tabitha jumped from Eddy's arms into the portal which got closed once she entered it.

"Tabitha-sama…" Tobey murmured.

"What the heck just happened?" Dani asked.

"Tabitha-sama say she not want die like this." Eddy explained.

"Whatever is going on, let's hope that she will come back to us safely." Hanna said and the other boys nodded to her.

Tabitha traveled all the way to hell and once she reached the first level, she turned into a black spider and infiltrated the restaurant. She crawled under the tables, passing each evil genius and even the king of hell himself without being noticed. She crawled all the way to a pantry whose door was half open. Once she entered it, she reverted to her human form and carefully closed the door. Afterwards, the witch turned to a pedestal on which a red crown with large horns similar to antlers was lying.

"You're my last hope of defeating Rezo. Whatever happens, I swear that I won't go into the grave without pulling him with me!" Tabitha said and then took the crown in her hands. "It's all or nothing!"

Tabitha put the crown on her head and then she got surrounded by a bright red aura. When the aura disappeared, the witch was wearing a dark blue cape, white boots and purple queen clothes. Also, the wounds which Rezo had inflicted upon her had disappeared.

Back in the human world, just a minute after Tabitha disappeared to hell; another portal appeared in front of the group of boys and out of it came their master which was once again wearing her royal clothes.

"Tabitha-sama!" Dani, Tobey and Eddy chanted in unison.

"Don't tell me, you're once again…" Hanna barely spoke amazed.

"The Queen of Evil!" Tabitha replied. "Yes, my minions, I rise again from the ashes like the Phoenix. And this time I swear that Rezo will be brought to his knees!"

The three boys cheered happily, but Hanna was still worried. She feared that if her master would decide to fight Rezo once again all by herself, the result would be even worse than before.

Tabitha walked to the exit door of the building and took a look outside. The dark clouds had made the city even uglier than before. She also saw the Unknowns destroying the city's greatest buildings even worse than in the Godzilla movies. Tabitha sighed and then turned to her minions and said:

"Even with my powers at their maximum potential, his strength is still bigger than mine."

"So what should we do, Tabitha-sama?" Hanna asked.

"Contact the chosen duelists and tell them that I wish to meet them." Tabitha ordered.

At the UFO, the chosen duelists were now sitting in the living room and waiting for Kokujo to wake up. The room was filled with grave-like silence. None of them was saying a word. It was as if one of them had died and nothing that they would say would make the situation better. Suddenly Tsugumi's cell phone rang and the girl answered quickly:

"Hello?"

"Tsugumi-chan, it's me, Hanna."

"Yes, Hanna-san, why did you call?"

"It's Tabitha-sama, she's come back to life! And she wishes to see you immediately!"

"I understand. Tell her to walk to the first street at the tournament building's right. You'll find us right when you turn around the building."

"Alright, see you soon!" Hanna said and closed the call.

Tsugumi also closed the call and put her cell phone back into her pockets. Then she turned to her teammates.

"Who was it, Tsugumi?" Rad asked.

"It was Hanna. She said that Tabitha is alive and well. Also, Tabitha wants to talk with us." Tsugumi answered.

"Tabitha? What could that witch want from us now?" Sora spoke curiously.

"Maybe she wants us to throw her a birthday party?" Edo suggested.

"I highly doubt it, Edo-kun." Subaru replied.

After just a few minutes, the UFO's defensive barrier was taken down and then its door opened. Tabitha entered the spaceship and was soon followed by her four loyal minions. They walked through the main corridor until they saw a door opening. They stopped and watched the five chosen duelists walk out of it as well. Rad was walking in front of them, Subaru and Edo being behind him and Tsugumi and Sora behind them. Tabitha was sitting in front of her group, Dani and Tobey being behind her and Hanna and Eddy behind them. Tabitha's eyes were throwing daggers at Rad at first but as he reached her, the witch's sight warmed all of a sudden. There was no need for them to discuss anything. Their words were replaced by simple glares.

"Man, this is intense." Subaru whispered to Edo.

"I wish I went to the bathroom." Edo whispered back.

A few moments passed and Rad and Tabitha did nothing but stare at each other. But then, all of a sudden, both reached their right hands in the air and they united in a handshake.

"You know, guys, I never thought I'd see this happen – the two of them shaking hands." Subaru confessed to the other three chosen duelists. "Just standing here in front of Tabitha and watching this seems like some kind of weird dream."

"Yes, but this dream has now come true. It's what Hanna wanted to happen ever since she joined us back then." Tsugumi reminded them.

"With this handshake I, Rad, pledge to both chosen duelists and Tabitha Lenox's team to fight together! We shall prevail to bring peace and harmony into our planet!"

"And to annihilate Rezo!" Tabitha added.

"I agree with all that was said here." a familiar voice spoke.

A third hand reached and landed onto the hands of Rad and Tabitha. That hand belonged to Kokujo. The evil genius had finally recovered and had been informed of everything that was going on.

"And I, Kokujo Kyoshiro, pledge to help both sides in this battle!"

Rad and Tabitha nodded at the evil genius and gave him a smile. Then Tabitha's minions walked to the chosen duelists to shake hands with them as well.

"Hey brother, it's nice to see you again!" Subaru said and shook Tobey's hand.

"Hehe, it's nice to see you too?" Tobey spoke shyly.

"Hah, I can't believe I'm fighting for harmony, what a load of crap! I'm a big mean dueling machine, hahaha!" Dani laughed while shaking Edo's hand.

"And people say that I'm weird." Edo replied and sweated.

"Hey, watch your words there; one thing that I can't stand is a smart-mouthed goodie-two-shoe!" Dani threatened Edo.

"Eddy." Eddy said while shaking Sora's hand.

"Uh, nice meeting you?" Sora replied.

"We did it Tsugumi-chan!" Hanna said while hugging the blonde girl.

"We sure did. Finally our teams can work together!" Tsugumi said.

With the alliance made, it was time to get down to business. Nolan and Atsuto made the UFO fly in the direction of Rezo's ship. Since the Unknowns were more concerned with the destruction of the city, they passed them quickly and were even ignored.

"Alright, Kokujo, what's the plan?" Tabitha asked.

"We will take care of the 7 Unknowns and Rezo in the same time." Kokujo replied with a sly smile on his face.

"But how are we going to do that?" Rad asked.

"We've got this advantage due to the fact that we surpass the enemy in number. Tabitha, I want you to use your powers and infiltrate both of us in Rezo's spaceship. We should be able to take care of the situation from there. The rest of you, I want you to concentrate your whole kaijudo energy and summon your strongest creatures into this world to battle the Unknowns. This is how we shall win!"

"Impressive plan indeed, Kokujo." Tabitha nodded and then turned to the rest. "You heard him, now get ready for battle!"

At Rezo's ship, the Red Priest was now sitting on a chair and admiring his staff with the Proof which was stuck in the organic floor. The 10 Proof cards were floating in the air and spinning around the staff. Shagrath and Hitler approached him from behind and then the long haired demon said:

"Rezo, don't you fear that the chosen duelists might try to interfere in your plans?"

"Haha, don't worry yourself with useless matters, Shagrath. With Kokujo gone, the chosen duelists pose a threat to me like a common house fly!"

"Then what should we do now?" Hitler asked.

"Just sit back and relax, the Unknowns will do the rest of the work." Rezo assured them.

Back at the UFO, the chosen duelists and Tabitha's four minions were standing on the ship's roof waiting for the moment to attack. Under them, the main door opened and revealed Kokujo and Tabitha which were standing there. The ship approached Rezo's slowly so that they wouldn't be noticed.

"Kokujo! Tabitha!" Atsuto's voice resounded from the ship's speakers.

"What is it?" Kokujo asked.

"It seems that Rezo's ship is 95% organic. Your only way in is through one of the windows."

"Then I will prepare a spell that will get us in through a window without breaking it." Tabitha said.

"Alright, so that's how we're going to get in." Kokujo said.

Tabitha waved her hands and made two purple auras surround her and Kokujo. In the next moment both their bodies became transparent. The duo flew out of the UFO and headed to Rezo's spaceship.

Once they left the UFO, a lightning struck and raindrops began falling from the sky. With a war cry, Rad began the battle:

"ATTACK, GAIAL KING DRAGON!"

Rad's hands glowed with a bright red light and a giant red metallic dragon appeared in front of him. The red haired boy jumped on it and took off.

"Alright! LET'S GO, JET CASCADE ATTACK!" Edo shouted.

A robot with golden tank toes, blue ship feet, red plane body with sharp wings and powerful iron fists appeared in front of Edo. The brown haired boy jumped on its back and rode through the clouds while yelling:

"GERONIMOOO!"

Sora united her hands and then a giant beast wearing black boots, a green vest, which had fists made of ice, a menacing mouth with sharp fangs and long blonde hair that resembled a lion mane appeared behind Sora. The green haired girl jumped on it and shouted:

"THE BATTLE AWAITS US, CHOPPING RUZOU!"

The creature roared and jumped off the UFO. Meanwhile, Tsugumi's hands glowed with a bright golden light and the girl shouted:

"LET'S BRING JUSTICE, SAINT CHAN-MERRIE!"

A giant blue robotic dragon in a golden armor which was holding a blue energy sword which was surrounded by a yellow lightning appeared in front of Tsugumi. The girl hopped on its back and the creature flew off the UFO as well.

"ROAR IN THE NIGHT, VOLG TIGER!" Subaru shouted.

A giant tiger demon made of bones; with two heads and which was wielding a sharp purple sword appeared in front of Subaru. The black haired boy smiled to the creature and then hopped on its back and thus the last chosen duelist took off into battle.

Now only Tabitha's minions were left on the UFO's roof. But they wouldn't stand there for long.

"HYPER OVERTHROW, NATION'S STRONGEST SUMO!" Dani's shout was heard.

A giant sumo alien made of bones which was wearing a warrior's armor appeared in front of Dani. The short duelist jumped on its back and took off into battle.

"SHACHIHOKO GOLDEN DRAGON!" Tobey's yell resounded.

An enormous golden dragon with 9 mouths, 3 having black energy balls inside, 3 having fire balls and 3 having light balls inside, and that also had long wings and two golden horns on its head appeared in front of the boy. He did what the others had done and took off as well.

"UNRYU DEIS IZU, GREAT YOKOZUNA!" Eddy gave a caveman shout.

A giant fat pink dragon with spikes, green vines, jaws and fire on its head appeared in front of Eddy. The tall almost bald boy jumped on its back and they took off as well. Now only Hanna was left. The blue haired girl took a deep breath and looked at the city for a moment.

"This is it, the moment had come. ARISE, PSYCHIC NEX, THE AWAKENED BLUE FLAME!" Hanna's cried.

A golden armored bird made of blue fire appeared in front of Hanna and the girl jumped on its back and flew into the battlefield following her friends.

Meanwhile, Kokujo and Tabitha had managed to get past Rezo's ship's external defense systems and enter through the window without breaking it. Once inside, their bodies ceased being transparent and both landed on the floor.

"Tabitha, are you alright?"

"Don't worry; I'm made of much durable material than you humans."

"Tsh, yeah right. Anyway, what kind of spell did you use on us?" Kokujo asked.

"Oh, it's an old trick of mine. I basically turned our bodies into ghosts for a few moments until we managed to infiltrate in the UFO. It was rather simple to turn something material, like our organic composition, into something immaterial, and then reverse the spell." Tabitha proudly explained.

"I wonder where Rezo might be hiding. He must be around here somewhere."

But just as Kokujo took a step, the corridor began to shake. Small circular holes appeared in the organic walls and a handful of metallic balls came out of them. Out of each ball came a laser gun.

"Curses, that must be Rezo's internal defense system!" Tabitha lamented.

"Watch out!" Kokujo shouted and jumped on Tabitha.

The two fell on the floor and dodged a few lasers which were fired on them.

Meanwhile, at the chamber in which Rezo was sitting, a small alarm resounded. Shagrath and Hitler panicked, but a confident grin appeared on Rezo's face, revealing his sharp teeth. The Red Priest then calmly spoke to himself:

"So, they have come. It's time for the real fun to begin!"


	129. Decisive battle

After many struggles against each other, the chosen duelists and Tabitha's team had finally united their forces to defeat their common enemy: Rezo. The Red Priest had returned from the dead to take back the Proof of Duelmaster and his plan had succeeded. Using the Proof's power, he opened the gates to the creature world and unleashed the seven powerful Unknown creatures upon the human world. The Unknowns began to devastate the whole city as Rezo was flying away with his spaceship. However, the chosen duelists and Tabitha's minions were going to fight back with their own creatures.

At the center of the city, most of the buildings were surrounded by flames. Onto of the highest, Codename Sorge was holding and was trying to use its full strength to make it fall. However, three creatures soon appeared above it. The creature looked up and saw Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord, Fused Dreadnought! Jet Cascade Attack and Chopping Ruzou, Rude Mincing Gang Leader, each with their respective owners riding them.

"Hey lizard head, didn't mommy tell you that destroying other people's homes isn't nice?" Rad joked.

Codename Sorge angrily hissed at them as a response.

"I don't think he has a mommy, Raddy." Edo stated.

"Well then let's kick his butt back to his nonexistent mommy, shall we?" Sora suggested.

Chopping Ruzou rushed to grab Sorge, but the Unknown jumped off the building and headed to others. However, Jet Cascade Attack grabbed the Unknown by its tail to prevent it from destroying other homes. The angered Sorge punched Jet Cascade Attack in the face and the robot fell along with its master. Then the Unknown fired a laser from its head which blasted Chopping Ruzou as well. However, a big shadow fell upon the Unknown. When Sorge looked up, it saw that Rad and his Gaial King Dragon were ready for a full attack and so they did.

At the eastern side of the city, where its power plant was being located, Codename Ethan was trying to absorb electric current from the plant so that its power could grow stronger. However, its plan failed when the electric current it was trying to absorb changed its direction and went into the sword of a light creature. Codename Ethan angrily turned around and saw Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan Merrie sitting there with her arms crossed and Tsugumi on her shoulder.

"In the name of the Hunters, Aliens and the human race, I command you to stop draining our planet's energy and go back where you came from!" Tsugumi ordered.

Codename Ethan ignored the blonde girl's words and jumped at Saint Chan-Merrie. The Unknown first scarred its right hand and made it drop the lightning sword. Afterwards, Codename Ethan stabbed Saint Chan-Merrie in her chest with X mark, making the creature feel terrible pain. However, Saint Chan-Merrie didn't give up. The Light Hunter made a simple move with two of its fingers and called for its sword. The lightning sword got up from the ground and flew through Ethan's body back into its owner's hand. Since Ethan's body was rather thin and metallic, it didn't stand a chance to Saint Chan-Merrie's sword, so the Unknown fell defeated on the ground.

Inside Rezo's spaceship, Kokujo and Tabitha managed to hide in a corner to avoid more lasers from hitting them. However, Tabitha's patience wasn't that great, so the witch freed herself from Kokujo's clutch and got up. The witch made a battle cry and began firing lasers from her hands, her eyes and her mouth. Tabitha's lasers were much stronger and thus they managed to destroy all metallic balls that were trying to destroy them.

"Woah, nice move!" Kokujo said in awe.

"Tsh, Rezo's defense system wasn't scary, just annoying." Tabitha replied with disgust. "Now let's go and find him!"

"Wait! I hear footsteps." Kokujo whispered.

And he was right. Footsteps could be heard coming from behind them. The two turned their backs and saw two figures slowly approaching them from the dark. After a few moments, the two figures revealed themselves as being Shagrath and Hitler.

"Oh great, it's those clowns!" Kokujo complained.

"Listen, we've got no time to deal with annoying insects like you, so back off!" Tabitha demanded.

"Heh, you're not the one giving orders here, Tabitha." Shagrath calmly laughed and then took out his deck.

"Yaya, der Furher will show you how this game is played." Hitler added and showed his deck as well.

"Seems like we have no other choice." Kokujo replied and grabbed his deck out of his pockets.

"I'll take the senile Furher, you take the woman wannabe." Tabitha said to Kokujo and then took out her deck as well.

Inside the city's sewers, Codename James was using its magic circles to blow up whatever it could find. However, the creature soon saw something big ahead of its eyes. And that big thing soon revealed itself as being Hyper Overthrow, Nation's Strongest Sumo. Sitting on its back was the not so big Dani. The boy laughed maniacally and then shouted to his creature:

"Hahahahaha, now this is more like it! Let's do some damage!"

Hyper Overthrow jumped at Codename James to grab it, but the creature used both its magic circles and created a whirlwind in which it caught both the Alien and its human user. But what the Unknown didn't take into consideration was Hyper Overthrow's weight. Since the creature was a Sumo, its weight was even bigger than its 9000 power. In the end, Codename James' magic proved to not be as strong as Hyper Overthrow's brute force, so the creature's whirlwind wore off. That was the moment when Hyper Overthrow rushed at Codename James and beat the creature up worse than a punching bag.

At the beach, Codename Snake had just scared off all the humans. Now that the beach was empty, Codename Snake entered the seawater and began to poison it with the venom from both its snake mouths. But then a huge shadow fell upon the creature. The Unknown turned its back and was shocked to see Shachihoko GOLDEN Dragon sitting behind it with Tobey riding on its back, the creature being ready for attack. In a fit of fear, Codename Snake began drinking the poisoned seawater and then spat it all upon the golden Alien Dragon. Shachihoko took cover and Tobey did the same.

"Who would've thought that a weakling would pose a threat to a big creature like you." Tobey remarked.

However, the white haired boy's affirmation was proven wrong in the moment when Codename Snake ceased spitting poison and breathed hardily. It seemed that all that spitting required a lot of effort from its snake heads. That was the moment both Tobey and Shachihoko were waiting for. The golden Dragon prepared its 3 black energy balls, 3 fire balls and 3 light balls and in the next moment it casted them all upon Codename Snake, its loud hiss of pain being the last thing that the creature did.

Back at Rezo's spaceship, it seemed that Shagrath and Hitler were winning the duels.

"I evolve Gray Balloon into Zero Nemesis, Shadow of Panic! Ike, Zero Nemesis, break his final shields!" Shagrath ordered. "Now Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse, todome…"

"Not so fast, Shagrath! Shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and bring Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger from my graveyard into the battle zone!" Kokujo said and a demonic bone tiger wielding four purple blades appeared behind him. "Destroy Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!"

"Now der Furher will put you in a world of pain! I evolve Gigaslug into Phantasmal Horror Gigazabal! Go, Gigazabal, break her final shields!" Hitler ordered and his creature fired lasers from both its monster heads upon Tabitha's last two shields, taking them down.

"I think it's high time someone taught you some manners, you geezer! Shield trigger, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!" Tabitha said and a three-headed red and black robot appeared behind her.

"As we've said before, we don't have time to play with you! I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and evolve it into Zabi Libra, Lord of Demons!" Kokujo said and a Demon Command with six dark blue wings, wearing a golden armor and having two mouths on the lower parts of its body appeared behind him. "Go, Thunder Blade, break his final shields!"

The demonic tiger jumped at Shagrath and slashed both his last two shields with its puple blades. Towards his disappointment, none were shield triggers.

"I summon two Marauder Deis Drive! Hot Spring Gallows, send two of his shields to the top of his deck!" Tabitha ordered and the three-headed robot fired streams of hot water upon two of Hitler's shields and made them disappear, the cards going on the top of his deck. "Marauder Deis Drive, break his final shield!"

The black Alien rushed at Hitler and used the spikes from its forearm to take down the Furher's last shield, which like Shagrath's, wasn't a shield trigger.

"Zabi Libra…" Kokujo said.

"Deis Drive…" Tabitha said.

"TODOMEDA!" both shouted in unison.

Both creatures attacked the two and when the duels were over, Kokujo and Tabitha saw that their opponents had turned into smokes of darkness and vanished from the human world. As they were packing up their cards, Tabitha couldn't help but notice that Kokujo had added new cards to his deck, so she spoke:

"Added Nature to the mix, eh?"

"Yeah, and I kind of took out most of my Aliens." Kokujo replied. "Heh, now I only have one Alien and one Hunter in this whole deck."

"Thunder Blade and Zabi Libra… nice choices." Tabitha commented.

"Anyway, let's move out before Rezo comes up with more tricks!"

Thus Kokujo took off and Tabitha quickly followed him.

Meanwhile, in the city zoo, Codename Thirteen was causing damage to all the cages it could. Few animals managed escape the giant creature's wrath. But what Codename Thirteen didn't know was that it would soon meet its match. While the Nature Unknown was devastating the cage, Unryu Deis Izu snuck up behind it and grabbed its back. The sumo Alien then threw the Unknown a few miles away and had it land on a building. However, Codename Thirteen quickly got up and rushed at the intrusive Alien. The creature punched Unryu Deis Izu in its face. Afterwards its fists collided with the creature's stomach. Ultimately, Codename Thirteen gave Unryu Deis Izu a final punch which blew the Alien off its feet and had it crash on the zoo's fountain. As Codename Thirteen stood victorious in front of the apparently defeated Alien, Eddy came out of the fountain and angrily shouted at the creature:

"Eddy not like you! Eddy and Yokozuna beat up meanie!"

The tall muscular boy whistled and Unryu Deis Izu got up from the fountain, regardless of the damage that Codename Thirteen had inflicted upon it. The Alien grabbed Eddy and put him on its shoulder, then with a brutal shout they rushed at Codename Thirteen. The Unknown was ready to defend itself, but as they collided, Eddy punched the green giant in the head, weakening its defense. That was when Unryu Deis Izu needed. With Codename Thirteen lowering its defense, the Alien pierced through its body with its sharp green vines until blood started falling out of the Unknown. Codename Thirteen suddenly ceased moving and then fell on its back dead.

Following the citizens which were trying to escape was Codename Orewaleo. The angelic creature kept firing lasers from its palms, destroying either rockets or making buildings fall upon innocent humans. Whatever happened, the Light Unknown would not allow the humans to escape. After all, Rezo's demand was to not leave a single citizen alive. But then Orewaleo felt something burn the back of its armor. The creature turned around and saw Psychic Nex flapping its wings and approaching it with Hanna riding the mighty bird. The Unknown felt the danger and directed its palm laser attacks upon the Fire Bird. But what the creature did not take into account was the fact that Psychic Nex was much faster than it. The bird dodged the lasers easily while flying and in a few moments it reached Codename Orewaleo and pierced through the Unknown's golden armor with its sharp blue claws.

"This one is for the creature world!" Hanna sharply spoke to it.

Codename Orewaleo was stunned when it heard those words. The Unknown was even more stunned when it saw Pudding Pudding's image instead of Hanna, almost as if the Alien princess was the one who was riding Psychic Nex. But that didn't matter anymore. Psychic Nex fired a powerful laser into the hole of Orewaleo's armor and thus brought an end to the creature's life.

At the spaceship, Rezo was sitting in the control room on his chair and was calmly waiting for his enemies to come while admiring his scepter with the Proof and the 10 cards that were revolving around it. Suddenly, a black smoke appeared in front of him and took the form of Zakira. The ghost stared at Rezo with its angered red eyes and spoke:

"Rezo, it's time for you to give me a new body! I can't stand this ghost form any longer!"

"Tsh, if you're so desperate for a new body, go and possess some loser and leave me alone!" Rezo coldly replied.

"What? But you've promised that once you'd get the Proof, you'd give me a new body!" Zakira insisted.

"Haha, and you actually believed me? Sorry, Zakira, but I have no intentions of sharing the world's throne with someone else."

"You backstabber!"

"Call me whatever you want, but I suggest you go and haunt some castle in Scotland before I get pissed at you and erase your very existence!"

Fearing Rezo's threat, Zakira's ghost growled angrily and flew out of his spaceship.

Back at the city, the only remaining Unknown was Codename Sherlock. The creature had created a tornado that was devastating the entire city, but its plain had failed when it saw Volg Tiger pierce through the vortex with its sword. The mighty two-headed demon tiger landed in front of it and a male voice was then heard.

"So this is your killer?" Subaru asked while appearing on the creature's shoulder.

Volg Tiger nodded and gave Codename Sherlock a stare filled with hate. Before anyone could predict it, Volg Tiger's second head that was lying on its right shoulder fired a huge purple laser beam upon the Unknown. Codename Sherlock quickly created a light barrier that blocked the creature's attack. Volg Tiger raged at the creature and tried breaking the barrier with its sword, but Sherlock slyly lowered it then used its stronger sword to break Volg Tiger's weapon and pierce through its body. With a roar of pain, the demonic tiger landed on the street. Subaru got off the creature before it collided with the asphalt, and once it landed, he turned his head up and was shocked to see that Codename Sherlock was preparing its sword for a final attack. But just then, a familiar voice echoed from behind him:

"Looks like you could use some help."

Subaru turned his back and was surprised to see Shubham approaching them while riding on his Darkness Ganveet.

Meanwhile, at Rezo's spaceship, after running through many corridors and facing many traps, Kokujo and Tabitha had finally found the room where the Proof and its 10 cards were lying, but there was no sign of Rezo. Still, the duo entered the dark room and looked around. Nothing was suspicious other than an empty chair. They also saw that the 10 cards were spinning around Rezo's golden staff on which the Proof was lying.

"So this is it." Tabitha spoke with a lower voice.

"No doubt about it, the Proof of Duelmaster." Kokujo replied.

"Kokujo, look, it's my Gallows Deis Dragon!" Tabitha exclaimed and rushed to the staff to claim her card.

"Tabitha, no!" Kokujo shouted.

Just as Tabitha approached it, red tentacles came out of the floor and tied her up before she even knew it. Kokujo rushed to help her but he had the same fate. Now both were captured.

"Hahaha, frankly I'm quite surprised you two made it this far. You should be congratulated." Rezo's voice resounded in the room and all of a sudden the Red Priest appeared on his chair and turned to the two.

"Grr, you tricked us!" Tabitha shouted. "You cast an invisibility spell upon your body and you waited for us to fall in your trap!"

"Oh please, I'm so tired of your stupid habit of stating the obvious." Rezo replied with disgust.

"So what are you going to do with us?" Kokujo asked.

"I will grant you the honor of seeing me manipulate the Proof in the best way possible. Right now the Proof is under a spell which will make it absorb back its 10 cards which are now corrupted with my darkness. With the Proof's pure light gone, its powers will be in my hands!" Rezo explained his plan.

"But how did you even manage to corrupt these cards?" Kokujo continued.

"I'm now feeding off the negative energies that the battles between the Unknowns and your minions are offering me. You see, Kokujo, the only reason I've unleashed the Unknowns upon this world was because I was hoping that you and your lackeys would try to stop them, and in doing so you'd grant me plenty negative energy for corrupting the Proof's cards. And I must say; now I'm getting more than enough!" Rezo spoke enthusiastically.

"You think so? Well don't bet on it!" Tabitha intervened.

"I thought for sure that you would anticipate my plan, Kokujo, since you've seen the Proof being corrupted before. Anyway, you were foolish enough to let your minions battle the Unknowns." Rezo ignored Tabitha and continued his speech.

At the city, both Volg Tiger and Darkness Ganveet were now attacking Codename Sherlock from two directions. The Unknown had to use both its shield and sword to protect itself from them, but it seemed that two creatures were harder to handle than one. All of a sudden, Darkness Ganveet managed to stab Sherlock on the right side of its neck, then quickly pulled its sword and flew off. The creature yelled in pain.

"Alright, Subaru, we've managed to make a direct hit into its neck!" Shubham announced.

"Good one, Shubham! Let's give this creep a real pain in the neck!" Subaru replied and flew off with Volg Tiger to attack the creature once again.

Volg Tiger fired a laser from its second head once again and Codename Sherlock created its barrier once again. However, the attack left a lot of smoke this time, forcing the Unknown to lower its protective shield and see what was going on. That gave Volg Tiger the opportunity it was waiting for and the demonic tiger flew at Codename Sherlock and stabbed it once again in the wound that Darkness Ganveet made. The Unknown shrieked in pain but that didn't stop Volg Tiger from its attack. Darkness Ganveet decided to join and used both its swords to stab Codename Sherlock on the other side of its neck, managing to decapitate it. The Unknown's headless body landed on the ground and in a few moments disappeared from the human world.

Volg Tiger and Darkness Ganveet disappeared as well and Subaru and Shubham landed on the street. The two boys hi-fived victoriously and laughed.

"That was awesome! Thanks for the help, Shubham!" Subaru thanked.

"Haha, anytime!" Shubham replied. "Say, do you know where Kokujo is?"

"He's inside Rezo's ship, trying to get back the Proof."

But just as Subaru finished his sentence, the UFO appeared in the sky and quickly landed in front of them. Its main door opened and Subaru saw the other chosen duelists and Tabitha's minions inside waiting for him.

"Say, you want to come and help Kokujo?" Subaru suggested.

"Sure, let's go!" Shubham replied and both rushed inside the UFO which took off quickly.

At Rezo's chamber, the Red Priest was calmly watching both Kokujo and Tabitha struggling to escape the tentacles, but with no use.

"This is… a total circus!" Tabitha complained.

"I have little patience for your incessant complaining, Tabitha. Perhaps it's time I made myself clear." Rezo said and snapped his fingers.

In the next moment, the tentacles that tied Tabitha began moving around her. Most of them leeched onto her cheeks, hands and other parts of her body and began absorbing the witch's life force until she lost consciousness and closed her eyes.

"Rezo, stop it! What have you done to her?" Kokujo shouted.

"As you can see, Kokujo, I tire of your insolence. Don't think you're immune to my wrath!" Rezo said and then got up form his chair and approached the long haired evil genius. "How about you merge with the corrupt Proof? This way your evil will be forever manifested by me when I will conquer this world."

"I'd never lend my own powers to a creep like you!" Kokujo answered straightly.

"Heh, you can resist my gracious offer, but you'll only prolong your suffering by doing so. Why don't you accept and merge with the Proof? This way you'll witness our rise to greatness!" Rezo said and then turned to the Proof and the 10 cards.

The Red Priest clenched his fists which got surrounded by auras of darkness. In the next moment the 10 cards got surrounded by the exact same dark auras and began moving faster and faster around the Proof.

Suddenly, the UFO appeared behind Rezo's spaceship and before the Red Priest could do anything about it, the UFO's massive laser artillery hit it hardly, destroying its internal and external defense systems and forcing it to make an emergency landing on a plain a few miles away from the city. The UFO also caused a few large holes in the spaceship's walls, giving the chosen duelists and Tabitha's minions a way in. Once the UFO landed, Rad, Edo, Sora, Tsugumi, Subaru, Dani, Tobey, Eddy, Hanna and Shubham got out of it and rushed inside Rezo's spaceship. In about 5 minutes they managed to find the room in which Rezo was holding Kokujo and Tabitha hostage. Upon seeing them, Rezo got an evil grin on his face and turned to Kokujo while saying:

"It appears your fan club has arrived, Kokujo!"

"Kokujo-kun!" Subaru exclaimed and approached the evil genius slowly.

"I await your decision, Kokujo. Either you merge with the Proof or you will suffer the fate of annihilation! The choice is yours!" Rezo coldly spoke.

"Your words do not scare us, Rezo!" Hanna intervened.

"I care little if I scare you and your friends, because your fate has already been sealed the moment you set foot in here." Rezo replied.

In the next moment, more tentacles rose from the floor and tied then ten duelists that dared to intervene in Rezo's matters. They struggled as much as they could, but the tentacles leeched to their faces and other body parts and quickly absorbed their life force, making them lose consciousness immediately.

"Kokujo, I have no equal. Even your precious friends will suffer at my hands unless you agree to merge with the Proof!" Rezo said and walked to Kokujo, once again being face to face with him. "Let's make this interesting – how about a duel? One battle, the winner takes all!"

"Fine, I accept!" Kokujo replied and the tentacles around him untied themselves, freeing him.

Rezo snapped his fingers and two dueling tables came out of the organic floor. Both players walked to the tables, put their decks on them, set their five shields and drew five cards in their hands.

"DUEL START!" both shouted and thus began their duel.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie! I destroy it and gain one more mana." Kokujo said.

"I charge mana and end!" Rezo said.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and gain another mana!"

"I summon Cocco Lupia!"

"I summon another Jasmine, destroy it and gain yet another mana! Then I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast! Bronze-Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

The green horse-headed humanoid rushed at Rezo and pierced through one of his shields with its big fork.

"Heh, already got 7 mana in just 4 turns? Truly impressive, I must say that this is much better than that pathetic performance that you've made in the finals." Rezo mocked Kokujo.

"Let's see what you've got, hot shot!" Kokujo mocked back.

"Very well, I cast Primal Scream!"

Rezo's top 4 cards went to the graveyard. Those were Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons, Terror Pit, Chester Romanoff, the Wicked God and Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye. Rezo took Romanoff the 1st to his hand and ended.

As for Kokujo, the good looking evil genius had no more cards in his hand, so he depended on his draw. Sadly for him, he drew a DNA Spark which was rather useless, so he placed it on his mana zone and said:

"Ashliger, Bronze-Arm Tribe, break his shields!"

The two-headed liger roared and jumped at Rezo's shields, taking down one of them and the horse-headed humanoid repeated its initial attack and took down yet another one of the Red Priest's shields.

"Heh, now it's my turn, I summon Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye!" Rezo said and a horned knight dressed in a purple armor with red cape and wielding two laser guns appeared behind him and by its effect a Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike fell into Rezo's graveyard. "Cocco Lupia, suicide with Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"My turn, I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!" Kokujo said and a yellow and green robotic demon which was lying on a pot had an eye on its chest and was wielding a scythe-like sword appeared behind him.

"Smooth move, Kokujo, but that won't save you from your impending doom! I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The two cards which went to Rezo's graveyard were Darkness Romanoff, the Enlightened and Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons. The Red Priest then tapped 3 more mana and said:

"I summon Totto Pippichi! Romanoff the 1st, attack and cast Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike!"

Romanoff aimed its left gun at Kokujo's Ashliger and blasted the creature, making it disappear. Afterwards, the creature aimed its right gun at two of Kokujo's shields and took them down as easily. However, the shield shards quickly united into two cards which went into Kokujo's hand and shined with a bright green light.

"Shield trigger, I cast not one, but two Faerie Life and gain two more mana!" Kokujo declared and watched how Gal Volf, Dark Wolfblade and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight landed on his mana zone. "Now it's my turn, I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and destroy Romanoff the 1st!"

"Grr, my turn, I summon Cocco Lupia and Bloody Squito! Totto Pippichi, break his shield!" Rezo angrily ordered and the fire bird gave a battle chirp and flew through one of Kokujo's shields, taking it down.

Suddenly, a terrifying grin appeared on Kokujo's face. Rezo remained stunned when he saw it, for he knew what was about to happen. Kokujo's right hand glowed with a bright purple light as his 10 mana cards quickly tapped themselves. Then the evil genius put the card from his shield unto one of the cards on his battle zone and yelled:

"EVOLUTION! AUZESU, BECOME BALLCADEIAS, DIVINE DEMONIC LORD!"

A bright light surrounded Kokujo's Auzesu and that same light engulfed his Thunder Blade and Rezo's Totto Pippichi, Cocco Lupia and Bloody Squito, destroying them. Then, out of that light came a blue-skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white, which also wearing a golden armor with blue paint.

"Impossible!" Rezo exclaimed while staring at the mighty creature.

"Ballcadeias, break his final shields!" Kokujo ordered and the creature created two purple laser balls in its main pair of hands which it casted upon Rezo's last two shields.

Rezo's shields quickly regenerated and went to his hand, and towards the Red Priest's disappointment, they were Terror Pit and Invincible Abyss, spells which Ballcadeias wouldn't allow him to cast. It seemed that Rezo's only chance of survival was Varz Romanoff, but both creatures fell into his graveyard due to Primal Scream and Bone Dance Charger. That was it, the Rezo had lost. The Red Priest growled angrily at his opponent and yelled:

"I've had enough of this! Kokujo, you will pay for this!"

Rezo snapped his fingers and the tentacles started to strangle the unconscious bodies of the eleven hostages. In a fit of rage, Kokujo tapped his card and yelled back:

"BALLCADEIAS, TODOMEDA!"

The creature used all six hands and formed a giant purple laser ball which it casted upon Rezo. The Red Priest screamed in agony as the energy was burning his body.

When the attack was over, Kokujo saw that the darkness auras around the Proof's cards had disappeared and that the Proof had absorbed the cards back. Also, Rezo's burned body was lying next to his staff. With the Red Priest defeated, the tentacles fell off the chosen duelists, Tabitha's team and Shubham, freeing them and thus they woke up.

"We've been freed!" Edo cheered.

"What happened?" Tabitha asked.

"I've managed to defeat Rezo and revert the spell that he casted upon the Proof and those tentacles." Kokujo answered.

"Exactly, now don't you think that a simple 'thank you' would be nice? Huh, Tabitha?" Tsugumi teased the witch.

"Uh, thank you?" Tabitha spoke to Kokujo with confusion.

Since the battle had ended, Kokujo took the Proof out of Rezo's staff and walked out of the room, being followed by Shubham, the chosen duelists and Tabitha's minions. However, Tabitha remained in the room and when she was alone, she walked to Rezo and picked up the one card that the Proof didn't manage to absorb – Gallows Deis Dragon. Afterwards, the witch stared at Rezo's burned body as the Red Priest mumbled his final words:

"Kokujo, this could've all been avoided if you had just listened to me…"

And so Rezo closed his eyes and his body turned to ashes.

Meanwhile, as Kokujo was leading the group to the exit of the spaceship, an organic wall suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked their way.

"It's a trap!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Don't worry, that just means we'll have to find another way out." Kokujo calmly said.

"Kokujo!" Tabitha's shout was heard behind of them.

Everyone turned their backs and saw Tabitha standing graciously with her deck in her right hand. The witch gave Kokujo a stare filled with hatred and then she spoke with a threatening tone in her voice:

"It's time… to battle!"

"You can't be serious!" Kokujo replied shocked of what he had just heard.

"I have never been more serious, Black Death!" Tabitha said.


	130. Our Future

The combined forces of Kokujo and Tabitha had managed to destroy the Unknowns and Rezo, but just as peace seemed to have settled upon the city, an old battle was about to begin.

At the UFO, Atsuto and Nolan were anxiously waiting for their comrades' victorious return.

"Man, I wonder if Kokujo, Tabitha and the rest got out of there safely." Nolan said worried.

"Fabulous question, I tried to call them but they wouldn't answer." Atsuto replied while showing his dark blue cell phone.

"Oh well, I say that they're good enough to get out by themselves. As for us, I think it's best we head for some RxR."

"Sure, but let's be prepared of something strange happens."

But little did Atsuto and Nolan know that inside Rezo's spaceship the flames of war would ignite once again.

"Hahaha, don't tell me you expected us to remain partners once Rezo was destroyed, did you? How foolish. We are destined to be adversaries, Kokujo!" Tabitha said.

"I see no need to resume our battle!" Kokujo replied.

"Grr, you know we can't leave this unresolved, never!" Tabitha insisted, but then screams of protest came from the chosen duelists, which she ignored. "If we don't continue our battle, then everything that we've done in the past has been pointless. There can only be one ruler of this world! Understand? And now that Rezo is out of the way, that leaves only you and me! Kokujo, you know very well we could never reign as one! Our fight shall continue until either of us falls, and I shall be the last one standing after I crush you and those chosen duelists!"

"You just might be right, Tabitha…" Kokujo began to reconsider.

"But Kokujo…" Rad tried to intervene.

"Come on, you can't be serious!" Subaru added.

"I know this isn't the right time to ask, but when are we going to eat?" Edo asked.

"Shut up, Edo, or you'll be eating my fists for dinner!" Sora picked on him.

"I can't believe we'll start this whole thing over again!" Tsugumi complained.

"For your information, chosen duelists, the one and only reason I joined forces with Kokujo and you guys was to destroy Rezo." Tabitha said and then clenched her left fist. "And now that he's been eliminated, it is time to take care of the other obstacle that stands in my way!"

"No, you're wrong!" Tsugumi said and approached the witch. "Ok, then explain to me why did Hanna want you to unite with us so much?"

"Because she is a fool." Tabitha calmly answered.

"No, Tabitha-sama, it's because I want us all to live in peace!" Hanna intervened and approached her master along with Tsugumi.

"Listen, you two, and try to understand this simple concept that there can only be one ruler of this world." Tabitha spoke to the girls and then turned her sight to Kokujo. "And unfortunately for you, Kokujo Kyoshiro, it's going to be me!"

"Are you saying that taking out Rezo was just a means to an end?" Kokujo asked.

"Yes, now you're starting to get it! I suppose you could say I used you in order to fulfill my career ambitions. But tell me; is it so wrong to set higher standards for oneself? Well, is it?" Tabitha asked with a satisfied smile on her face.

"YES!" Kokujo shouted.

"What?" Tabitha asked surprised.

"Your mindless ambitions are fueled only by your greed, and you'll stop at nothing to get what you want! I should've let Rezo destroy you!"

"Kokujo's right, we're sick and tired of all this fighting!" Rad added.

"And that goes for me too!" Subaru said. "I thought that once Rezo would be gone, things would get back to normal!"

"Yeah, would you quit trying to be the boss?" Sora suggested.

"Why can't we all just get along?" Edo asked.

"No matter what you say, there's no good reason to fight!" Tsugumi said.

"Listen to them, Tabitha-sama, they speak the truth!" Hanna begged.

"Hahaha, this discussion is all very interesting, but I think it's time I showed you what would happen if 'things get back to normal'." Tabitha said. "My hatred for you and my desire to do evil would still exist, and in the end our apparent peace would wear off. I would go back to doing my own evil deeds and you would try to stop me. If you win, I'll simply retreat in my hole and come back a few weeks later with new plans. If I win, you'll somehow manage to escape my wrath and come back a few weeks later to foil my plans. You see, this is the vicious cycle in which we've been caught for more than a year."

"I see, so what do you suggest we do to escape this 'vicious cycle'?" Kokujo asked.

"Battle!" Tabitha simply responded. "I will take us all to another dimension in which the loser of a duel dies. In other words: defeat me and you'll return victorious, lose to me and this world will be mine for the taking!"

"Hahaha, I agree with you, Tabitha-sama!" Dani laughed.

"We're with you all the way, Tabitha-sama! Whatever you decide to do, we'll back you up 100%!" Tobey added.

"Eddy fight with Tabitha-sama until Eddy die!" Eddy loyally spoke.

"Tabitha-sama, please, you must stop this madness!" Hanna said while rushing to her master.

In the next moment, Tabitha put her hand on Hanna's head and a darkness aura surrounded it. The girl's eyes turned red and she turned to the chosen duelists with an angry look on her face.

"What did you do to her?" Tsugumi shouted at Tabitha.

"I simply turned her into my pawn. It will be temporary, but long enough for her to duel by my side." Tabitha replied and then turned to Kokujo. "Now, let's get this started!"

Kokujo nodded to the witch and she created a huge portal in which they were all absorbed.

The twelve duelists were all taken into a space and time tunnel and they landed on a large asteroid. On that asteroid there were ten separated dueling tables. Tabitha and her four minions walked to the first five tables and waited for their opponents to come. The chosen duelists decided that they would take down Tabitha and her minions, so Kokujo and Shubham simply stood aside and watched the battle. It was Hanna VS Tsugumi, Dani VS Edo, Tobey VS Subaru, Eddy VS Sora and Tabitha VS Rad. With all ten shouting 'Duel start!' in unison, their fifty shields rose in the air and thus their final battle had begun.

"I summon Cocco Gil Lupia!" Hanna said and a red fire bird with a small crown on its head, a horn in one of its wings and a red blindfold with an X tied around her eyes appeared behind Hanna.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her to gain one more mana!" Tsugumi said.

"I summon Necrodragon Giland!"

A black long wingless dragon appeared behind Hanna and roared at the blonde girl. However, the creature didn't intimidate her much.

"Cocco Gil Lupia, break her shield!" Hanna ordered and the bird flew through one of Tsugumi's shields and broke it to pieces.

"My turn, I summon Pudding Pudding, the Eternal!" Tsugumi said and the pink haired alien princess dressed in a beautiful white dressed appeared behind the chosen light duelist while wielding her umbrella.

At the sight of Pudding Pudding, Hanna became stunned.

"I summon Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil! Marauder Deis Drive, break another shield!" Dani ordered and the black Alien rushed at Edo and took down a shield with the spikes from its forearms.

"Alright, then I cast Hyperspatial White Blue Hole and put Aqua Cascade (ZABUUUN Cruiser) into the battle zone!" Edo said and a blue ship with the form of a shark in which Aqua Cascade was piloting appeared behind him. "Now Aqua Humpty, suicide with Marauder Deis Drive!"

"Heh, Zabi Trash Train lets me draw a card. And now it's my turn, I cast Bone Dance Charger! Then I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager!"

"Not attacking anymore, Dani? I guess it's a good thing that I've managed to stop your rush for a while. Anyway, I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole, draw a card and put Aqua Attack (BAGOOON Panzer) into the battle zone!"

A tank made of gold which was piloted by Aqua Attack appeared behind Edo right next to the shark shaped boat.

"Let's see you handle this, chosen darkness duelist! I summon Phal Pierro, Apocalyptic Guardian, Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Self-Destructing Gil Poser! I destroy all three summoned creatures, return Stronghold of Lightning and Flame to my hand, discard a card from your hand and destroy your Maxval!" Tobey said and then gladly watched how Subaru discarded a Miracle Re Born. "Afterwards due to Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect, I put White TENMTH Kaiser, Black WILLOW Kaiser and Red ABYTHEN Kaiser into the battle zone!"

The three dragons which belonged to the Light, Darkness and Fire civilizations appeared behind Tobey and roared at his opponent. However, Subaru was the least intimidated. The black haired boy gave Tobey a sly smile and then said:

"Look how I spoil your whole strategy with just 1 move!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tobey asked.

"I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V materialized behind Subaru and roared loudly. The creature swung its swords and cut down all of Tobey's psychic creatures. The white haired boy stared at Subaru angrily, but the chosen darkness duelist gave his deck avatar a thumb up and said:

"Thanks for the help, Raion!"

"Anytime, master Subaru!" Raion replied and winked.

"You… you will pay for this!" Tobey shouted. "I summon Jet R.E., Brave Vizier and gain another shield! Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, double break his shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Jet R.E!" Subaru said. "Then I revive Cebu Aquman Jr, reveal the top 3 cards of my deck and add all the darkness ones to my hand!"

The top 3 cards of Subaru's deck were Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Terror Pit and Drilling Squito, all going to his hand.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and destroy Unified Shachihoko Kaiser! Liger Blade, double break his shields!" Subaru ordered and Raion jumped and slashed two of Tobey's shields with its swords.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Cebu Aquman Jr!" Tobey said and Subaru's little Alien got crushed by the red metallic fiery scrapper.

"Eddy summon Nibai Nibai, Mysterious Fire Yokozuna! Eddy also double break with Thrust Sumo, Strongest Yokozuna!"

"Argh, shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare! Send Nibai Nibai to his mana zone!" Sora said. "Now it's my turn, I summon Iron Arm Tribe and gain one more mana! Afterwards I summon Silver Shovel and send it to the mana zone along with your Thrust Sumo!"

"Eddy not like you! Eddy cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and Eddy destroy Iron Arm Tribe! Eddy put Geo Ohzeki Hamlet and Zabi Komusubi Flower into battle zone!"

"Trying to get that psychic link of yours? Well I won't let you! I summon Warring Morals, Imperial Ogre Blade!"

"And now it's my turn, Space Charge: Multicolored!" Tabitha said and placed Persistent Prison of Gaia into her mana zone. "With Intense Spatial! Crimson Juu's effect I put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!"

A red robot with 3 heads, fire arms, and water throwers appeared behind Tabitha and roared. Rad made a step back scared when he saw that creature.

"Then I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and send Gaial Zero to your hand!" Tabitha continued. "Afterwards I put Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser into the battle zone!"

A three-headed Alien dragon in a sharp metallic armor and with red wings appeared next to Hot Spring Gallows and shrieked loudly.

"This isn't over yet, Tabitha!" Rad said. "I cast Hyperspatial Gaial Hole and put Boost, Crimson Lord and Dragonic Pippi into the battle zone! With Boost's effect I destroy Zabi Barrel!"

"Nice move, Rad, but unfortunately it won't save you from your impending doom! Space Charge: Multicolored!" Tabitha said and put Gallows Blissful Kaiser into her mana zone. "With Crimson Juu's effect I put Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler into the battle zone!"

A fat sumo alien made of lava appeared behind Tabitha and joined the other two, forming a trio. An evil grin appeared on Tabitha's face as her other 7 mana tapped and she showed the last card from her hand:

"I cast Super Move! Absolute Despair!"

Two cards went from the top of Tabitha's deck to her hand. Then Rad discarded his last two cards – Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and Gaial Zero. Finally, Rad's Boost, Crimson Lord and Dragonic Pippi blew up. Now Rad had both no creatures and no cards in hand. Having gained the upper hand, Tabitha began to laugh maniacally.

"Hahahahaha, you were too easy, Rad!" Tabitha laughed.

"No, this isn't over just yet!" Rad decalred and quickly drew his next card. "Perfect! I summon Eternal Meteor Kaiser! Go, Eternal Meteor Kaiser, double break her shields!"

A sapphire dragon appeared behind Rad and roared at Tabitha. Afterwards, the dragon used its fire sword and took down two of Tabitha's shields.

"Heh, shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Eternal Meteor Kaiser!" Tabitha said and two demonic black hands grabbed Rad's Dragon and smashed it.

"I summon GILL, Supergalactic Dragon! With its effect I destroy Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory and Yodel Weiss, the Prophet!" Hanna said and Tsugumi's mentioned creatures got shot by her dragon. "Afterwards I put one of your shields to the graveyard!"

The shield that Tsugumi lost was DNA Spark. However, she didn't fear, for she had one last shield and a linked Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie to protect her. Besides the 19500 powered blocker, she also had Pudding Pudding, the Eternal.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Iron Arm Tribe and gain one more mana. Then I evolve it into Great Hercules, Giant Insect! Go, Great Hercules, attack and evolve Pudding Pudding into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Servant Spirits!" Tsugumi said and the Alien princess got surrounded by a bright yellow aura and turned into a golden angel with sharp claws and a black Alien head that had a red X instead of eyes and a mouth with really sharp teeth.

"Double break her shields, Great Hercules!" Tsugumi ordered and the giant blue insect jumped at Hanna's shields and took down two of them with its claws. "Gaga Alcadeias, break her last 3 shields!" Tsugumi continued and the creature created two spheres of darkness with its sharp claws and casted them upon Hanna's last shields, taking them down one by one.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Saint Chan-Merrie!"

"Think again, Hanna-san! I discard Gaga Pikarian from my hand and keep Saint Chan-Merrie!"

"Then shield trigger, I cast a second Terror Pit on your Saint Chan-Merrie!"

"Not a chance, Hanna-san! I discard Gaga Crouton, the Prophet and keep Saint Chan-Merrie!" Tsugumi said and put her last card in the graveyard. "This is it, I've won!"

"Then why don't you finish me off?" Hanna asked with an arrogant voice.

"Hanna-san, this is not you! Please, wake up!"

Suddenly, Pudding Pudding came out of Gaga Alcadeias' body and the princess jumped and landed in front of the possessed Hanna.

"Hanna, Tsugumi is right, you are not evil. It is time for me to put an end to the evil that is controlling you!" Pudding Pudding said and aimed at Hanna with her shiny umbrella.

"No! Stay away from me!" the scared Hanna demanded.

In the next moment, Pudding Pudding fired a purifying ray upon the blue haired girl which made the darkness of Tabitha disappear from her head and Hanna's red eyes turned back to their normal blue color.

"What happened?" Hanna asked and saw Pudding Pudding disappear.

"Hanna-san!" Tsugumi happily screamed and hugged her. "I'm so happy that you're back to normal!"

"Very touching indeed." Tabitha ironically said upon watching the two girls reunite. "However, that won't save you from your fate!"

"What are you talking about, Tabitha?" Rad asked.

"Watch and be amazed! PSYCHIC LINK – GALLOWS HELLISH DRAGON, BRINK OF DESPAIR!"

Tabitha's three psychic creatures united and got surrounded by a bright aura. When the aura faded away, Rad was amazed to see a huge dark blue dragon with a long head and two sharp wings that each had a huge mouth with sharp teeth on their upper side. The dragon also had sharp paws and sharp claws. It was easily the ugliest fiend that they had ever seen.

"Oh my God… what is that monster?" Rad asked scared.

"It's the downfall of the chosen duelists!" Tabitha answered. "Crimson Juu, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Crimson Juu!"

"Then Gallows Hellish Dragon, attack!"

The creature opened its three mouths and unleashed extremely powerful lasers from all of them. Those lasers took down Rad's last three shields, gave him small burns and then the cards from the boy's deck began falling into his graveyard one by one until only two were left.

"Ok, Rad, let's see you get out of this situation!" Rad spoke to himself while looking worried at the three cards from his hand: Cocco Lupia, Cheering Pippi and Super Psychen Pippi. "Maybe my next draw will give me the card that I need!"

Rad's hand trembled as he drew the next card from his deck. Sadly for him, the card was Geo Bronze Magic.

"Shit! None of these cards can help me!" Rad said.

"Are you feeling despair, Rad, because if so then my Dragon has succeeded in its mission!" Tabitha said and then laughed maniacally after watching Rad lowering his head in shame. "HAHAHAHAHA, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO BE GONE, CHOSEN FIRE DUELIST! GALLOWS HELLISH DRAGON, TODOMEDA!"

Gallows Hellish Dragon opened its mouths and repeated its attack once again, but this time unleashing its full fire upon Rad. Before anyone knew it, the red haired boy was floating in the air while burning massively. Upon seeing him, Edo, Sora, Tsugumi and Subaru remembered the times they shared with him: the moment they first saw him, that night he spent with Subaru having fun, the moment he decided to join the group on Christmas, the joyrides that they made with his rocket and how he leaded them into battle and was the perfect leader of the group. Now, in just a few seconds, all of that was gone.

When Gallows Hellish Dragon's attack ceased, the burnt body of Rad landed on the asteroid. Kokujo and Shubham didn't go to it because they knew it was useless. Hanna and Tsugumi rushed to Rad and tried to see if he was alive. But then tears began swelling down Tsugumi's cheeks as the blonde girl spoke to her teammates:

"He's dead!"

A wave of shock hit the other three chosen duelists who were still dueling. But before any of them could have an emotional reaction, Eddy decided that it was time to finish his duel.

"Eddy Psychic Link his creatures! Eddy summon Unryu Deis Izu, Great Yokozuna!"

Eddy's psychic creatures jumped into the air and united into a giant fat purple dragon with spikes, green vines, jaws and fire on its head. The creature roared loudly and made Sora turn her attention to the duel once again.

"Eddy summon two Marauder Deis Drive! Eddy break final shield with Marauder Deis Drive!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Bukkomi Hedgehog!" Sora said.

"Eddy attack with second Marauder Deis Dirve!"

"I destroy Bukkomi Hedgehog and stop your attack!" Sora declared and watched her creature blow up, then turned her sight to the corpse of Rad and put a sad smile on her face. "Rad, I'm coming!"

"Eddy todomeda with Unryu Deis Izu, Great Yokozuna!"

The Alien rushed at Sora and the green haired girl spread her hands in the air and awaited her death. In just a second, Unryu Deis Izu gave her a punch which was as strong as a building falling upon a person. The girl's bones began to crack and tear her vitals organs as she flew in the air with tears falling from her eyes. Sora then landed next to Rad's body and gave up her life.

A great sadness had taken over the surviving chosen duelists. Both their comrades had fallen and there was nothing they could do to prevent it from happening. Tsugumi began to cry on Sora's dead body while both Subaru and Edo clenched their fists in anger.

"Hahaha, that was so fun to watch!" Dani laughed.

"Indeed, it was great to see Tabitha-sama and Eddy show off their awesome strength!" Tobey added.

"Hey Tobe, how about we do the same to them?"

"Sure, Dani, the lesser chosen duelists, the better!"

"Psychic Link, Hyper Overthrow, Nation's Strongest Sumo!" Dani exclaimed and a giant sumo alien made of bones which was wearing a warrior's armor appeared behind him. "With Hyper Overthrow's effect I now summon Marauder Deis Drive from my graveyard!"

"I summon Bloody Shadow and evolve it into Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!" Tobey said and a red-winged dragon with black skin which had spikes appeared behind him and roared. "Go, Shachihoko Kaiser, break his final shields!"

Edo and Subaru stood there like statues as their last shields were taken down by their enemies' creatures. The shield shards surrounded them and slowly floated in the air. But whatever happened, the grim expressions on their faces didn't change. Then the shards began to slowly unite into four cards, both duelists taking two in their hands. Then they both showed the same cards to their opponent and shouted in unison:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer!"

Two blue surfers appeared by both Edo's and Subaru's side. The surfers flew with their surfboards towards Dani and Tobey and hit Marauder Deis Drive and Unified Shachihoko Kaiser with them, making them return to their owner's hands.

"Psychic Link – Fused Dreadnought… JET CASCADE ATTACK!" Edo shouted and his three psychic creatures united into a robot with golden tank toes, blue ship feet, red plane body with sharp wings and powerful iron fists. "I summon Aqua Cascade and evolve it into Crystal Super Paladin!" Edo continued and a blue crystal centaur with four arms, wielding two swords in a pair and two shields in the other appeared behind him. "Jet Cascade Attack, break his final shields!"

The robot clenched its fists and then attacked Dani, taking down his shields one by one. The terrified short duelist took the cards from his shields into his hand quick and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Ten-Ton Crunch and destroy Aqua Surfer!"

"Thunder Blade, double break his shields! Aqua Surfer, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and both creatures obeyed their master and attacked, Thunder Blade slashing two of Tobey's shields and Aqua Surfer riding through the last one. "Now you're all mine!"

"Crystal Super Paladin…" Edo said.

"Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger…" Subaru said.

"TODOMEDA!" both chosen duelists yelled.

The two creatures swung their swords and attacked both Dani and Tobey with them. Their attacks were so strong that the two were actually slashed in pieces to the shock of everyone, except for Edo and Subaru. Dani and Tobey landed dead in a pool of blood.

Subaru and Edo walked off from their tables and went to Hanna and Tsugumi who were watching over the dead bodies of Rad and Sora.

"Look at them, Edo-kun!" Subaru said while shedding a few tears. "They're gone!"

"Rad, Sora… I don't want to believe it! But it's true, you're no more…" Edo said while letting tears fall on his cheeks as well.

A few moments passed and nobody said another word. Tabitha and Eddy remained at their dueling tables, waiting for a new challenge, for the witch wouldn't leave that dimension until all of her enemies were dead.

"Suby…" Edo broke the silence. "You take Eddy, I'll finish off Tabitha."

"What? But Edo-kun…" Subaru said and put his hands on the brown haired boy's shoulders. "You'll never survive! Tabitha's a tough challenge; I mean look what she's done to poor Rad!"

"Suby, you have to understand. Rad and Sora were like brother and sister to me. The apprentice trained me with them to become chosen duelists for a few years and we've formed a strong sibling relationship over these years. I simply couldn't live with myself knowing that I wasn't the one who avenged their deaths!"

"But you'll never survive!"

Edo looked at Subaru in the eyes and gave him a friendly smile. From that smile Subaru understood that he shouldn't worry and that Edo would be alright. The black haired boy nodded to him and then both turned to their enemies. The two friends rushed to their dueling tables and set up their shields, thus beginning their matches. Now it was Eddy VS Subaru and Tabitha VS Edo.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it!" Subaru said and discarded Jasmine, Mist Faerie from Eddy's hand.

"Eddy not like you! Eddy charge mana and Eddy end!"

"You don't like it, you big brute? Then I've got more – I summon another Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it!"

This time Subaru discarded Bronze-Arm Tribe from Eddy's hand and the tall boy became even more annoyed. He simply drew a card, charged mana and ended.

"I cast Hyperspatial White Blue Hole and put Aqua Cascade (ZABUUUN Cruiser) into the battle zone!" Edo said and the same blue ship appeared behind him once again.

"I cast Hell's Hot Spring and destroy all our creatures!" Tabitha said and then her Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Zabi Barrel blew up along with Edo's Aqua Cascade and Aqua Slash and Aqua Cascade (ZABUUUN Cruiser).

"My turn, I summon Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!)!" Edo said and revealed the top 5 cards of his deck: Aqua Attack, Aqua Humpty, DNA Spark, Aqua Attack and Crystal Super Paladin. "I put both Aqua Attacks into the battle zone and the rest go to the bottom of my deck!"

"I cast Persistent Prison of Gaia and send Aqua Attack back to your hand!" Tabitha said and Edo took one Aqua Attack card to his hand. "Then I discard the only card in your hand, which is Aqua Attack, and send one of your shields to the graveyard!"

Edo got scared as he saw his Aqua Attack being discarded and the shield that went to graveyard being DNA Spark.

"Eddy cast Hyperspatial Gotsusan Hole and Eddy put Gil Yokozuna Fuji into battle zone!"

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru said and revealed his top 3 cards: Aqua Naruto Surfer, Terror Pit and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger. "Terror Pit and Liger Blade go to my hand, Naruto Surfer goes to the graveyard!"

"Subaru make Eddy laugh! Subaru weak!" Eddy taunted him but Subaru simply ignored it. "Eddy cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and Eddy put Geo Ohzeki Hamlet and Zabi Komusubi Flower into battle zone!"

"Don't get too hyped up, Eddy! I swear that in this game you won't Psychic Link, and I'm a man of his word!" Subaru said and showed a darkness spell. "I cast Miracle Re Born and put Aqua Naruto Surfer into the battle zone!"

A shark-like humanoid made of water with a sharp blue armor, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard appeared behind Subaru and screeched so loud that Eddy's Gil Yokozuna Fuji and Geo Ohzeki Hamlet disappeared into the hyperspatial zone.

"Don't think that you've won, Tabitha! I evolve Aqua Jet (Charging Brotherhood!) into Crystal Super Paladin!" Edo said and the blue crystal centaur appeared and slashed Tabitha's Gallows Cebu Kaiser with its swords, making it disappear. "Now attack, Super Paladin, and send Zabi Barrel back to her hand!"

Tabitha took cover as Crystal Super Paladin slashed two of her shields, leaving just one last shield for protection. The shield shards however united into two cards which shined brightly as a smile appeared on the witch's face that made Edo sweat with fear.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Crystal Super Paladin! Also, shield trigger, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!"

A three-headed red and black robot appeared behind Tabitha and roared. The witch drew her next card and then said:

"You're done for! I summon two Marauder Deis Drive! Now go, Hot Spring Gallows, send two of his shields to the top of his deck!"

Hot Spring Gallows did its classic hot spring sprinkle attack and made two of Edo's shields disappear, the cards going to the top of the boy's deck.

"Marauder Deis Drive, break his shield! Then the other Marauder Deis Drive, break his final shield!" Tabitha ordered and both aliens rushed to Edo and broke his last two shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Hot Spring Gallows to her hand!" Edo said and once Tabitha's big Alien was gone, he drew his next card hoping that it would be something good, but it was just Aqua Slash. "Heh, so this is it… Aqua Surfer, break her final shield!"

The blue surfer flew through Tabitha's last shield and broke it into pieces, but the witch didn't show any worry at all. She had won anyway.

"It's over, chosen water duelist! Marauder Deis Drive, todomeda!" Tabitha declared attack.

Marauder Deis Drive rushed to Edo and the chosen water duelist closed his eyes and accepted his fate. When Subaru heard Tabitha shout 'todomeda', he quickly turned his head and had the shock of seeing Edo being hit by Marauder Deis Drive's spikes which made him fly in the air while bleeding. The brown haired boy turned his head at the dead bodies of Rad and Sora and said:

"Guys, I'm sorry…"

In just a matter of seconds, Edo had a hard landing on the rocky asteroid, not far from Rad and Sora. Tsugumi and Hanna rushed to him to see if he was still alive while Aqua Naruto Surfer screeched in pain after his master.

"Edo-kun…" Subaru murmured and then streams of tears began falling on his cheeks. "NOOO!"

"Hahaha, another victory for me! You chosen duelists are simply too easy!" Tabitha laughed and then turned to Eddy. "Finish him off quickly and let's have another chosen duelist dead!"

"Eddy cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and Eddy put Gil Yokozuna Fuji in battle zone!"

Subaru didn't pay attention to what was going on. He was sobbing for his friend which seemed to be dead. But once he heard that Eddy had finished his turn, he turned his wet eyes filled with rage at his opponent and yelled:

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY! I SUMMON LIGER BLADE, FIERCE TIGER!"

Raion appeared and slashed all of Eddy's psychic creatures, taking them out one by one.

"AQUA NARUTO SURFER, BREAK HIS SHIELD!" Subaru yelled and Aqua Naruto Surfer attacked Eddy's shield with the same anger that its user was feeling. "CEBU AQUMAN JR, BREAK HIS SHIELD! KITAROU, THE CURSED CORPSE, BREAK HIS SHIELD!"

Subaru's smaller creatures obeyed their master and broke two of Eddy's shields, leaving him with only two. However, one of them was a shield trigger.

"Eddy got shield trigger! Eddy cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Eddy destroy Cebu Aquman Jr and Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!"

Both mentioned creatures got crushed mercilessly by the scrapper.

"Eddy cast Hyperspatial Gotsusan Hole and Eddy put Gil Yokozuna Fuji in battle zone!"

"I grow tired of you!" Subaru coldly spoke. "Liger Blade, break his final shields!"

Raion jumped at Eddy and took down both of his shields with its swords. Eddy had the bad luck of not getting any shield triggers, so the tall boy looked scared at the menacing water creature which was sitting there, ready for the attack order.

"This one is for Edo-kun! AQUA NARUTO SURFER, TODOMEDA!" Subaru yelled and the water Hunter jumped at Eddy and slashed him with the sharp blades that were its arms, thus killing him.

With the duel over, Subaru packed up his deck and then turned to Tabitha. The witch was mockingly applauding him, waiting for the chosen darkness duelist to challenge her. But just as Subaru was about to step towards the witch, Kokujo's shout stopped him:

"Subaru, stand back, you've done more than enough!"

"But Kokujo-kun…" Subaru tried to argue, but Kokujo already sat at the dueling table.

"You go and see if Edo's alright, I'll take care from here!" Kokujo said and then took out his deck and challenged Tabitha to a duel.

Subaru nodded to Kokujo and wished him good luck, then rushed to the two girls. Shubham calmly stood with his hands crossed and watched the duel that was taking place. When Subaru reached Hanna and Tsugumi, he saw that they were desperately bandaging Edo in order to stop his bleeding.

"Girls, how is he?" Subaru fearfully asked.

"He's alive." Tsugumi answered and continued bandaging.

"He is?" Subaru mumbled, then fell on his knees and sighed in relief. "Thank God!"

"Still, he had been heavily damaged. His bones are broken and he had lost lots of blood, I fear we might lose him!" Hanna replied while bandaging.

"Oh no… HANG IN THERE, EDO-KUN!" Subaru shouted.

After 10 minutes, Edo's body was 70% bandaged and the bleeding finally stopped. However, he was still unconscious, but the girls were glad to have stabilized him. The trio then turned their heads to see what was going on at the duel between Kokujo and Tabitha. Kokujo had Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom in his battle zone, whereas Tabitha had Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler and Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser in her battle zone. Both players had 3 shields left and now it was Tabitha's turn. The witch drew her next card and then showed it to Kokujo while saying:

"I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole, send Bell Hell De Gaul to his hand and bring out Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows!"

Kokujo's Demon Command got surrounded by a blue aura and disappeared and then the third part of Tabitha's psychic link creature appeared. The witch laughed evilly and then said:

"Hahaha, this is it, Kokujo, next turn I will link Gallows Hellish Dragon and then you'll be a goner!"

"Think again, Tabitha! Your reign of evil is over!" Kokujo replied while quickly placing Bell Hell De Gaul in his mana zone and tapping all his mana. "EVOLUTION!"

"No, it can't be! Not here, not now!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"Hanzou, become BALLCADEIAS, DIVINE DEMONIC LORD!"

All of a sudden, behind Kokujo a blue-skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white appeared. The demon was also wearing a golden armor with blue paint. Tabitha backed down with fear while staring at the mighty creature as it fired waves from its hands which destroyed her three Aliens.

"Ballcadeias, break her final shields!" Kokujo ordered and Ballcadeias fired a laser ball upon Tabitha's last three shields.

The situation didn't look good for Tabitha at all. The cards from her shields were Hot Spring Brain, Terror Pit and Hyperspatial Grip Blue Red Hole. And to make it worse, the card she drew at the start of her turn was Lost Soul. All the cards in Tabitha's hand were spells and Ballcadeias did not allow the witch to cast any. Also, her battle zone was empty. To put it short, Tabitha had lost.

All of a sudden, the witch fell on her knees and began begging for mercy:

"No more, Kokujo Kyoshiro! Grant me mercy, I beg of you!"

"Hah, the almighty Queen of Evil is now asking for mercy? I thought you said you were made of much durable material than us humans." Kokujo laughed.

But what Kokujo didn't notice was that while they were talking, Tabitha had prepared a laser ball in her hand to cast upon him. Subaru saw that and ran to the witch.

"No you don't, Tabitha!" Subaru shouted and jumped on the witch.

"Out of the way, Subaru!" Kokujo demanded.

However, during the struggle, Tabitha managed to immobilize Subaru's arms and keep him as a hostage. The witch then rose to her feet while holding Subaru captive and said:

"Hahaha, let's see you try to finish me off now that I have a hostage!"

"No, Subaru…" Kokujo murmured with fear.

"Take this!" Tabitha said and fired a laser ball on Kokujo, burning off his coat and shirt. "And this!" Tabitha fired another laser ball which this time caused burns on Kokujo's half naked body. "AND THIS!" Tabitha fired a third ball which wounded Kokujo so badly that fell on his back. "Thank you, Subaru, you were much helpful than I've imagined." Tabitha said and threw Subaru away.

The witch walked victoriously to the wounded Kokujo and prepared a final laser ball to annihilate him once and for all. However, just as she reached his dueling table, Kokujo got on his feet and breathed hard while staring at her.

"I could've waited an eternity for this. It's over, Kokujo Kyoshiro!" Tabitha declared and rose the last laser ball in an attempt to attack Kokujo.

"BALLCADEIAS!" Kokujo reached out the creature's name.

In the next moment, Ballcadeias concentrated all its power on the bigger energy ball it ever had and the creature casted it upon Tabitha before she had the chance to hurt Kokujo. What happened next was a huge explosion.

When Subaru woke up, he found himself back at the UFO. The boy got out of his bed and rushed through the corridors until he saw a light coming from the hospital room, that being the place where he went. There he saw two bodies covered with white sheets, Edo lying on a bed with bandages on and Kokujo also lying on the bed with his weakened red eyes open.

Nolan and Atsuto were waiting for the computer for a diagnosis, whereas Tsugumi, Hanna and Shubham were sitting by his side. Subaru approached Kokujo without saying a word to anyone.

"I fear the wounds are fatal." Nolan said with a sad tone in his voice after reading the results on the computer.

Tsugumi and Hanna put their hands on their chests while Atsuto lowered his head in grief. Subaru put his hands on Kokujo's bed and said:

"Kokujo-kun, you can't die!"

"What's with that long face of yours, Subaru? It's not like you couldn't handle stuff while I was away." Kokujo joked.

"But Kokujo-kun, things will never be the same without you!" Subaru spoke with a serious voice.

"Don't grieve, I've lived a life full of adventure and I regret nothing. I've accomplished what all evil geniuses strived to: I've lived an independent life!" Kokujo declared and then turned his head to the other side of the bed. "Shubham, come closer!"

"Yes, Kokujo?" Shubham asked and approached.

All of a sudden, Kokujo grabbed Shubham's hand and also Subaru's and then he united their two hands in a handshake while saying:

"I want you… and Subaru… to work together… as a symbol that the Aliens and the Hunters have truly made peace…" Kokujo said and began to cough.

"Kokujo-kun, you should get some rest!" Subaru insisted.

"Subaru… I can see Malice… and Ichiro… they're calling for me." Kokujo said while staring into nothing, and then a sudden smile appeared on his face. "At long last… I am home!"

In the next moment, Kokujo closed his eyes and the computer announced them that his heart stopped beating. Subaru yelled with sorrow and began crying on Kokujo's chest. Tsugumi hugged Hanna and both girls mourned Kokujo's death as well.

The next day, Rad's, Sora's and Kokujo's funerals took place. Besides those who were the other day in the hospital room, Rad's parents had also come and sorrowfully mourned the loss of their only child. It was a sad day for them all.

Once the funeral ceremony was over, Subaru and Tsugumi walked out of the cemetery and headed to a hill. There they admired the sun that was setting upon the city in ruins on which repairs had already begun. A cool breeze blew through their hair; trying to make them relax after all they had been through. For a moment it was silence, but then Subaru was the one who broke it by saying:

"Tsugumi, after all we've been through, is it a miracle that we two are still here, standing with one another?"

"Sometimes, Subaru, even I am not sure." Tsugumi replied with a saddened voice. "In less than two months there will be two years since we've been made young again by the chosen cards. I would never have imagined that we would have so many adventures during this time."

"I agree. We've been through so many places, known so many people, made friends and enemies, and now… it's all over." Subaru said and then took the Proof of Duelmaster out of his pockets and stared at it. "At least this is back into the protection of the chosen duelists."

"Yeah… Oh well, the doctor said that tomorrow he'll come and see if Edo can be healed. I honestly hope that he could do something about him."

"Don't worry, Tsugumi, Edo-kun's a fighter, I know that he'll make it."

Tsugumi leaned her head on Subaru's chest and closed her eyes while putting a smile on her face.

"You know, Subaru, when I'm with you, I'm more than sure that I am safe. And not just me, but the whole world."

"Thank you, Tsugumi. You've always made my life have a purpose and as long as I'm with you, I know that we will be able to build a Future. Not just any future, but Our Future!"

Subaru leaned his head on Tsugumi's and closed his eyes as well while the sun's last warm rays gently touched them. The two lovers fell asleep in each other's arms on the hill as the sun set and made way for the night sky that was filled with stars to watch upon their sleep.

THE END


End file.
